Updated Mar 22, 2026 • ~4 min read
Chapter 2: Six Weeks Later
MAREN
I was late. Not just fashionably late. Two-weeks-late late.
I was never late. My cycle was clockwork. Had been since I was fifteen. But I was stressed. Big pitch coming up. Conrad breathing down my neck. Competition fiercer than ever. Stress can delay periods. Right?
That’s what I told myself. Until I threw up at work.
Sienna, my best friend and business partner, found me in the bathroom.
“You okay?”
“Fine. Just something I ate.”
“Maren.”
“What?”
“When was your last period?”
Fuck.
“I’m just stressed…”
“When. Was. Your. Last. Period.”
I did the math. Seven weeks ago.
“Oh my God.”
Sienna’s eyes widened. “Are you…?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Probably not.”
“Have you been with anyone recently?”
Miami. Blue-gray eyes. Anonymous stranger.
“Once. Six weeks ago. But we used protection.”
“Protection isn’t foolproof.”
“I know, but…”
“Maren. You need to take a test.”
She was right. Of course she was right. But I was terrified.
We went to a pharmacy three blocks away. Not the one near the office. Too many industry people. Sienna bought five different tests. “Just to be sure.”
We went back to my apartment. I peed on every stick. Then we waited. Three minutes. Longest three minutes of my life.
“What if I am?” I asked.
“Then we deal with it.”
“Uncle Conrad will kill me.”
“He’ll get over it.”
“The business…”
“Fuck the business. What do YOU want?”
Good question. What did I want?
The timer went off.
We looked at the tests. All five. Positive. Every single one.
I was pregnant.
Sienna hugged me. “It’s going to be okay.”
But I wasn’t crying. I was just numb.
Pregnant. From a one-night stand. With a man whose name I didn’t even know. This was a disaster.
I made a doctor’s appointment. Needed to confirm with bloodwork. But I already knew. The nausea. The exhaustion. The sore breasts. All textbook.
Dr. Elliot was kind. Non-judgmental.
“So, seven weeks based on your last period. That would put conception around… early May?”
“Yes.”
“And the father?”
I hesitated. “Not in the picture.”
“Does he know?”
“No. And he won’t.”
Dr. Elliot made a note. Didn’t push.
“Okay. Let’s do an ultrasound. Make sure everything looks good.”
She brought in the machine. Cold gel on my stomach. Wand moving slowly.
Then sound. Fast. Rhythmic.
“That’s the heartbeat.”
Oh God.
There was a baby. My baby. Real. Alive. Growing inside me.
“Measuring right on track. About seven weeks. Everything looks healthy.”
She printed out a photo. Tiny blob on black background. “Your baby.”
I stared at it. This changed everything. My whole life. My career. My family. Everything.
“I need time to think,” I told Sienna afterward.
“About what?”
“About… everything. Keeping it. Telling my family. Work.”
Sienna took my hand. “Do you want to keep it?”
I looked at the ultrasound photo. Tiny. Helpless. Mine.
“Yes.”
The answer surprised me. But it was true. I wanted this baby.
“Then keep it. The rest we’ll figure out.”
That night, I sat in my apartment, staring at the ultrasound.
I was going to be a mother. Single mother. With a high-pressure career and a family who would lose their minds.
Uncle Conrad would be furious. The Ross name was everything to him. And here I was, pregnant from a one-night stand. Scandal waiting to happen.
But I didn’t care.
I wanted this baby. More than I’d wanted anything in a long time.
I’d tell Conrad eventually. When I was ready. When I had a plan. For now, it was my secret. Mine and Sienna’s. And the stranger from Miami, who had no idea he was about to become a father, who I’d never see again.
Or so I thought. Until the pitch meeting.
END OF CHAPTER 2
Reader Reactions