Chapter 4: Hospital Visit.

SHARON'S POV.

"You're pregnant."

"I'm sorry?" I stared at the doctor because for a moment, I wasn't sure I'd heard him correctly.

"He turned the test results toward himself again, as though checking that he'd read them correctly.

"You heard me. Congratulations, you're pregnant."

My mind went completely blank.

Congratulations.

Pregnant.

This can't be happening.

Not now.

Not after everything that had happened.

I'd only been in Los Angeles for two weeks. Two weeks since I had walked away from Christian, signed the divorce papers, and promised myself that I was going to start over.

Instead, I'd spent most of those days feeling sick.

At first, I'd blamed the stress but then the headaches started. The exhaustion, and eventually, the nausea and the vomiting.

When I nearly collapsed in my apartment, Agnes was the first person I called and she was the one who insisted that I see a doctor.

I'd come here expecting to be told I had the flu.

I didn't prepare myself for this.

"Pregnant," I repeated quietly as I lowered my gaze to my stomach. That night came back to me in halting flashbacks.

My heart began beating faster.

I could still remember Christian's hands, the warmth of his body. The way he looked at me. For three years, we'd shared a home without ever truly sharing a marriage.

Then, for one night, everything had changed.

I'd allowed myself to believe that maybe he finally wanted me.

Maybe he'd finally looked at his wife and seen the woman who had loved him for years.

I had been wrong.

The following morning, he disappeared.

And the next time I saw him, he was handing me divorce papers.

My fingers curled against my dress, the feeling of regret creeping into my mind. That one night had given me something I could never have imagined.

A baby.

His baby.

"How far along am I?" I asked and the doctor looked back down at the papers. "Very early," He explained.

"Based on the results, probably around two weeks."

Two weeks.

The timing was undeniable.

"There's no mistake?" The question slipped out of my lips before I could stop it. "No." He replied and my eyes stung.

"Is there someone you need to contact?" The doctor asked, taking some time to study my face and I pushed a hard lump down my throat. My thoughts immediately went to Christian.

His name appeared in my mind before I could stop it.

I imagined telling him but then his words from that night rang in my ears. "I don't love you. I never did."

My stomach twisted.

"No." My response came quickly.

The doctor gave me a concerned look, but I didn't explain. I only thanked him, took the paperwork, and walked out.

The moment I stepped outside, the California sun hit my face.

Everything around me felt either too bright or too loud. People walked past me laughing, cars moved along the street.

Somewhere nearby, music was playing.

And I stood there feeling like the entire world had stopped.

I pulled out my phone and stared at Christian's number. My thumb hovered over it and for one second, I wanted to tell him.

He had a right to know.

But then what would happen afterward?

Would he believe me?

Would he think I was trying to manipulate him into staying married to me? Would Cassandra accuse me of getting pregnant deliberately?

Or worse, would Christian take my baby?

My hand began shaking and I remembered the way he'd told me to leave. The way he'd looked at me like our marriage was an inconvenience.

I couldn't do it.

Not yet.

So I put the phone away and started walking.

I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and my thoughts were too loud. I stepped off the curb and a horn blasted.

I froze.

A car swerved to a stop inches away from me and the screech of the tires snapped me back to reality.

"Oh my God." My heart slammed against my ribs.

The driver's door flew open and a man stepped out.

He was dressed in a charcoal-gray suit, his expression a mixture of irritation and concern.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" He yelled and I stared at him.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"You almost walked directly into my car."

"I said I'm fine!" I exclaimed. My voice came out sharper than I intended. He paused and then his expression softened when he noticed the tears on my cheek.

"I can take you somewhere. A hospital, maybe."

"I don't need help." I quickly wiped my face. The thought of another hospital made my stomach turn.

"Damn, okay." He lifted both his hands and for some reason, he smiled.

"I'm Simon." He stretched out his hand and I looked at it.

I looked at his outstretched hand but I didn't take it. Maybe because my life was already falling apart and I didn't have the energy to explain myself to a stranger.

"Nice to meet you."

It was a lie.

I turned and walked away.

I could feel his eyes following me but he didn't come after me. I was much more careful crossing the road and I didn't stop until I reached my apartment.

The moment I closed the door, I leaned against it and exhaled.

Then I called Agnes.

"Sharon?" She answered almost immediately. I didn't hold back as I sobbed. "I'm pregnant." I said.

For a moment, there was complete silence on the other end.

Before she said.

"Oh, sweetheart." Those two words were enough to make me burst into tears. "It's Christian's. It's his baby." But she already knew.

Margaret didn't say anything for a moment and I could hear her breathing through the phone.

I slid down against the door until I was sitting on the floor.

"I don't know what to do." I said.

"You don't have to figure everything out tonight." Agnes said. I tightened my fingers around my phone.

"But I'm scared." I whispered.

"I came here to start over. How am I supposed to do that with his child?" Agnes heaved a deep breath.

"You'll find a way, Sharon. Just like you always have."

"What if I can't?"

"You can and you will." Her certainty only made me cry harder and I lowered my eyes.

"This isn't like everything else, Agnes." I said.

"This is a baby."

"And it's your baby." She replied softly. "I don't even know if I'll be a good mother." I covered my face.

"Oh my God. What if I'm terrible at raising kids?"

"You're already worrying about whether you'll be good enough. That tells me everything I need to know." Agnes's voice softened.

I pulled up my head and wiped my cheeks.

"You've spent your whole life loving people with everything you have. Sometimes that's been your biggest weakness." Agnes said.

"But this time, Sharon, that love doesn't have to be wasted on someone who doesn't want it. You'll hold that baby one day and you'll understand." She continued.

Her words settled deep inside me.

"Everything is going to be okay, sweetheart." I closed my eyes.

There it was.

The sentence I'd been desperate to hear.

"Thank you." I breathed in slowly.

She paused for a few seconds again and I knew immediately what she was about to ask before she did.

"Are you going to tell Christian?"

"I don't know." I replied, opening my eyes.

That was the truth, I didn't know.

That night, I barely slept.

I lay beneath the covers, one hand resting over my stomach even though there was nothing to feel yet.

But somehow, I already felt protective.

By morning, I'd made my decision—I wasn't telling Christian.

At least not. Maybe that made me selfish but I couldn't risk Christian finding out and deciding that my baby belonged in his world when I had just escaped it.

I wasn't going to let him pull me back.

If I had to raise this child alone, then I would.

I would work.

I would struggle.

I would do whatever it takes and I would give my baby the kind of love I'd spent years begging Christian for.

I got dressed and stepped outside.

Los Angeles was already alive early that morning and the streets were alive. People hurried past me, chasing their own dreams and for the first time since arriving, I didn't feel like an outsider.

Maybe this city was exactly where I was supposed to be.

I didn't know what my future looked like anymore but I knew one thing—I wanted to act.

I had abandoned that dream once and I wasn't going to do it again.

I wanted a career.

A home.

A life that belonged to me and my baby.

Those were the things I was going to fight for.

I walked several blocks, lost in thought, until someone bumped into me. "Sorry." I stepped back but when I looked up, my breath caught.

"Simon, right?" It was him.

The man from the car who had nearly run me over and he stared at me with a smirk creeping to his lips.

"You." He said, taking out his hand from his pocket and I couldn't help smiling too. This time, I looked down at his hands and took them.

"I'm Sharon."