CHAPTER 215: PREGNANT!

This time, I didn’t even try to look at my reflection.

Placing the second test beside the first on the pristine white ceramic of the tub edge, I felt a strange detachment. It was as if I was watching a scene unfold, not living it. Aria, still pacing, had slowed, her eyes fixed on the two tiny windows, willing the outcome to be different. The seconds crawled, each one heavier than the last, pressing down on my chest until I could barely breathe.

My gaze was locked on the second test. The control line, dark and unwavering, appeared first. Then, slowly, painstakingly, a second fainter line began to bloom beside it. It was a ghost, a whisper, a defiant blush of pink that solidified with every tick of the clock.

Two pink lines. Again.

"Again. Let’s do it again," Aria said, her voice strained, a raw edge of desperation breaking through her usual composure. But her eyes, when they met mine, were no longer practical. They mirrored my terror, amplified. She wasn’t hoping for a false positive anymore; she was just trying to buy us more time before the truth fully crashed down.

I pressed my hands to my face, spiraling—No. No, it can’t be. Except... of course it could. Adrien and I hadn’t exactly been careful. And "busy" was an understatement.

"What am I supposed to do?" My words came out broken.

Aria sat beside me and looped an arm around my shoulders. "First, you breathe. Then we figure out how to tell Mr. Dark-and-Brooding."

That dragged a weak laugh from me, even through the tears. "Adrien’s going to..." I shook my head, unable to finish.

Aria perked up, already scheming. "We could be dramatic about it—like, hand him a tiny pair of baby shoes over dinner. Or, oh! A mug that says World’s Best Dad."

I groaned into my hands. "That’s cruel."

"Okay, fine. What about slipping a onesie into his suit pocket? He’d find it when he reaches for his phone."

Despite myself, a shaky laugh bubbled out. "You’re insane."

"Insanely creative," she shot back, proud. Then her teasing softened into something gentler. She touched my arm, her fingers squeezing lightly. "Hey. Look at me, Bella."

I lowered my hands, my eyes puffy and red, my vision blurry.

"You’re going to be a mom."

The words landed, heavy and miraculous all at once. My chest tightened, a strange constriction that wasn’t entirely fear. My tears, which had been a slow, steady trickle, now spilled freely, hot tracks down my cheeks.

Aria brushed away my tears with her thumbs. "You’re crying like someone just gave you detention. Relax. You’ve survived corporate sharks, scheming people, lots of dramatic things and Adrien himself. Motherhood? Piece of cake. You’re practically invincible."

Something broke loose inside me. A strangled laugh tore through the tears, and then I was laughing and crying all at once, my shoulders shaking, the sound raw and uncontrolled. The sheer absurdity of it, the colossal, life-altering absurdity, finally hit me with a wave of hysterical relief.

Aria joined me, her own tears spilling over as she hugged me tight, nestling her head against mine. "Look at us," she said through tears, "a pair of idiots crying over a stick."

We then crode louder... if that’s a word itself. A symphony of disbelief and dawning realization, punctuated by snorts and gasps, our shared hysteria cleansing the shock. It wasn’t a sad cry, not entirely. It was a release, a letting go of everything I thought I knew about my future.

"I... I can’t believe it," I whispered, pulling away slightly, my eyes puffy. "I mean, I can believe it. We weren’t careful. But I never actually thought... not me. Not yet." My mind raced. "My job, Adrien’s, my dad, Leo... what am I going to do, Aria?"

Aria dabbed at her own eyes with the back of her hand, a wide, wobbly smile breaking through her tears. Her face was a glorious mess of joy and mascara streaks. "You’re going to be a mom, that’s what you’re going to do, you idiot! And you’re going to be the best mom ever!" She squeezed me again. "And Adrien... he’s going to be ecstatic. You know he loves kids. He loves you."

"But what if he’s not? What if this isn’t what he wants right now? What if he feels trapped? We’ve barely had a chance to breathe, Aria. Our lives are... chaotic." The fear was real, potent. We’d talked about a future, of course, but a baby? That was a whole new level of future.

"Asking if he would feel trapped like he wasn’t the one that ejaculated in you, Bella?" Aria’s tone was sharp, cutting through my spiraling thoughts. "Please. He’s a grown man. He knows how babies are made. And he’s not going to feel ’trapped.’ He’s going to be over the moon. Aria wiped a tear from my cheek with her thumb. "That man practically worships the ground you walk on. He’ll probably melt into a puddle on the floor. Do you know I’ve once seen that man look at a child with complete adoration? He practically melts. He’s wanted a family, Bella. You just... were the missing piece."

Silence.

Then

"I still can’t believe that my poor innocent friend is going to be a mother." She said dramatically.

A watery laugh broke out of me. I swiped at my eyes. "’Innocent’?" I scoffed, poking her arm. "Aria, we literally just discussed the unprotected sex leading to this! I’m clearly not innocent!"

She burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the small bathroom. "Okay, okay, maybe not innocent innocent. But you’re going to be the most adorable, overwhelmed, cute-cozy mom ever. And I’m going to be the coolest aunt! Oh my god, I’m going to be an aunt!" She bounced in excitement, her tears forgotten.

That set us off again, full-blown laughter through tears. She hugged me so tight I could barely breathe, and for the first time since I’d seen those two pink lines, my heart steadied just a little.

We sank to the bathroom floor, knees bumping, heads leaned against the wall. Between sniffles and nervous giggles, we started tossing ideas back and forth about how to tell Adrien. Again.

"Maybe just... leave the test on his desk. Let him connect the dots," I suggested bleakly.

Aria gasped. "And miss out on his actual reaction? Absolutely not. That man will have a coronary if you blindside him at work."

"Okay then, what? Wrap it up in a gift box with a bow?"

Aria’s eyes lit with mischief. "Ooooh. Or ... we get a fortune cookie specially made that says, ’A tiny miracle will soon bless your home.’ We put it in his takeout! He’d crack it open with his usual dark scowl, read it, then slowly, slowly... his eyes would widen!" Aria mimed the entire scene, her expression a mix of grand drama and genuine delight.

I groaned again, but this time, my lips twitched upward. "You’re impossible."

"And you," she said, poking me in the side, "are going to be someone’s mum. Whether Adrien faints, shouts, or hires a whole symphony to announce it — we’ll figure it out."

Her words softened something deep in my chest. For the first time since the nausea hit, I let myself breathe and imagine it — Adrien’s child. Our child.