Weeks passed. Life, or at least the semblance of it, settled back into a rhythm that felt almost cruel in its normalcy. Sparkle Cleaners hummed with its usual chaos clothes steaming, hangers clinking, phones buzzing but Amara felt strangely hollow amid the familiar routine.
Lucas, too, had returned to his world of meetings, galas, and planning with Cole. The fire that had once ignited between them now smoldered quietly in her chest, ignored. His attention was distant, polite at best, fleeting nods and brief conversations, as if their night together had never existed.
And Cole… she was everywhere, even when she wasn't. Invitations, floral arrangements, dress fittings it was clear their wedding was no longer a vague idea but a meticulously orchestrated event, each detail echoing their status, their wealth, their planned life together.
Amara tried to focus on work, on Nina, on anything tangible, but a persistent unease had begun to gnaw at her. She'd noticed the nausea first, subtle but unmistakable, paired with exhaustion that no amount of sleep could remedy. She pushed it aside, blaming it on long hours, stress, or the city that never slept.
It was the ultrasound appointment that shattered her fragile composure.
The sterile room smelled faintly of antiseptic. The technician's practiced movements, the low hum of the machineit all faded as the screen flickered to life.
"Do you see the heartbeat?" the technician asked gently.
Amara nodded, tears blurring her vision. Then the words came, almost too clinical to grasp at first:
"Well… actually, there are two. You're expecting twins."
Twins.
Her heart skipped, skipped again, and then lodged somewhere between fear and disbelief. Two lives growing inside her, innocent, fragile, yet impossible in a world already complicated beyond measure.
She sat there, frozen, her mind a storm of possibilities, consequences, and guilt. Lucas… would he ever understand? Could she bring herself to tell him? Or was that a line she could never cross, respecting the life he had planned with Cole?
The weight of secrecy pressed down like concrete. She felt trapped in a cage of her own making, every heartbeat of the twins echoing in her chest like a countdown to inevitable disaster.
Amara left the clinic in a daze, the late afternoon sun harsh against her pale face. Each step toward the subway was heavy, each breath a reminder that the life inside her had already changed everything even if no one else knew.
Back at the apartment, Nina noticed immediately.
"Mara… you're different. What happened?"
Amara forced a smile, shaking her head. "Nothing, Nina. Just tired, that's all."
But inside, she was screaming. She couldn't ask for advice, not even from the sister she adored. There was no solution that wouldn't hurt someone, somewhere. The idea of terminating the pregnancy lingered like a shadow she couldn't shake selfish, practical, necessary or confronting Lucas with the truth, which could destroy the delicate facade of his life with Cole.
Night fell, but sleep eluded her. She traced the faint curves of her stomach, imagining the tiny hands and feet she would never see grow if she chose silence. The uncertainty twisted in her chest like a knife.
"What do I do?" she whispered to the empty room, to the twins growing quietly inside her. "How do I choose the right thing when there is no right thing?"
Her reflection in the cracked mirror seemed smaller, fragile, and at the same time fierce a woman forced to carry secrets that could topple worlds, a mother before she even knew how.
Weeks of normalcy had ended the moment she saw those two tiny heartbeats flicker on the screen. And now, nothing would ever be the same
Amara gripped the envelope in her hand, her knuckles white, as she walked toward the mansion. Every step felt heavier than the last, her heart pounding in a rhythm that matched the storm inside her. She rehearsed her words over and over, trying to find the right tone, the right way to tell him.
Lucas was in the study when she arrived, papers spread out before him, the faint scent of his cologne still clinging to the air. He looked up, expecting the polite, professional Amara he knew.
"Lucas… I there's something I need to tell you," she began, her voice trembling despite her effort to steady it.
His eyes softened, but there was a flicker of concern. "Amara? What is it?"
She swallowed, forcing herself to breathe. "I'm… I'm pregnant."
For a heartbeat, he didn't move. Then the color drained from his face, and the words came out cold, measured.
"No," he said.
Her stomach lurched. "I… I don't understand. You… you don't"
"I said no," he interrupted, standing abruptly. The room felt suddenly smaller, the air heavier. "This… this can't happen, Amara. I'm marrying Cole. We've planned our life together. This" He gestured sharply, "this wasn't meant to be."
Her throat tightened. "But… it's twins," she whispered, the words tasting like ash.
Lucas's jaw clenched. He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes darkening. "Twins or not… it doesn't change anything. You know what this means, don't you? You'll have to… terminate it."
The world tilted beneath her feet. Every heartbeat of the babies inside her felt like a drum of accusation, a reminder that life had already changed irrevocably.
"I… I can't," she said, voice breaking. "I can't do that. They're innocent. They didn't ask to be born into this."
Lucas's expression hardened, his patience thinning. "Amara… think carefully. This isn't about morality. It's about consequences. About what's real. I can't risk my life, my reputation, my future for… this mistake."
A scream rose in her chest, but it was silent, swallowed by the enormity of the moment. She looked at him, the man she had once wanted, and realized with a cruel clarity that everything they had shared… meant nothing compared to the walls he had built around his life.
And in that silence, the weight of her choice pressed down: protect the babies, or protect the lives of those she loved by staying invisible.
