By noon, the bakery smelled like cinnamon, warm sugar, and too many responsibilities.
I stood behind the counter, watching customers trickle in for their lunches, smiling mechanically and trying to hide the way my legs trembled. I kept telling myself it was just fatigue — normal pregnancy fatigue. Nothing to worry about.
Except… I didn't feel normal today.
My heartbeat was faster than usual, racing in odd, uneven thumps. My breathing felt tight, almost shallow, like something heavy sat right behind my ribs. And there was a strange buzzing pressure at the back of my head that refused to ease.
I tried brushing it off.
I'd been up since 4 a.m. because sleep kept slipping away from me. I told myself I just needed to rest. Drink water. Eat something.
But even as I bent over the display case to adjust a tray of pastries, the world tilted slightly, a soft blur crossing my vision.
Anna noticed first.
"Ma'sm?" she said carefully. "You okay?"
I blinked. "I'm fine."
That was a lie.
