Chapter 2

As I stepped out of the examination room, I was utterly at a loss.

It had been a month since I went to the swimming pool, and now all the evidence was gone. Was I really going to have to terminate this pregnancy without any answers, just suffer for nothing?

Adam's call came out of nowhere. As soon as I picked up, I could hear the worry in his voice.

"Ariel, where are you? Sarah can't find you and keeps calling me. Did something happen?" he asked.

That was when I realized Sarah had tried to reach me several times, but I'd put my phone on silent in the exam room and missed all her calls.

Adam's gentle words made my eyes sting, but right away, memories of him suffocating me to death in my previous life flashed through my mind.

He hated me so much, yet he still waited for me to give birth before killing me.

Was this child somehow connected to him?

Before I could make sense of it all, Sarah called me up and went off on me right away. "Why aren't you picking up your phone? Do you know how worried I've been?"

I couldn't hold it together anymore, tears streaming down my face.

In my previous life, after I got pregnant unexpectedly, Sarah tried to talk me into getting an abortion. But I was stubborn and insisted on listening to Adam instead.

The doctor told me my uterine lining was too thin, and if I ended this pregnancy, I might never be able to have kids again. Adam promised he'd marry me, so I naively kept the baby.

Thinking about it now, what guy would ever want to raise someone else's kid?

Right now, the only person I could trust was Sarah. I told her I was pregnant and that I was at the hospital right now.

She showed up in less than five minutes.

As soon as she saw me, she pulled me into a hug. "Getting pregnant should be something to celebrate! Stop crying. I'll get Adam here right away."

I shook my head and grabbed her wrist. "It might not be his baby."

Sarah stared at me in shock. "Are you serious? Then whose is it?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Right now, I want to end this pregnancy," I said.

Sarah stood by my side and promised, "Whatever you choose, I'll support you."

The next day, Sarah was right there with me for the abortion procedure.

But before I could walk into the operating room, Adam rushed in.

"Wait, Ariel, don't go through with the procedure yet. I'm willing to take care of you and the baby," he said.

My grip tightened on the test results in my hand.

How did he know I was here? I only told Sarah about this.

I turned to look at her, and Sarah looked just as confused. "Why is he here?"

Adam sat down next to me, out of breath, grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers.

"Did you forget we set up location sharing? I noticed you were at the hospital yesterday and got worried, so I rushed over," he said.

He lowered his head, a bitter look on his face. "I never thought you'd be pregnant.

"I know the baby isn't mine. We've never even slept together.

"But Ariel, your health isn't great. I'm worried that if you go through with this, you might never be able to have kids again."

I was actually a pretty traditional girl. I never planned on being childfree.

But there was no way I could have a baby when I didn't even know who the dad was. I'd rather stay single for the rest of my life.

I slowly pulled my hand away and said, "No, I'm still going to get rid of it."

Adam paused, his brows furrowing. "Why? I'm telling you it doesn't matter to me. What are you still worried about?"

Sarah leaned in and whispered, "Yeah, Ariel, an abortion is really tough on your body. Maybe we should talk it through one more time? Especially since you're not in the best shape right now."

Adam grabbed the test results from my hand and, not giving me any chance to argue, hauled me up to my feet.

"I won't let you hurt yourself. If that's what it takes, we'll get married next month. Don't worry, I'll never judge you. Even if the baby isn't mine, I don't care," he said.

His words made everyone nearby glance over. One nurse said with envy, "What a guy. He's totally fine being the sucker raising the kid, even if the kid's not his."

"If it were me, I'd go ahead and have the baby. Someone's already willing to raise it anyway," another nurse added.

Adam was acting all righteous, but the moment he heard someone call him "the sucker" his face soured for a second.

He was just pretending. None of his words was sincere. He only wanted me to have this baby so he could keep tormenting me.

I let out a mocking laugh. "You think you're even qualified to judge me? We're done. Stay out of my life."

With those words, I stood up and walked away without a second glance, leaving Adam frozen in shock.

I needed to get to the bottom of what connection Adam had to the baby growing inside me.

Adam had suggested we go to a hotel before, but after I shut him down flat, he never brought it up again.

My hand instinctively rested on my belly.