Congratulations, you're pregnant."
The words echoed in Claire's ears, sweet and slow Her mouth opened slightly, but no sound came out. She blinked at the doctor, her heartbeat skipping a beat before rushing forward in a burst.
"Are you sure?" she finally whispered, her voice trembling.
Dr. Leigh smiled warmly. "Very sure, Claire. Your levels are strong, and your ultrasound looks great. You're about six weeks along."
Six weeks. A flutter stirred low in Claire's belly. She pressed a palm to her stomach as tears prickled behind her eyes. For months she'd waited, hoped, prayed. Each missed period followed by heartbreak. Each doctor's visit a reminder that maybe her body wouldn't cooperate. And now, finally, the miracle she'd begged for had arrived.
"Thank you," she murmured, dazed.
Dr. Leigh's smile softened. "You can schedule your next appointment at the front desk. And congratulations again."
Claire walked out of the clinic like she was floating. Her heels barely touched the ground. She clutched the envelope with her test results like a sacred treasure. The city moved around her in a blur, but she didn't notice the honking horns or bustling crowds. All she could think about was Lucas.
He'll be so surprised.
The man she had secretly married. The man who lived two lives one in the public eye, where he was the eligible bachelor Lucas Harrington, and one behind closed doors, where Claire existed in shadows. No one knew they were married. Except his parents. Not his friends. Not even his closest business partners. It was a marriage born out of pressure and circumstance his parents demanding he marry, his company needing the appearance of stability.
He had chosen her, but only in silence.
She had agreed, thinking that time would grow something real between them. That maybe, eventually, he would see her as more than a convenience. And now, she carried his child.
She stopped by the market to get his favorite wine, even though she couldn't have any. She chose steak medium rare and the imported truffle oil he loved. She planned everything perfectly, down to the candles and the soft jazz she knew he liked after a long day.
By the time Lucas came home, the apartment smelled so nice. The table was set, candles lit, everything warm and glowing. Claire wore the pale blue dress he once told her made her eyes look like the ocean. She even curled her hair like she used to, back when they were first sneaking around.
She heard the keys jingle in the door and took a breath, trying to keep her excitement from bubbling over.
"Welcome home," she said, stepping into the hallway as he walked in.
Lucas glanced up briefly, his tie already loosened. "Hey," he said distractedly, his voice tired.
Claire approached and kissed his cheek. He didn't return the gesture. Instead, he looked at the table. "What's all this?"
"I wanted to celebrate something," she said with a bright smile. "Come, sit. I made your favorite."
Lucas nodded absently and took his seat. Claire sat across from him, hands trembling under the table. She waited for the right moment. Waited for him to smile. Waited for a flicker of the man he used to be.
But before she could speak, his phone buzzed on the table.
The sound was sharp, jarring. Lucas glanced at the screen.
His body tensed.
Claire noticed immediately. His eyes locked onto the message, his thumb hovering as if frozen in time. The air changed. The warmth vanished from his expression. His jaw clenched.
"Lucas?"
He didn't answer.
She leaned forward slightly. "Is something wrong?"
He stood up.
Claire blinked. "Wait, where are you going?"
He grabbed his coat, his eyes dazed, glued to the screen. His breathing had changed shallower, faster.
"I need to go."
"Lucas, please, just wait a minute. I have something important to tell you." Her voice cracked. She reached into her pocket, fingers brushing the envelope.
But he didn't even look at her.
"Not now," he muttered, and walked out.
The door closed behind him with a soft but final click.
Claire stood frozen, still holding the envelope. The candles flickered. The food on the table sat untouched. And the wine, now pointless, glinted under the light like a cruel joke.
Her knees buckled slightly as she sank into the chair. She stared at the door, her heart cracking in slow motion. She had imagined so many things tears of joy, his arms around her, a promise of a better future.
But not this.
She slowly opened the envelope, as if needing to convince herself the news was still real. The test results glowed on the page. Positive. Pregnant.
She laid a hand gently over her stomach, her voice breaking in a whisper.
"Why won't you let me be enough?"
******
Meanwhile...
Lucas drove through the city like a man possessed. The lights streaked past the windows, but he barely saw them. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe.
Maya.
The name was fire in his chest.
Three years. Three years since she boarded a plane and disappeared without warning. No messages. No explanations. Just silence. He remembered the months he spent searching, calling, begging mutual friends for news. And then one day, he stopped. He had to.
When his parents had begun pushing for marriage, he told them he would settle down. And Claire had agreed to their arrangement. A quiet ceremony. No announcements. No photos. Just a signature and a promise to keep it hidden. Nobody never knew he had already married
And now, Maya was back.
He parked on a quiet street near Riverside Drive and stared at the message again.
> Maya: I'm back in New York. Can we meet?
His thumb hovered.
He typed: Where are you?
Seconds passed. Then his phone buzzed again.
> The little coffee shop on 73rd. 20 minutes?
He was already out of the car.
His mind should have been on Claire, on the home he just left behind, on the dinner she prepared, or the something she wanted to tell him. But all of it was drowned beneath one thought:
Maya is back.
****
Back at the apartment...
Claire sat on the couch, the soft music still playing in the background. Her phone lay silent beside her. She didn't call him. She didn't chase. She knew that look in his eyes when he walked out. It wasn't confusion. It wasn't work.
It was longing.
For someone else.
She stared at the test results on the table and then at the empty seat across from her. A tear rolled down her cheek, slow and warm.
The baby inside her was real. Alive. But the man she loved had left the moment she needed him most.
And Claire began to realize, with a sinking ache in her chest, that this child might grow up with a father who never really wanted to stay.
******
At the coffee shop...
Lucas stepped inside. The place hadn't changed. Old brick walls, warm lighting, the smell of roasted beans and cinnamon.
And there she was.
Maya.
Sitting at the corner table, black coat draped around her shoulders, dark hair falling in waves just like he remembered. When she looked up and their eyes met, everything inside him shifted.
Time. Space. Reason.
She stood slowly, lips parting in disbelief. "Lucas."
He walked toward her, and for a moment, nothing else existed.
Not his secret wife. Not the pregnancy. Not the life he left behind.
Only her.