Tiana had always been good at puzzles jigsaw pieces, logic riddles, even the occasional office scavenger hunt. But this? This wasn't a game. It was a man. A name. A one-night mystery that left her pregnant and alone.
She sat at the small dining table in her apartment, laptop open, a mug of lukewarm tea untouched beside her. Jasmine leaned over her shoulder, scanning the screen as Tiana scrolled through photos tagged at Aurora Lounge, the upscale downtown club where she met Leo.
"So, we're stalking now?" Jasmine asked, biting into a slice of cold pizza.
"It's not stalking," Tiana muttered. "It's… intelligent investigative work."
Jasmine laughed. "Right. Because clicking through party girls' selfies from three weeks ago is exactly how Sherlock cracked cases."But Tiana didn't answer. Her eyes were locked on a photo.Two girls pouting in the foreground.
But in the blurry background, just off to the side, was him. Sharp jawline. That same grey jacket. And that smile—just enough to punch her in the stomach with memories.
"Wait—zoom in," Jasmine said, suddenly serious. "That's him, right?"
Tiana's heart skipped. "Yeah. That's Leo." She clicked through the profile,
heart pounding. The girl who posted the photo had tagged a few people. One tag read: @nate__cal.
"I've seen that tag before," Jasmine said. "He's some local DJ or something. Think they're friends?"
Tiana was already typing into the search bar. Nate Callahan's page was private, but his bio read: "DJ / Events / Chi-native. Bookings: nate@…" And then the word that made her breath catch: #CallahanBrothers
Jasmine leaned back slowly. "So Leo might be Leo Callahan."
Tiana said nothing. Her thoughts were a hurricane now.Was that really his last name? Why hadn't he told her more?
Had he meant to disappear, or did he assume she'd never need to find him again?
She stared at the screen. She had a possible name now. Maybe a lead. Jasmine nudged her shoulder. "You sure you want to find him?"
Tiana hesitated. "I'm not sure of anything. But I think he deserves to know."
Jasmine nodded, her voice softer now.
"Then let's find him. Together."
Later That Night
Tiana lay in bed, one hand resting lightly over her stomach.
The city buzzed faintly outside her window—honking, humming, living. And here she was, still and wide awake, already feeling like two people at once. A girl who didn't mean to fall into this. And a woman who was starting to believe that maybe—just maybe—this baby wasn't a mistake. She whispered into the quiet, unsure why. "Hey, little one… I don't know where this is going yet. But I promise—I'm gonna try. For both of us."