Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 61160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61160 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
What the… I pretended like I didn’t hear her say that.
“When was your last menstrual cycle?” she asked.
“Two weeks ago.”
“I doubt that, Miss March. Are you sure?”
“Oh, wait.” I shrugged. “Maybe a month or so ago?”
“Well, that makes a lot more sense.” She smiled. “You’re pregnant.”
What? My stomach hurt too much to laugh. “Funny. What’s really wrong with me?”
“Blood and urine tests don’t lie, Miss March.” She handed me a sheet of paper. “You’re definitely pregnant.”
“No.” I shook my head. “No. It’s logistically impossible for me to be knocked up. I remember having a period, and I haven’t had sex in while.”
“So, you think this was an immaculate conception?”
“No, I think your tests are off because there’s no way I—” The realization dawned on me in slow motion.
This month’s period never came. The last one I remembered was the week before I slept with William.
Oh my god…
“What’s that you were saying, Miss March?”
“Nothing.” I refused to accept this diagnosis. “It has to be something else. Can you check me for STDs?”
“We already did that,” she said. “Would you like to take another pregnancy test to confirm?”
“Yes, please.”
“Fair enough.” She set a plastic cup on the counter and pulled out a brown box. “You can take one more before you leave here. As a parting gift, you can have an entire pack of these at-home tests, since we have a ton of overstock.”
“Can I retake it now?”
“It’ll have to wait.” She scribbled something on her clipboard. “I need to check a few other things. Lay back and place your feet in the stirrups.”
I obliged, and she snapped on a pair of gloves.
“Can you spread your legs really wide for me, please?”
“This is as far as they go.”
“You wouldn’t be pregnant if that were the case.”
“Seriously?” I sat up. “Can I see one of the other doctors?”
She pushed me down and moved my legs for me. “Relax, Miss March. I imagine that this is tremendous news for you and the baby’s father.”
“I don’t know who the baby’s father is.”
“Welp…” She slid a finger inside me. “Thanks for reminding me why I stopped making small talk.”
She took her time poking and prodding me, and I looked up at the harsh bright lights. Tears pricked my eyes with every incoherent thought that raced through my mind.
Pregnant means a baby will be here within months. Me as a mom… a hot ass mess with a baby.
Baby’s father is unreachable and may not even help when he finds out about it.
Job that pays me next to nothing. No time to get another one.
“Miss March?” The doctor stepped beside me, placing her hands on my chest. “Deep breaths, deep breaths. It’s okay. I’m going to give you plenty of prenatal pills and brochures to take with you. Do you have any questions for me?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Can you make sure it’s not just a case of herpes?”
Needle In a Haystack
Chloe
Seattle, Washington
5 weeks, 6 days pregnant
According to property records, two thousand men named William lived in Seattle.
Facebook claimed the number was closer to three thousand, and all twenty of my pregnancy tests confirmed that one of these Williams was about to receive the shock of his life.
“Chloe, you forgot to write down the number of Williams that live in the U.K.” Kristin set a cup of hot cocoa in front of me.
“I left it off because I don’t want this to seem any more daunting than it already is.”
“Are you sure he told you he’d be living in Seattle by this point?”
“One-hundred percent sure.”
“Okay, well…” She placed a check mark next to ‘Sketch Artist Appointment’ on her giant whiteboard. “Since we won’t have his official drawing done for another two weeks, we’ll split up the search three ways, and we’ll give Madison her list tomorrow. Is there anything else specific you can remember about him?”
“He has a beautiful handwriting,” I said. “It’s like calligraphy.”
“Anything that might actually be helpful in finding him?”
“Maybe if I walk you through our night and our sex again, I can—”
“Hell no.” She tossed a gummy bear at my face. “Start your part of the list. Now.”
Final Departure
Tyler
London, England
From the Desk of Tyler Carrington II
As of this writing, I officially relinquish my title, Prince of London, and I am no longer a member of the royal family. I will also return any earnings I’ve made under this name and likeness.
I will now embark on a new chapter of my life alone in the United States.
Thank you to those who were kind and supportive of my life and my family throughout the years.
As for everyone else ….
Especially the intrusive and rude media gossipers who will question my decision and wonder if I have what it takes to live something other than this “privileged life” …
Last Friday was my final day as the notoriously private & faceless CEO of Fog Publishing, the number one digital book publisher here in the U.K. under the pseudonym V.C. Schwab.