Three months into their marriage, Sophia was pregnant.
She took the test on a random Tuesday morning and stared at the two pink lines like they were written in a language she didn't understand. This wasn't part of the plan. This wasn't supposed to happen.
She made an appointment with a doctor and confirmed it. Eight weeks along, everything healthy, due in December.
Sophia sat in the doctor's office parking lot and cried.
Ethan was in a meeting when she found him. She walked in without asking permission, ignored the shocked faces of the executives around the table, and pulled him aside.
"We need to talk. Now."
In his private office, she showed him the ultrasound. The small black-and-white image of their baby.
Ethan went very still.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes. We're having a baby, Ethan."
He sat down slowly. "How do you feel about this?"
"Terrified. Confused. Angry. Excited. All of the above." Sophia sat across from him. "This wasn't the plan."
"The plan was a contract marriage, remember? The plan is already destroyed." He looked up at her, and his eyes were bright. "Are you trying to ask me if I want to keep it? Because I do, Sophia. If you do, I'm all in."
"Just like that?"
"Yeah. Just like that." He came over and knelt in front of her chair. "I love you. I want to marry you for real. I want to have this baby. I want to build a life with you, and I know that's insane given how we started, but Chen, I've never been more certain about anything."
Sophia laughed and cried at the same time. "You have to stop saying things like that. You're going to make me believe this is actually happening."
"It is happening. We're having a baby." Ethan put his hand on her stomach. "Our baby."
Over the next few weeks, everything changed. They told their families. Ethan's mother actually smiled for the first time. Sophia's father cried. Gran, growing weaker by the day in hospice, just smiled like she'd known this was coming all along.
They bought baby clothes. They picked out names. They talked about the future like it wasn't terrifying—like it was actually something to look forward to.
"I want to get married again," Ethan said one night. "Not the contract thing. A real ceremony. Not at some fancy hotel with a hundred people we don't like. Just us, our families, the people who actually matter. I want to choose you again, knowing exactly who you are and how I feel."
"Ethan..."
"Say yes."
"Yes." She was crying happy tears. "Yes, I'll marry you again."
They had a small ceremony at their apartment with just family. Sophia wore a white dress that fit her growing belly. Ethan looked at her like she'd hung the moon. This time, when he kissed her, it wasn't a performance for anyone else. It was just them.
Her grandmother made it to the ceremony despite her declining health. She sat in a chair, small and fragile, watching her granddaughter marry the man she'd arranged for her to marry ten years ago.
"I was right," Gran said afterward, squeezing Sophia's hand.
"You were right," Sophia agreed. "But don't let it go to your head. This would have happened anyway."
"No, you would have fought it forever. You needed the push. You both did."
A week later, Gran passed away. It was peaceful, in her sleep, and Sophia was grateful for that. Her grandmother got to see her happy. Got to see her married for real. Got to know about the baby growing inside her.
The funeral was large and beautiful. Half of New York's business world showed up. But more importantly, Ethan was there. He held her hand through the whole thing. He didn't try to make her stop crying. He just held her and let her grieve.
That night, after everyone else had left, Sophia sat on the penthouse balcony and looked out at the city.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, not sure if Gran could hear her. "I'm sorry I was so angry with you. But thank you. You were right about everything."
Ethan came out with two mugs of tea. He sat beside her and they didn't talk. Sometimes, not talking was the right choice.
By month seven of pregnancy, Sophia had scaled back her work. She was mostly working from the penthouse, making decisions but not traveling. Ethan did the same, protecting their time together.
They decorated the nursery in soft yellows and greens. They took childbirth classes together. They argued about whether the baby was a boy or girl. Ethan was convinced it was a boy. Sophia was convinced it was a girl.
"We're having a girl," she said, putting her hand on her belly. "I can feel it."
"You just want to be right."
"That too."
One afternoon, while they were setting up the crib, Ethan asked the question they'd both been avoiding.
"What are we doing after the baby's born? I mean, long term. Are we staying married?"
Sophia looked at him. "Do you want to stay married?"
"I asked first."
"I'm asking now." She moved closer. "Is this what you want, Ethan? Me, a baby, all of this messiness?"
"It's what I've wanted since the moment I saw you at the gala in that red dress." He touched her face. "It's what I've wanted for months before that, I just didn't know it yet. Sophia, I love you. I'm not going anywhere."
"Even though you're bidding on Techvision?"
He smiled. "Even though. We're going to be like this in business, aren't we? Competing, fighting, trying to win?"
"Probably."
"Good. Because I like it. I like that you challenge me at work. I like that we're both ambitious. I like that we're not merging our companies or our business plans. We're staying separate, and I love that about us."
"Me too," Sophia said. "So yes. Yes, let's stay married. Let's figure out this parenting thing together. Let's build a life."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that."
**Was their happily ever after actually possible?**