Chapter 191

LILY POV

The days turned into weeks, and my belly was slowly growing, like a secret that no longer wanted to stay hidden.

At first, it was just a slight curve, something I could hide with loose shirts and jackets. Now, at almost twelve weeks, it was impossible to ignore. My breasts hurt, the skin on my belly was more sensitive, and I would catch myself unconsciously caressing the spot, as if trying to protect what was growing inside. I seemed calmer to everyone else. I smiled when my dad made bad jokes at dinner. I accepted the chamomile tea Samantha prepared every night. But inside, I was at war.

Three things constantly bothered me, like thorns stuck in my skin:

First, I still hadn’t told my father who the father of the baby was. He was supporting me, hugging me, saying he’d be by my side — but the lie hung between us like a shadow. I saw the curiosity in his eyes every time the subject came up. He deserved to know. But I was afraid. Afraid of his reaction. Afraid of losing the father he was trying to be again.

Second, Samuel didn’t know. He was in Paris, living his band dream, while I carried a part of him inside me. I wondered if he thought about me. If he dreamed about me the way I dreamed about him. If he would ever find out.

Third — and perhaps the most painful — Ashley was now coming to my house regularly. Her parents and Samantha had created some kind of “civilized alliance” to deal with the pregnancy. She came almost every week. And, of course, she had started to notice the changes in my body.

That day was the worst so far.

I was in the living room, pretending to read a book on the sofa, while Ashley and Samantha looked at baby clothes spread out on the coffee table. Ashley held up a tiny yellow onesie, smiling as if it were the most beautiful thing in the world.

“Look at this one, Samantha! Isn’t it perfect? Imagine little Samuel wearing it.”

I felt a sharp pang in my chest. Little Samuel. The name she had chosen for the baby. As if it were already certain it was a boy.

Samantha smiled, but I caught the quick glance she threw my way. A silent warning.

Ashley suddenly turned to me, tilting her head.

“Lily, you look… different. You’ve gained a little weight, haven’t you? Or is it just bloating?”

I closed the book with a snap. This time, I didn’t dodge. I didn’t look away. I didn’t pretend.

“I’m pregnant.”

The silence that fell over the room was deafening.

Ashley blinked, the yellow onesie still in her hand.

“What?”

Samantha froze, eyes wide.

“Lily…” she began, her voice low — a warning.

But I continued, looking straight at Ashley:

“I’m pregnant. Almost twelve weeks.”

Ashley opened and closed her mouth several times, like a fish out of water. Then a nervous laugh escaped her.

“You’re joking, right? Who’s the father?”

I smiled. A cold, provocative smile I didn’t even know I was capable of.

“Guess.”

Ashley frowned. Samantha took a step forward.

“Lily, please…”

“Why do you think only you get to act normal, Ashley?” I continued, my voice shaking with anger and pain. “Showing off baby shoes, choosing names, playing the happy future mom? I’m pregnant too. And the father is—”

“Lily!” Samantha interrupted, her voice louder now. “Enough.”

Ashley stared at me, eyes narrowed.

“Who’s the father, Lily?”

Samantha positioned herself between us, her hand on my arm.

“Let’s go upstairs, Lily. Now.”

I tried to resist, but Samantha pulled me firmly. We went up the stairs in silence. As soon as we entered my room, she closed the door.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, her voice low but intense.

“I’m tired of hiding, Samantha!” I exploded, tears rising. “Tired of pretending everything is fine. Tired of watching Ashley parade around my house like she’s the only one who deserves to be a mother! Tired of hiding that I’m also pregnant by the same man she is!”

Samantha ran her hands through her hair, visibly nervous.

“I understand. I swear I do. But this isn’t the right time, Lily. Your father is still recovering from the first bomb. If he finds out now that the baby is Samuel’s… it might be too much. He might freak out again. He might say things he can’t take back. He might even kick you out again.”

I sat on the bed, my hands shaking.

“And at school?” Samantha continued, more gently. “Do you think people will understand? They’ll humiliate you, Lily. They’ll say you got pregnant by your brother. They’ll destroy you. Do you want to go through that right now?”

I stayed silent, staring at the floor. Tears streamed down my face.

“I can’t stand hiding anymore…” I sobbed. “I feel dirty. I feel wrong.”

Samantha knelt in front of me, holding my hands.

“I know it’s hard. I know you’re carrying the whole world on your shoulders. But for now… please, keep it like this. Just a little longer. Until we can handle everything calmly.”

I cried harder. Samantha pulled me into a hug.

“I promise I’ll help you. We’ll figure this out. Together.”

I nodded against her shoulder, even though my heart ached.

“Okay…” I whispered. “I’ll keep it a secret. For now.”

But deep down, I knew the secret was getting too big to contain.

And that, sooner or later, it would explode.

The next day dawned like any other, but I already knew it wouldn’t be.

I woke up with a heavy heart, my hand instinctively resting on my belly, which was starting to show under loose shirts. I took a shower, got dressed slowly, and chose the baggiest clothes I had. At breakfast, Doug and Samantha tried to act normal, but I saw the worried glances they exchanged when they thought I wasn’t looking. I smiled. Said I was fine. It was a lie.

On the way to school, Samantha dropped me off at the gate as usual. Before I got out, she held my hand.

“Call me if you need anything. I’m just a phone call away.”

I nodded and got out of the car.

The moment I walked through the gate, I felt it. The air changed. The looks came first — quick, curious, malicious. Then the whispers. Then the muffled giggles.

I lowered my head and walked faster down the hallway. But it didn’t help.

“Hey, Lily!” shouted a boy from the football team. “Who’s the father? Aidan or the whole football team?”

Laughter exploded around me. My stomach twisted.

