Bella Pov
I woke up early before my alarm went off. My stomach felt wrong again. Not sick exactly but definitely not right either. The strange feeling had been there for several days now and it was only getting worse.
I got out of bed and walked to the tiny kitchen. I made tea and tried to drink it but my stomach turned the moment the liquid touched my tongue. I set the cup down fast and took some deep breaths until the feeling passed.
I got dressed in jeans and an old sweater. I grabbed my purse off the counter. Today I had to go to the store. I had been putting it off for three whole days but I could not avoid it anymore. I needed to buy a pregnancy test. I needed to know the truth one way or the other.
I opened my front door and almost stepped right on it. A red rose. One perfect red rose lying on my doorstep with a folded piece of paper wrapped around the stem.
My heart stopped beating for a second. I looked up and down the empty hallway but no one was there. I bent down with shaking hands and picked up the rose carefully.
I unwrapped the note. I recognized the handwriting immediately even though I had not seen it in days. Damian's handwriting. Strong and confident. Every letter perfectly formed the way he always wrote.
I read his words slowly. I know you do not want to hear from me right now. I am sorry. I will wait forever. I love you more than anything.
Sharp pain shot straight through my chest like someone stabbed me. Tears filled my eyes instantly but I blinked them back as hard as I could. Part of me desperately wanted to call him right that second. Wanted to hear his deep voice. Wanted to believe every word he wrote. Wanted to believe he had truly changed.
But then I remembered everything. I remembered walking into our bedroom that horrible day. I remembered seeing him on top of Karen. I remembered watching my whole world completely shatter into a million pieces right in front of my eyes. I remembered the crushing betrayal. The endless lies. The unbearable pain that still lived in my chest.
I could not forget any of that. I would never be able to forget it. Not ever. Those images were burned into my brain forever.
I went back inside my apartment and walked to the kitchen. I stared at the beautiful rose in my hand. It was perfect. Deep blood red with every thorn carefully removed so I would not accidentally get hurt touching it.
I walked over to the small trash can in the corner. I opened the lid slowly. I should throw this rose away right now. I should throw away his note too. I should forget he even tried to reach out to me.
But my hand refused to let go of the flower. I just stood there frozen for a very long moment holding the rose and staring into the empty trash can. Finally I gave up and put the rose down gently on the kitchen counter. I folded his note into a tiny square and stuck it deep in my jeans pocket where no one would ever see it.
I grabbed my purse again and left my apartment. I walked three long blocks to the small grocery store on the corner. The morning air outside was freezing cold. I pulled my thin jacket tighter around my body but it did not help much.
Inside the warm store I walked slowly through the aisles. I picked up bread and milk and eggs. Normal everyday things. Simple things that made me feel like my life was still normal even though absolutely everything was falling apart around me.
Then I made myself walk to the pharmacy aisle in the very back of the store. I stood there staring at all the pregnancy tests lined up neatly on the bottom shelf. There were so many different kinds and brands. Pink boxes and blue boxes. Digital tests and regular tests. Expensive ones and cheap ones. I had no idea which one to choose.
I finally grabbed the cheapest box and quickly shoved it into my basket underneath the bread where nobody walking by could possibly see it. My hands trembled badly as I walked up to the checkout counter.
I paid the cashier with cash and left the store as fast as I could. The whole walk home my heart pounded so hard in my chest I thought it might explode. The pregnancy test box felt incredibly heavy in my cloth bag even though it weighed almost nothing at all.
I got back to my apartment building and climbed the three flights of stairs. I unlocked my door and went inside. I put all the groceries away in their proper places. Except for the pregnancy test. I left that box sitting on the kitchen counter. I just stood there staring at it for what felt like hours.
The box looked so small and innocent. But it held such a huge life changing answer inside. An answer that would change absolutely everything about my future.
I was terrified. Terrified of what the test might say. Terrified of what it would mean for my life if I really was pregnant. Terrified of what it would mean if I was not pregnant after wanting a baby for so long.
Finally I forced myself to pick up the box with shaking hands. I walked slowly to my tiny bathroom. I sat down on the cold edge of the bathtub and read the instructions three times even though they were very simple and clear. Pee on the stick. Wait exactly three minutes. Two pink lines means you are pregnant. One pink line means you are not pregnant.
I tore open the package. I did exactly what the instructions told me to do. I set the test stick carefully on the bathroom counter. Then I set a timer on my phone for exactly three minutes.
I sat back down on the edge of the bathtub and waited. Time moved so slowly. I stared at the little test stick on the counter. The timer on my phone counted down second by second. Two minutes and fifty seconds left. Two minutes and forty seconds. Two minutes and thirty seconds.
I stood up very slowly. My legs felt weak and shaky like they might collapse under me. I walked the three steps to the bathroom counter. I looked down at the plastic test stick.
Two bright pink lines. Perfectly clear. Absolutely unmistakable. Two pink lines staring up at me.
I was pregnant. I was actually pregnant. I was going to have a baby.