Chapter 1

After I went swimming with my best friend, my period was delayed for half a month.

She insisted I take a pregnancy test. When I saw the two bright red lines, I froze.

I had a boyfriend, but I was conservative. I had never gone all the way with him.

Then whose child was I carrying?

I planned to abort the mysterious pregnancy, but my boyfriend worried about my health. He said he would marry me and raise the child together.

On the day I gave birth, I lay weak in the delivery room. I had not even seen my baby's face when my boyfriend held a pillow over my mouth and nose.

He pinned me down and raved hysterically, "Bitch, did you think I wanted to raise someone else's bastard? Both you and the bastard would die miserably."

I had just given birth and had no strength to fight back. He suffocated me to death.

When I opened my eyes again, I returned to the moment I first discovered I was pregnant.

This time, I would find out exactly whose child I carried.

*****

I was frozen in shock in the bathroom, staring at those two lines, while my best friend, Sarah Monroe kept banging on the door outside. "Ariel, how is it? Are you actually pregnant?"

My hand shook as I stared at the two vivid red lines on the pregnancy test. A wave of nausea hit me out of nowhere.

In my previous life, because of this baby, I had to leave school and wait out my pregnancy. And in the end, I was suffocated to death.

Even when I died, I never figured out how I got pregnant, much less whose baby it was.

Sarah, getting fed up, barged right in.

But I managed to tuck the pregnancy test away before she could spot it.

She glanced around, confused. "Where's the test? So, are you pregnant or not?"

I shook my head. "I haven't even slept with anyone. How could I possibly be pregnant?"

Sarah was a total blabbermouth. In my previous life, the moment I found out I was pregnant, she went and told my boyfriend. Before I knew it, everyone knew I was knocked up before marriage.

This time, there was no way I was telling her about it right away.

Sarah looked a little disappointed. "I really thought you were pregnant! I heard Adam's planning to propose to you. Wouldn't it be perfect if you got engaged and pregnant at the same time?"

I felt a bit weird about it. How had I never realized Sarah was so into babies before?

I gripped the pregnancy test, racking my brain and going over everything that happened since my last period.

Adam and I only went shopping together twice. We never even kissed, let alone anything else. So there was absolutely no way the baby could be his.

I never spent time alone with any other guys, and the only person I was really close to was Sarah.

But she was a girl, so that was just not possible.

I frowned, and then it hit me. About a month ago, Sarah and I went to the pool together.

While we were there, I got harassed by some guy.

He kept swimming way too close to me, even making some disgusting gestures.

I totally lost it, and Sarah tore into him on my behalf.

After that, I didn't bother with a shower. I just went to the changing room to wait for Sarah, and somehow ended up falling asleep.

When I woke up, I was sore all over. I thought it was from swimming too much.

But now, thinking back, could that have been when someone did something to me?

The thought sent chills down my spine. Without hesitating, I rushed straight to the hospital.

I needed to find out if I was really pregnant, but there was something even more important I had to check.

If someone really violated me, there'd be some traces left on my body.

I had to find out who did this.

When the ultrasound results came back, I lost all hope.

The scan showed the baby was already four weeks along, exactly a month.

The doctor asked if I wanted to keep the baby or terminate the pregnancy, and I didn't hesitate before scheduling the abortion.

No matter whose baby this was, there was no way I was keeping it.

The doctor, clearly used to this, booked the abortion for me and mumbled, "Girls these days really don't care about their bodies, getting pregnant at such a young age."

My cheeks flushed, but I couldn't think of a single thing to say in my defense.

Should I admit I had no idea how I ended up pregnant?

Right after that, I scheduled a gynecological exam and tests for infections. Who knew if the creep who violated me was carrying anything nasty?

The doctor slipped on her gloves and had me lie down on the exam table. After a moment, she frowned deeply.

"H-how is this possible?" she said, baffled. "Your hymen is still intact, so how could you be pregnant?"

I was shocked out of my mind. I was all set to take the evidence straight to the cops once the exam was done.

But this result completely blew my mind. How the hell did I end up pregnant if my hymen wasn't broken?

"Don't worry," the doctor reassured me. "Sometimes, if the male partner's anatomy is smaller than average, the hymen can remain intact.

"Your situation is unusual, but it's not unheard of."