Page 14 of Fateful Exposure

"Of course. Selma, your test results say that you're pregnant."

There was a loud ringing in my ears. Time seemed to stop, and everything else save for the woman sitting in front of me disappeared into the background. My heart sank into my stomach, and I had to hold my breath because the cheeseburger I had for breakfast decided it was time to make its momentous appearance. It took all my strength to keep it down.

I almost laughed, maybe in shock or sheer amusement, I couldn't be sure. But Dr. Spear wasn't smiling anymore. There were no laugh lines on her face, only a passive expression that told me she'd done this so many times that one more made no difference.

"You're wrong," I whispered, my eyes as wide as saucers. It couldn't be. There was no way I was pregnant.

"I understand your shock, Selma, but lab results rarely lie,” she reminded me. “And it would explain the dizzy spells and nausea."

"Jesus."

"Have you had unprotected sex in the past month?"

My fingers trembled, and I gripped the edge of the chair until my knuckles turned white.

Ashton.

"Oh, my God." I let out a choked sob, my skin prickling until goosebumps spread. "Oh, God."

Pregnant?My mind was clouded with so many questions.

"Do you need a minute?" Dr. Spear asked sympathetically, causing the tears to fall with the speed of a loose tap.

I nodded, my chest heaving. "Yes, please."

I thought back to that night. That night had been the beginning of ruining everything in my life. I should have never gone there. It was a mistake that was now fucking up my life in brand new ways.

I hadn't been on the pill. My relationship with Alex had ended three years ago. During that time, I'd completely sworn off men and resolved to spend the rest of my life without them. So, a few months after the breakup, I'd stopped taking it.

Shit.At the time, it had seemed insignificant, Ashton spilling his cum inside me, but it was beginning to hit me now how stupid and reckless we'd been.

I wanted to scream. To tear out my hair from its roots. What would I do with a child? I was twenty-seven, and certainly not ready for that kind of responsibility. Especially not now that I was working on my new line.

"How long?" I asked in a low, shaky breath, though I knew the answer.

"About four weeks, according to your hormone levels,” Dr. Spear said.

I pressed my eyes shut.Fuck.

This changed everything. Getting rid of the baby was not an option. That was if I lived long enough to actually go through with it. My mother would kill me if I got an abortion. That was, if she didn't kill me for having unprotected sex.

Jesus. What the fuck was I thinking being so reckless?

My horror deepened when the image of Ashton filled my mind. There was no avoiding him now. I hated to admit it, but there was a part of him that would always be in my life.

The next few minutes were spent with me in a haze as Dr. Spear gave me information about my pregnancy. At least, that was what I thought she was doing—I wasn't listening. I was too busy debating if I should tell him or not.

He deserved to know, didn't he? It was his child, after all. And I was keeping it. But that would only keep him in my life forever. Did I want that? Absolutely not. Ashton was annoying as fuck, and the thought of tolerating his excesses till the day I died was scary.

Which left me…where, exactly?

Alone with a baby?

What would I do with it? All my life, all I'd ever wanted to do was design and have people wear my pieces. Fashion and color gave me purpose. There had been no space for anything else.Kids certainly were never in the picture. If I hadn't fallen in love with that piece of shit, Alex, then I probably would've continued my long streak of solitude. Thankfully, now that it was over and I'd learned my lesson, there would be no more stupidity from my end.

But this threatened to put all that to shame. What if I told Ashton, and he wanted to take the baby from me? A plethora of what-ifs went through my mind. With my reputation of toxicity, his chances of winning a case were higher than mine.

He can’t be that cruel, can he?I wondered.

---