“You’re somewhere else,” she notes, lowering the cup slowly.
“I’m just tired,” I respond automatically, lifting my own drink to my lips even though I no longer want it.
She tilts her head, studying me in the way she does when she senses I’m filtering myself. “No. This is different,” she insists gently.
I hold her eyes for a moment and then glance down at my hands wrapped around the paper cup. The cardboard has softened slightly from the heat, bending inward where my fingers press. I smooth it absentmindedly.
The news feels heavier than I expected. Not in a bad way. Just… real. Personal. Saying it out loud will change it. It won’t just live inside me anymore. It won’t be a private truth I can examine from every angle before anyone else sees it.
“You can tell me,” Lila urges, leaning forward slightly. There’s no impatience in her tone, only warmth.
I inhale slowly and lift my eyes back to hers.
“I’m pregnant.”
The words come out stronger than I feel. The space between us changes immediately. The café keeps moving around us, cups clinking, someone laughing too loudly near the counter, but it all fades to the background.
Lila just looks at me. Completely still. Her expression empties for a heartbeat while she catches up to what I’ve said, and then the disbelief hits her all at once.
“What?” she breathes, her voice nearly lost beneath the murmur of nearby conversations.
“I confirmed it twice,” I clarify, keeping my tone calm. “Bloodwork included.”
“That’s not possible,” she blurts, then stops herself, eyes widening. “You told me?—”
“I know,” I answer softly.
Her mouth closes. Whatever she was about to say just… stops.
I watch her face change. It takes a second. Maybe two. Like her brain is still trying to catch up. And then her eyes go wide.
“Rowan,” she whispers, and that’s when it hits her.
Her eyes fill before she can blink it back, and she reaches across the table for my hands, gripping them tight. Her fingers are cool, and she’s smiling in that stunned, almost shaky way that makes my chest feel too small.
“I thought that was never going to happen for you,” she continues, her voice thick with emotion.
“So did I,” I admit.
She stands abruptly, nearly knocking her chair backward, and pulls me into a hug. Her arms wrap around my shoulders with surprising strength, her cheek pressing against mine. I feel her breath hitch as she exhales, overwhelmed.
“This is incredible,” she murmurs into my hair.
I let out a soft laugh against her shoulder, and the sound surprises me. It’s lighter than it has been in weeks. I hadn’t realized how tightly I’d been holding myself together until this moment.
“It’s unexpected,” I confess, returning the embrace carefully.
She pulls back just enough to look at me, her hands still gripping my upper arms as if confirming I’m real.
“Have you told Kiren?” she asks, searching my face.
“No.”
“You’re waiting?”
“I want to see his face when I tell him,” I explain. “I don’t want to do it over the phone.”
She nods immediately, understanding. “Good. He deserves that.”
