Miles away, in a small, quiet city, Cee sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the unopened pregnancy test in her shaking hands.
Her heart pounded violently in her chest.
She had noticed the signs—the exhaustion, the nausea, the way her emotions had been all over the place—but she had chalked it up to stress. To heartbreak. To everything she had been through with Carlos.
But when she had checked her calendar that morning and realized just how late she was…
She had rushed out to buy a test, her hands trembling the entire time.
Now, she sat frozen, unable to move.
What if…?
She squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and forced herself to do it.
Minutes felt like hours as she waited for the results.
Then she looked.
Two red lines.
Her stomach twisted, and a choked sob escaped her lips.
She was pregnant.
Tears blurred her vision as she clutched the test in her hands. This wasn't supposed to happen. She and Carlos had always been careful. This wasn't—
Her thoughts spiraled, crashing into her like waves during a storm.
Carlos.
What was she supposed to do now?
Her mother's soft footsteps entered the room, and then the bed dipped slightly as she sat beside her.
"Cee," her mother's gentle voice broke through the storm in her head. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"
Cee couldn't hold it in any longer. She turned to her mother, her voice breaking as she whispered, "I'm pregnant."
Her mother's expression shifted from concern to quiet understanding. She wrapped her arms around Cee, pulling her close.
"Oh, my baby…"
And just like that, Cee broke. She sobbed into her mother's shoulder, her body shaking as all the pain, the fear, the heartbreak came crashing down at once.
Her mother stroked her hair gently, whispering soothing words.
After what felt like forever, her mother pulled back, cupping her tear-streaked face.
"You have to tell him," she said softly.
Cee shook her head. "No. He doesn't deserve to know."
Her mother frowned. "That's not true. Carlos is the father. No matter what happened between you two, he deserves to know about his child."
Cee bit her lip, doubt creeping in. Was her mother right?
She wiped her tears, staring at the phone on the nightstand.
She didn't want to hear his voice. She didn't want to let herself care. But deep down, she knew her mother was right.
She reached for her phone and dialed his number.
It rang.
And rang.
No answer.
Her heart clenched.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Had he moved on already? Did he not care enough to pick up?
A week later,
Carlos sat in the cold courtroom, his wrists shackled, his expression unreadable. He had spent a full week in prison, enduring sleepless nights as he tried to piece together how he had ended up in this nightmare. His father, cold and indifferent, had refused to intervene. Minister Donovan sat with a smug look, his lawyer weaving a damning case against Carlos, backed by fabricated evidence.
The judge's gavel struck, echoing through the silent courtroom. "Carlos Milton, for the crime of drugging and sexually assaulting Laura Donovan, you are hereby sentenced to five years in prison."
Carlos clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. He had expected a harsh outcome, but five years? He turned to his lawyer, who shook his head in defeat. The system had already decided his fate before the trial even began.
CEE.
Cee sat on the small bed in her mother's house, her arms wrapped around her knees. The pregnancy test lay beside her, its two red lines burning into her mind. She was pregnant. She was going to have Carlos's child, and she didn't even know where he was.
Days passed, then weeks. She tried to focus on school, but the nausea, the fatigue, and the sheer weight of her emotions made it impossible. She missed Carlos. She missed the way he used to tease her, how he always understood her without words. And yet, she hated him too—for betraying her, for leaving her alone to deal with this. So she went back home.
Her mother noticed the dark circles under her eyes, the way she barely ate. One evening, as Cee sat on the porch, her mother sat beside her.
"You're thinking about dropping out, aren't you?" her mother asked gently.
Cee swallowed hard. "I don't know what to do, Mom. I can't keep up with classes. I feel sick all the time. I don't even have the energy to study."
Her mother squeezed her hand. "Then take a break, Cee. School will always be there. But right now, you need to focus on yourself and this baby."
Tears welled up in her eyes. "But I can't just sit here doing nothing."
"You don't have to," her mother said, her tone warm. "There's an acupuncturist in town—Dr. Ren. He's been looking for an assistant. It's not a fancy job, but it's something to keep you busy."
Cee considered it. Working as an assistant wasn't part of her plans, but neither was pregnancy. At least it would give her a sense of purpose. She had to do something, anything, to keep herself from drowning in her emotions.
The next day, she met Dr. Ren. He was a quiet, wise old man who took one look at her and said, "You have tired eyes. You carry too much in your heart."
Cee simply nodded, not trusting herself to speak.