Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
I should call him. He should know.
Oh, God. How did I get myself into this mess?
I mean I know how, of course. I was right there when it happened. And I know how human reproduction works.
But how could I have been this stupid?
The door creaks open. As my mom steps into my room, I drop my phone onto the bed. “Mom, how many times do I have to tell you to knock before—”
“What have you done?” she cuts me off, moving so swiftly her knee-length, floral dress billows as she moves. My mom always dresses like she’s about to go out, even if she spends most of her day on the couch in front of the TV—her spine zipped up straight, of course.
Her back pushes the door shut.
I frown. Does she know what I was about to do, who I was about to call?
I feign ignorance, staying still on my perch on the edge of the bed. “What are you talking about?”
It’s the best course of action when I have no idea what I’ve done wrong in the eyes of my family.
When I was eight, my mom asked me a similar question, and I started apologizing about a bowl I had broken, the sharp, jagged pieces shoved inside a random kitchen cabinet.
As it turned out, she hadn’t found out about that. She had just seen the bag of dog food I had left on the floor, which Sparky had of course gotten into.
“Did you think you could really hide something like this?” she holds up a white piece of plastic about the size of a pen.
My blood curdles. “How did you—”
“The maids were emptying the trash cans, and they found it inside the one in your bathroom.”
Damn it. I can get no privacy in this house.
“Tell me it wasn’t positive,” she demands. The mattress dips as she sits beside me, her hand gripping my arm.
My eyes mist. Oh, no. I can’t hold it in.
“Oh, Grace.” Mom pulls me into a maternal embrace, her soft body giving me a cushion on which to fall. “What have you done, honey? What have you done?”
“I was dumb. I’m so sorry.” My voice is shaky. Tears roll down my cheeks. I’ve been holding it in, keeping this secret to myself. Restless days. Sleepless nights.
I didn’t think I could tell anyone. But now that my mom’s here, and she seems to understand, maybe everything will be fine.
“You know you have to get rid of it, right?” she asks, her voice piercing through the bubble of my impossible daydream.
I pull away and stare at her. “Mom. How could you even suggest that?”
“Grace, you’ve done something stupid. Don’t double down on your stupidity,” she says. Obviously, she has thought about this course of action before confronting me. “You know honor is everything, and you have dishonored important people by doing what you did.”
“Mom.” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “I can’t do what you’re suggesting. I’m not going to do that just because of some feeble idea of honor held by men with oversized egos.”
Her lips flatten into a displeased line. “You know you’ve done wrong, Grace. Don’t defend what’s indefensible.”
“You know, I’ve only done what millions of other women are doing out there. Look outside for once, Mom. Outside those tall fences. It’s not the fifties anymore.”
“You are not other women. You know that.” An undercurrent of rage rushes under the placid surface of her calm.
I glare at her.
“It’s not fair. But then again, life’s not fair,” Mom says. “Everybody has their own share of difficulties in life. Accept your lot, and you’ll be happier for it.”
Anger burns hot in my stomach, but I bite back my acidic words.
“We live in a world where right and wrong doesn’t matter. There are only consequences.” She enunciates every word. “The consequences of an illegitimate pregnancy when you’re already engaged to be married to another man—a powerful man—are serious.”
Terror chills my bone, spreading its chill through my bloodstream, cooling my rage.
“Your dad will disown you, and your future husband’s family . . . Well, they’ll be so offended there’s no telling what they’ll do.” Mom stares into my eyes, fear reflected in her dark eyes. “You could start a war, Grace.”
My body freezes.
I knew that. Of course I did. But I was hoping I could will it away, forget this problem ever existed and let it disappear on its own.
“I can’t do it, Mom.” I grasp her hand. My chest squeezes. “I could give the baby up for adoption instead. We could do that, right? Delay the wedding. Hide until the baby’s born and I stop looking pregnant.”
The grim shake of her head crushes my hope. “We can’t push the wedding back. You can’t hide from your fiancé for nine whole months.”
“But Mom,” I cry out, my world spinning violently. “I don’t know him. I’ve never even met him. How could I have cheated on a stranger? It doesn’t make any sense.”