Chapter 12%
The car stopped in front of the orphanage, the place that once sheltered me, the only place I could think of when I had nowhere else. to go.
I took a deep breath, my hands gripping the fabric of my dress. It still smelled like my wedding day–a day that never happened. A day that had crumbled in front of me like a cruel joke.
A sister opened the gate, eyes widening in shock when she saw me. “Katherine?“}
Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced a smile. “Sister Beatrice… can I stay here for a while?“!
She didn’t ask questions, didn’t demand answers. She simply nodded and pulled me into an embrace.}
“Come in, my child.””
The room they prepared for me was the same one I had when I was a child. Small but warm. The walls still had faint traces of the drawings I had once scribbled, the little dreams of a girl who longed for a family.
I sat on the bed, my fingers clutching the fabric of my wedding dress.}
How did it come to this? How did I let myself believe that happiness was possible again?}
I should have known better. I did know better. But I let my guard down. I let him in. And now, I was left with nothing but a shattered heart and a wedding dress that would never be worn.
The weight of it all finally crashed down on me. I buried my face in my hands and sobbed.”
Sister Beatrice sat beside me, rubbing soothing circles on my back. “Tell me, child,” she whispered. “What happened?“}
And so, I told her everything. Keith. The lies. The betrayal. The accident. Jeron. The way he made me believe in something again. The way he ruined it all.
She listened patiently, never once interrupting, never once judging. When I finished, she simply said, “You have endured so much, my dear. But pain is not the end of your story.“}
I wished I could believe that.
The next morning, I woke up to the soft sound of children’s laughter outside my window.
I had barely slept, my mind replaying the past over and over again. But when I stepped outside, watching the little ones running around, something inside me eased.}
I spent the entire day with them, playing, reading stories, painting like I used to.”
For the first time in days, I felt… free.
Not Katherine Covey.
Not the fiancée of Jeron Kavinsky. Just Katherine, the girl who once lived here, who once dreamed of a simple life.”
I ignored my phone. I didn’t check the news. I didn’t care what was happening outside these walls.
I just wanted peace.}
It happened at dinner. I had just taken a bite of my food when the smell hit me–strong, overwhelming, suffocating. My stomach twisted violently.”
I barely made it to the bathroom before I started vomiting.”
Sister Beatrice rushed after me, concern etched on her face. “Katherine, are you alright?“}
I leaned against the sink, my breathing ragged. “I… I think it’s just stress.“}
She didn’t look convinced. “You’ve barely eaten. And this is the third time today.“}
I frowned, suddenly realizing something.}
The past few days… I had been feeling tired. Lightheaded. And now that I thought about it…
I was late.
My heart stopped.
No.
No, it couldn’t be.
I refused to let the thought take root, but doubt clawed its way into my mind.}
Sister Beatrice must have noticed my expression because she gently touched my shoulder. “Katherine, when was your last cycle?”
I swallowed hard. I didn’t know.
Panic set in as I counted the days in my head.
One month.”
No. Over a month.”
My hands trembled.
I stood up abruptly. “I need to go out.”
She didn’t stop me.”
I sat on the bathroom floor, staring at the pregnancy test in my shaking hands.
212
66.72
12:04 PM
1 sat
on the
bathroom floor, staring
at the
pregnancy
test in my
shaking hands.
Two
lines.
Positive.
I felt
like the air had been sucked out
of my
lungs.
I read it again. And again. But the result
A baby. Jeron’s baby.”
never changed. I I pressed a
hand
to my
stomach, my vision blurring.
My breath hitched.
What
was I supposed to do?”
This wasn’t part of the plan. This wasn’t
supposed to happen.
Tears
spilled down my cheeks. For the second time in my
life, I
was faced
with
a
choice.
The
first time, 1 had chosen wrong.
This time… I didn’t know what to choose at all.
а
I didn’t know what to do.&
