I can’t bear to watch time tick by, knowing that tiny piece of plastic holds answers that could change everything. “What if it’s negative?” I finally ask. “I don’t know if I can handle thatdisappointment again.”
“I know,” she murmurs. “I know you’re scared.”
The timer on my phone buzzes, making us jump. My heart hammers against my ribs, but I can’t bring myself to move.
“Do you want me to look?” Juliette asks softly.
I nod, unable to form words. She stands, walking the few steps to the counter that might as well be miles. I watch her face, searching for any hint, any clue. She picks up the test, and for one agonizing moment, her expression gives nothing away.
Then her eyes widen. Her hand flies to her mouth.
“Lucy,” she whispers, turning to me with tears already forming. “It’s positive.”
I push away from the wall, trying to stand, but my knees buckle and I end up right back down on the floor. “What?”
She kneels in front of me, holding the test where I can see it. Two pink lines. Clear as day.
“You’re pregnant,” she says, her voice breaking with emotion.
I take the test from her. Two simple lines, and yet, they feel impossibly monumental.
I’d made my peace with a life without the potential of little hands tugging at mine, without the chaos and wonder I’ve watched Juliette and Knox move through so naturally.
Now it’s here. Somehow, impossibly, miraculously, it’sreal.
Tears prickle at the corners of my eyes. I want to scream, to laugh, to curl into a ball and cry all at once. The world feels impossibly vast, yet incredibly intimate in the same breath. I place my hand over my stomach, though there’s nothing yet to touch but the promise of it. In that moment, Ifinallylet myself feel hope. Pure, reckless, unbounded hope.
I stare down at the test again, like if I look long enough, the lines might disappear, leaving me empty handed. But they don’t. They’re stubbornly, defiantly there. My chest tightens with disbelief, relief,and…joy.
“I…I thought I’d never…” My words trail off, but Juliette doesn’t let me finish. She doesn’t need me to.
“I know,” she whispers. “But look at you—you’re going to have this.” She swallows, voice breaking just slightly, and it’s contagious. I can’t help the hot, happy tears spilling freely down my cheeks.
This is terrifying. Exhilarating. This is every emotion I didn’t even know I could carry at once.
Juliette pulls me into a hug, and I cling to her like a lifeline. “You’re going to be so incredible, Lou,” she murmurs. “No matter what, you’ve got this. You’re never alone. Not for a second.”
I pull back from her embrace, wiping my tears with the heel of my hand. My face feels hot, my mind still struggling to process what’s happening.
“Oh my god,” I whisper, staring at the test again. “I’m really pregnant.”
Juliette’s eyes crinkle with delight as a mischievous smile crosses her face.
“You know who’s going to absolutely lose her entire mind when she finds out?” She raises a brow. “Bree. She’s going tofreak.”
A laugh bubbles up through my tears. “You’re right. I remember how she was with you and the twins.”
I can already picture Bree shrieking and demanding every single detail, then immediately planning something elaborate and over the top. The thought makes me smile despite everything swirling in my head.
Then reality crashes back in, and my stomach drops. “Juliette, what am I going to tell Aidan?”
She tilts her head, studying my face. “You’re going to tell him the truth. He loves you, Lucy. This is going to be?—”
“Emily just came back,” I interrupt, my voice rising. “She’strying to worm her way back into their lives, and now I’m pregnant?”
The fear tastes bitter on my tongue. I’ve seen how torn up he is about the whole Emily situation, how protective he is of Isla. What if adding a baby to the mix just complicates everything beyond repair?
“Lucy.” Juliette’s voice is firm, cutting through my spiral before I can work myself into a full panic. “Stop. Look at me.”