“They say she slept with half the school!” yelled a girl.

“Poor thing, right? At least Ashley knows who the father is!”

I felt tears burning in my eyes, but I forced myself to keep walking. The secret that was no longer a secret had exploded like a bomb. And unlike how they treated Ashley — with congratulations, pats on the back, and “how cute, she’s going to be a mom!” — with me it was only mockery. Pure cruelty.

I reached my locker and froze.

Someone had written in bold black marker on the metal door:

“Lily, the school slut. Who’s the father this time?”

Below it, a list of names: Aidan, Jason, John, Derick, Patrick… and several other students I barely knew. Someone had drawn a broken heart next to it.

I stood there, staring at it, feeling the world spin. People walked by, laughing, pointing, taking photos with their phones. Someone shouted:

“Congratulations on the pregnancy, Lily! Your baby will be the school mascot!”

I couldn’t hold it in. Tears ran down my face. I opened the locker with trembling hands, grabbed my books, and slammed the door shut, as if I could erase what was written there.

Emily came running down the hallway, her face red with anger and worry.

“Lily! Oh my God, I just saw…” She pulled me into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry. That bitch Ashley must have spread it to everyone.”

I cried on her shoulder, my body shaking.

“I made a terrible mistake, Emily… I shouldn’t have said anything to her. I thought… I don’t know what I thought.”

Emily hugged me tighter.

“It wasn’t your fault. She’s a snake. Always has been. Come on, let’s go to class. I’ll stay by your side all day.”

The rest of the day was hell.

In the hallways, people made crude jokes. In the bathroom, I heard girls saying I must have “given it to half the football team.” In literature class, someone passed a note: “Who’s the father? Place your bets lol.”

I shrank in my chair, wanting to disappear. Emily held my hand under the desk, but even she couldn’t protect me from everything.

During break, in the cafeteria, it was worse. Ashley was surrounded by her friends, proudly showing off her belly. When she saw me, she smiled — a venomous, satisfied smile.

“Look who’s here… the other school mom.”

Laughter exploded. I lowered my head and went to sit in the farthest corner with Emily. I couldn’t eat anything. I just sat there, feeling the stares, the whispers, the humiliation burning my skin.

“I can’t take it anymore,” I whispered to Emily at the end of the last class. “I want to leave. I want to disappear.”

Emily tried to comfort me, but I had already made up my mind.

When the final bell rang, I practically ran out of school. The walk home was filled with tears. I couldn’t stop thinking about how everything had collapsed so fast. How a secret I had guarded so carefully had been used against me like a weapon.

I arrived home with swollen eyes. Doug and Samantha were in the living room watching TV. As soon as I walked in, they turned around.

“You’re home early today,” Samantha said with a small smile.

I stopped in front of them, still wearing my backpack, my uniform wrinkled, my face wet with tears.

“I want to drop out of school,” I said. My voice came out firmer than I expected.

The silence that followed was immediate. Doug turned off the TV. Samantha looked at me with wide eyes.

“What?” my father asked, standing up slowly.

I walked over to the sofa and sat down, my hands trembling in my lap. I wouldn’t tell them the full truth. I wouldn’t tell them about the whispers, the names they called me in the hallways, the offensive notes, or the laughter when I walked by. I didn’t want them to know how humiliated I felt every day.

“I don’t want to go to school pregnant anymore,” I said, looking at the floor. “I’m tired. Really tired. And it’s only going to get worse with the baby. The nausea, the exhaustion, my belly growing… I can’t concentrate. My grades are dropping…”

Doug sat down beside me, his face serious but without the angry explosion I feared. He looked tired too, as if the past few weeks had taken a heavy toll on him.

“Sweetheart… are you sure?” he asked, his voice hoarse. “School is important. Your future…”

“My future is this now,” I replied, instinctively placing my hand on my belly. “I can’t do it anymore. I feel exposed all the time. I want to focus on myself. On the baby. On finishing the year some other way.”

Samantha came over and sat on my other side, holding my hand.

“We can figure something out,” she said softly. “Homeschooling, online school, private… whatever you need. We won’t force you to do anything you don’t want.”

I nodded, feeling the tears threatening to fall again. I wasn’t completely lying. I really was exhausted. I really couldn’t stand the stares anymore. But the full truth — the public humiliation, the whispered mockery in the hallways — I kept to myself. I didn’t want my father to freak out again. I didn’t want Samantha to have to deal with yet another crisis.

Doug stayed silent for a long time, looking at his own hands. I could see the conflict on his face — the protective father who wanted to shield me from everything, the practical man who knew school was important, and the human being who was still recovering from the shock of my pregnancy.

“I don’t want you to give up,” he said finally, his voice low. “But I also don’t want you to suffer. If being at school isn’t good for you… then we’ll find another way.”

I felt such great relief that the tears escaped. I leaned in and hugged my father, burying my face in his chest. He hugged me back, tightly, like he did when I was little and had nightmares.

“I’m so sorry for all of this, Dad,” I murmured against his shirt. “I never wanted to cause you so much trouble.”

Doug kissed the top of my head.

“You were never trouble, Lily. You were the best thing that ever happened in my life. And this baby… will be another blessing. We’ll figure it out. Together.”

Samantha joined the hug, wrapping her arms around us. For a moment, the three of us stayed there, united, breathing the same air heavy with fear, hope, and love.

But inside, I still carried the weight of everything I hadn’t told them.

Samuel’s name.

The humiliation at school.

The fear that, sooner or later, it would all come out and destroy the fragile balance we were trying to build.

I closed my eyes and allowed myself, just for that moment, to believe that everything would be okay.

That my father and Samantha would really be able to protect me.

That I would be able to protect my baby.

And that, somehow, there was still a possible future for us.