Fiona woke to sunlight slicing through Lena's living-room blinds like it had no right to be cheerful. Her neck ached from the couch, her eyes felt swollen from last night's tears, and her body felt heavy with the kind of exhaustion that sleep couldn't touch. The baby shifted inside her slow, rolling pressure, like a small body stretching awake. She placed a hand on her stomach, feeling the warmth beneath her palm, and for a moment she just breathed. In. Out. In. Out.
No one knew.
Not Lena. Not Elara. Not Riley. Not Maya. And definitely not Martin.
The secret sat in her chest like a stone cold, heavy, growing heavier every day. She hadn't told a single soul about the pregnancy. Not yet. She wasn't ready for the questions, the concern, the pity, the judgment. She wasn't ready for the world to know she was carrying Martin Mole's child after one reckless night she couldn't even regret.
