His Prosecutor, His Possession

The Choice

Victoria Harper

Pregnancy tests could be wrong at times. Right?

I was honestly banking on that because there was no way I could be pregnant.

First thing the next morning before even going in to court, I went straight to the hospital

I don’t think I’ve ever rushed somewhere this fast.

By the time the hospital’s sliding doors parted for me, I was already panting from running from the car park. I had to keep reminding myself to breathe even when a part of me wanted to pass out and wake up to all of this being a dream.

The hospital lobby smelled faintly of antiseptic and expensive perfume.The staff knew me by name; I'd been here often enough for my routine check-up

"Good morning, Ms. Harper," the receptionist said with a warm smile. "You're early by two weeks for your appointment”

"I wasn't feeling well," I admitted. "Thought I'd come in and get everything checked out."

She tapped at her computer. "We'll add a full panel to your usual tests. Dr. Allen will see you shortly."

The nurse appeared a few minutes later, leading me into an exam room.

"Ms. Harper” Doctor Allen acknowledged. “I noticed you asked for a full body health test instead of your usual, right?” He asked, pulling on a pair of gloves.

"Uhm yeah," I said. “I've been feeling off lately."

He nodded and the nurse took my blood pressure, drew vials of blood, and had me step on the scale.

I didn’t bother mentioning the pregnancy test. If I so much as sneezed in this hospital, the results would end up in Daniel’s inbox.

He had insisted on “handling” all my medical records when we got engaged. He said it was for my own good, for my protection. What it really meant was that nothing about my body belonged to me anymore.

So I told him I had been feeling dizzy and nauseous instead.

"How long has this been going on?" He asked.

"A few days. Maybe more.” I answered simply

He made the note on his clip board. “We’ll have the results out in an hour”

In the waiting room, my leg bounced repeatedly as I sat restlessly. I used the time to look at my Luciano case files but I couldn’t even focus. How could I?

The at home pregnancy test I had taken still haunted me. Two pink lines. It had to be wrong.

The nurse finally called my name. I hurriedly closed my laptop and tucked it in my bag, following her into Doctor Allen’s office.

Doctor Allen wore a broad smile on his face as he asked me to sit.

“Congratulations, Ms Harper” Doctor Allen said with a warm smile on his face

Congratulations???

“Dr Allen, what do you mean by congratulations?” I asked, my heart beat rising with each passing second

“You’re pregnant!!” He delivered the news

For a heartbeat, I thought I’d misheard him. Pregnant. The word didn’t make sense in my mouth, in my life.

My phone suddenly felt heavy in my hand, I had to drop it on the table so it wouldn’t fall.

“Whattt??” I struggled to breathe out

“I understand this might be unexpected,” he said, his tone gentle now, like he sensed my horror. “But the test is conclusive. Based on your hormone levels, I’d say about two weeks along.”

Two weeks?!!

My mind instantly rewound two weeks, three weeks, a month. Daniel and I hadn’t been together in… what? Six weeks? Eight? The last time had been quick, cold, and entirely for appearances before some fundraiser and he used a condom and I hadn’t been with anyone else

“Doctor,” I said slowly, gripping the edge of his desk, “I haven’t—” I stopped myself. No, I wasn’t going to explain my s*x life to a stranger. “There’s no way I could be pregnant. There must be a mistake.”

“I assure you, the tests were repeated,” Dr. Allen said. “But if you’d like, we can go over everything. We can also discuss your options moving forward.”

Before I could even respond, his office door swung open as someone barged in.

I turned around to see Daniel.

Fuck. Of course my results were sent to him

He stood beside me, all polished smiles and tailored perfection. His handshake was firm as he greeted Dr. Allen like they were old friends.

“Doctor, always a pleasure,” he said smoothly, clapping him on the shoulder. “Thank you for taking such good care of my fiancée. I don’t know what I’d do without your team.”

He even winked at the nurse, charming as ever, the perfect candidate everyone adored. For a second, even I almost believed the performance

Then his eyes cut to me. The smile dropped, but only for me. No one else in the room seemed to notice the way his jaw tightened, the vein ticking in his forehead.

“Victoria, love,” he said, voice velvet and warm for the staff. “Shall we?” He extended his hand, a perfect gentleman.

The moment the door shut behind us, his fingers clamped around my arm like a vice. His grip was iron, twisting until pain shot up my shoulder.

I could see the fury in his eyes. How was I even going to explain what I didn’t even understand?

He grabbed my arm tight and dragged me till we got to the car park.

I winced, waiting for the calm before the storm. Before I could even talk, Daniel released the storm

“You’re pregnant?” He asked simply with no emotion in his eyes

I opened my mouth to say something-

“YOU REALLY THOUGHT I WOULDN’T FIND OUT? IS THAT WHY YOU DIDN’T BOTHER TO TELL ME?” He roared, a vein appearing on his forehead

I didn’t know when tears dropped from my eyes but they did.

“Daniel, please calm down. I..I don’t know. I—“ I sobbed

“Victoria?” He grabbed my arm and squeezed it again at the same spot. Pain shot up to my shoulder, and I bit back a cry. It wasn’t the first time—but God, it never got easier.

“I’m not going to ask you again. Who’s goddamn baby is that? Because I haven’t touched you in months. Who is he? Who is the man you’ve been screwing behind my f*****g back?” He spoke through his teeth, squeezing my arm tighter

I winced from the pain, tears still flowing from my eyes even when I tried to be strong and hold them back.

Sometimes I wished I wasn’t this weak and I could actually stand up for myself.

“Daniel, there isnt—“

His nostrils flared and the vein on his forehead ticked. “WHO. IS. HE.”

I shook my head to the left and right. “There is no one. I haven’t been with anyone else apart from you” I cried, sniffing

“So you expect me to believe that you’re goddamn Mary now? A baby just magically ended up in your womb?”

I didn’t know what to say because I too was confused. How the hell was I pregnant?

“Do you have any idea what this means for me? For my campaign? My enemies will eat me alive with this if anyone finds out. They’ll call me—” He broke off, grinding his teeth. “You’re going to fix it.”

My throat dried. “Fix it?? How am I..”

“An abortion,” he cut in, his eyes blazing. “You’ll get rid of it immediately. I won’t let this bastard child destroy me.”

The word bastard sliced through me. I shook my head, my eyes wide with shock. “No… Daniel, you can’t ask me to—”

“Oh can’t I? You think you have choices, Victoria? Remember who pays for every beep of your father’s machine. You disobey me, I stop. And you can explain to him on your next visit why his heart stopped beating.” My stomach dropped. The words sliced deeper than any slap could.

Every beep of my father’s machine. That sound had become the only thing tethering me to sanity, the only proof he was still here. And Daniel had just turned it into a weapon.

My mouth opened but no words came out. The shock had stolen my vocal cords.

You’re a monster,” I whispered, though my voice shook. He smirked like I’d given him a compliment.

He buttoned his shirt with a look of satisfaction on his face and then he looked around giving a nice smile to observers before giving me a fake peck on my cheek.

“And after you get rid of it. Get ready to stand beside me for my campaign tomorrow” he whispered, before getting in his car and driving off

My heart felt like it had dropped and broken into a billion pieces. I tried to hold myself from breaking down. I knew Daniel was a douche bag who could go to any lengths to get what he wanted but this low?

Even if I didn’t know the father, how could I abort my child?

How could I choose between my father and my unborn child’s life?