Weeks passed. Life, or at least the semblance of it, settled back into a rhythm that felt almost cruel in its normalcy. Sparkle Cleaners hummed with its usual chaos clothes steaming, hangers clinking, phones buzzing but Amara felt strangely hollow amid the familiar routine.
Lucas, too, had returned to his world of meetings, galas, and planning with Cole. The fire that had once ignited between them now smoldered quietly in her chest, ignored. His attention was distant, polite at best, fleeting nods and brief conversations, as if their night together had never existed.
And Cole… she was everywhere, even when she wasn't. Invitations, floral arrangements, dress fittings it was clear their wedding was no longer a vague idea but a meticulously orchestrated event, each detail echoing their status, their wealth, their planned life together.
Amara tried to focus on work, on Nina, on anything tangible, but a persistent unease had begun to gnaw at her. She'd noticed the nausea first, subtle but unmistakable, paired with exhaustion that no amount of sleep could remedy. She pushed it aside, blaming it on long hours, stress, or the city that never slept.
It was the ultrasound appointment that shattered her fragile composure.
The sterile room smelled faintly of antiseptic. The technician's practiced movements, the low hum of the machineit all faded as the screen flickered to life.
"Do you see the heartbeat?" the technician asked gently.
Amara nodded, tears blurring her vision. Then the words came, almost too clinical to grasp at first:
"Well… actually, there are two. You're expecting twins."
Twins.
Her heart skipped, skipped again, and then lodged somewhere between fear and disbelief. Two lives growing inside her, innocent, fragile, yet impossible in a world already complicated beyond measure.
She sat there, frozen, her mind a storm of possibilities, consequences, and guilt. Lucas… would he ever understand? Could she bring herself to tell him? Or was that a line she could never cross, respecting the life he had planned with Cole?
The weight of secrecy pressed down like concrete. She felt trapped in a cage of her own making, every heartbeat of the twins echoing in her chest like a countdown to inevitable disaster.
Amara left the clinic in a daze, the late afternoon sun harsh against her pale face. Each step toward the subway was heavy, each breath a reminder that the life inside her had already changed everything even if no one else knew.
Back at the apartment, Nina noticed immediately.
"Mara… you're different. What happened?"
Amara forced a smile, shaking her head. "Nothing, Nina. Just tired, that's all."
But inside, she was screaming. She couldn't ask for advice, not even from the sister she adored. There was no solution that wouldn't hurt someone, somewhere. The idea of terminating the pregnancy lingered like a shadow she couldn't shake selfish, practical, necessary or confronting Lucas with the truth, which could destroy the delicate facade of his life with Cole.
Night fell, but sleep eluded her. She traced the faint curves of her stomach, imagining the tiny hands and feet she would never see grow if she chose silence. The uncertainty twisted in her chest like a knife.
"What do I do?" she whispered to the empty room, to the twins growing quietly inside her. "How do I choose the right thing when there is no right thing?"
Her reflection in the cracked mirror seemed smaller, fragile, and at the same time fierce a woman forced to carry secrets that could topple worlds, a mother before she even knew how.
Weeks of normalcy had ended the moment she saw those two tiny heartbeats flicker on the screen. And now, nothing would ever be the same
Amara gripped the envelope in her hand, her knuckles white, as she walked toward the mansion. Every step felt heavier than the last, her heart pounding in a rhythm that matched the storm inside her. She rehearsed her words over and over, trying to find the right tone, the right way to tell him.
Lucas was in the study when she arrived, papers spread out before him, the faint scent of his cologne still clinging to the air. He looked up, expecting the polite, professional Amara he knew.
"Lucas… I there's something I need to tell you," she began, her voice trembling despite her effort to steady it.
His eyes softened, but there was a flicker of concern. "Amara? What is it?"
She swallowed, forcing herself to breathe. "I'm… I'm pregnant."
For a heartbeat, he didn't move. Then the color drained from his face, and the words came out cold, measured.
"No," he said.
Her stomach lurched. "I… I don't understand. You… you don't"
"I said no," he interrupted, standing abruptly. The room felt suddenly smaller, the air heavier. "This… this can't happen, Amara. I'm marrying Cole. We've planned our life together. This" He gestured sharply, "this wasn't meant to be."
Her throat tightened. "But… it's twins," she whispered, the words tasting like ash.
Lucas's jaw clenched. He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes darkening. "Twins or not… it doesn't change anything. You know what this means, don't you? You'll have to… terminate it."
The world tilted beneath her feet. Every heartbeat of the babies inside her felt like a drum of accusation, a reminder that life had already changed irrevocably.
"I… I can't," she said, voice breaking. "I can't do that. They're innocent. They didn't ask to be born into this."
Lucas's expression hardened, his patience thinning. "Amara… think carefully. This isn't about morality. It's about consequences. About what's real. I can't risk my life, my reputation, my future for… this mistake."
A scream rose in her chest, but it was silent, swallowed by the enormity of the moment. She looked at him, the man she had once wanted, and realized with a cruel clarity that everything they had shared… meant nothing compared to the walls he had built around his life.
And in that silence, the weight of her choice pressed down: protect the babies, or protect the lives of those she loved by staying invisible.