LIVELY POV

The ride from Gigi's house to the Wallace Lake estate was eight miles. By car, it would have been a breeze, but pedaling a bike at the snail's pace of a six-month-pregnant girl under the sweltering summer sun turned the journey into a test of my endurance. Minutes dragged into an hour as the blazing heat gave way to looming storm clouds and, eventually, heavy rainfall. Now that I think of it, the makeup I had considered applying for a good impression, only to ditch because of these days' pregnancy fatigue, would have been wrecked by the downpour.

There had been whispers days ago about the Wallaces being back in town, whispers that my dad said he heard from his colleagues at work, but it was confirmed this morning on the local news. The local news showed Cynthia Wallace, ever the society queen, hosted a community event, funding scholarships for community students heading to college. Behind her stood the four Wallace boys in the picture, Aaron among them, before he and his cousins went on to kick off the summer golf tournament at their country club. That was my go-ahead to rush getting ready and sneak out to meet him.

After months of lying low and never setting a foot near the front door, all so to dodge the inevitable public judgment, I was on my way today, risking everything, including the possibility of my parents' dignity if I were to come across someone who knew us. My goal was simple when I found Aaron: I was only going to let him know about the baby, he has the right to know, mainly so I won't be accused of anything crazy in the future. I was aware he was not the ideal candidate to co-parent with, after his behavior that showed me an insight influence of good and bad boys, but my child deserves me to do this for them before they're here. I chose their father; they didn't. It is my duty to make sure I work things out and know that he's in for it or not.

My hope wasn't high, I was not looking for too much, maybe just acknowledgment, and the child would grow to know they were loved by their father too, even if they were raised in two households. All that would matter is they could proudly have a last name, where no one would call their mother a whore. That would be more than enough for me, even though I wished I could have given them more than this.

At first, my parents had been set on the idea of ending the pregnancy. Even after my mom's heartbreak over losing her babies earlier this year, they couldn't bear the thought of watching their fifteen-year-old daughter's future fall apart, and I agreed with everything they felt. Not a day goes by that I didn't regret the day I met Aaron. But the fear of the procedure of terminating it terrified me. I was fifteen; so, of course, fear was normal. I stalled with different excuses every day, unable to go through with it. That same reluctance applied to the looming prospect of childbirth, but for the moment, I cowered in the temporary peace and swayed my parents with the idea that this new baby might mend my mom's sorrow. That's how it all started, a half-truth I told to spare myself from the pain of abortion.

As the months passed, the bump began to grow, and the baby started kicking. Something weird happened. I can't tell you how it felt, but it was a connection, an instinct to protect whatever was inside of me, a love greater than anything I've ever known. Suddenly, I was transformed from that terrified girl to a mother. I couldn't wait to meet my little one. I talk to it every day, felt it more than I felt my heartbeat. With that new sense of purpose, the fear of childbirth faded like water washing over paint, and that earlier reluctance was replaced by a growing excitement of seeing my child. That gave me a reason to keep going every single day to this moment.

As I paddled my bicycle in the rain, I was a desperate Rapunzel, leaving my safety to find Aaron. If he accepted this, I could finally face my parents with the truth about the baby's father. Maybe it would ease their fears about what lay ahead for us.

The Wallace Lake House was a landmark in Lake Oswego. You didn't need directions. It was well known, a sprawling estate often mistaken by tourists for a high-end resort or some historic shit. I'd passed by it countless times, but this was the first time I was heading inside.

After a quick review, I was allowed entry by the guards, holding umbrellas against the downpour. All they had to say when I mentioned I was here for Aaron was, "Please, don't sneak in drugs."

The odd comment made sense later as I walked my bike up to the grand fountain and left it by the portico, far from the lineup of flashy cars painted in bright colors out front.

The man at the door offered a warm smile and held it open for me, but the scenery inside stopped me cold, my mind flashing back to how things had gone south the last time I saw Aaron. I swallowed my nerves, smiled politely, and asked the man to fetch Aaron instead. "I won't be long," I assured him.

He nodded compliantly and disappeared inside. Through the half-open door, there was a muffled thump of music, and just before it clicked shut, two pretty girls in bikinis, tipsy but not wasted, drifted past, giggling and clutching champagne flutes. Then the door closed, leaving me standing in the shade against the quiet rain, heart pounding in my ears.

Seconds pulled into a couple of minutes as I counted, mentally rehearsing how to relay the information to Aaron.

How will he react? I don't know. But he's about to turn eighteen; it shouldn't be too heavy of a burden for him if I can manage it. I mean, he has the right to how he takes the news, but he should be able to consider the child's future too.

The door swung open, and the man returned, reassuring me that Aaron would be out at any moment. I nodded with a faint smile that did little to hide my nerves.

More minutes trickled by until the door was flung open again. I stiffen when I face the direction.

Aaron stood there in shorts and a shirt, looking a bit more mature than the last time I saw him. His cousin, Kyle, leaped onto his back, laughing, while Aaron peeked out, urgency etched on his face as if he was eager to return to whatever he'd been doing. Maybe the girls. That didn't even bother me as it would before.

But his smile, derived from their playful banter, transformed into a warm grin when our eyes met.

"You..." He nudged his cousin off, straightening fully, and standing confidently by the door. "Lively Kelby," He said at the same time I introduced myself to jog his memory, but recognition was already brightening his features.

"I know," he replied with a reassuring smile that filled me with hope, not for us, but for what my hoodie was concealing.

He shoved Kyle inside the house, who had been leaning against the door frame beside him, letting his eyes bounce between us. The gesture made me blush as Aaron held the door open.

"Harold, some privacy," Aaron also demanded from the man who had gone in to fetch him—the man who appeared to make a living by just standing by the door.

Once Harold retreated down the portico to stand under the rain's shelter, far enough that he wouldn't overhear our conversation, Aaron exhaled in the privacy he had provided for us. "Your clothes and hair, you should come in. Dane's throwing a pool party, so..." His lips shrugged suggestively. "The help would get your things in the dryer through the time."

He was suggesting I strip to my underwear at his place so my clothes could dry, which meant exposing the bump hidden beneath this baggy outfit. Indeed, discussing the information I had with me was essential before anything else, and the seclusion outside felt safer for that.

"I came to see you. It's been a minute." I nervously clasped my hands in front of me, twisting my fingers awkwardly.

"Yeah, school and all. I live in Portland, so I am only here in summers," he explained, widening the door. "Come in, and we can catch up," he insisted convincingly.

I wanted to.

My eyes ping-pong between the cozy interior, where soft music played in the background, and the rain-soaked world out here. The reasonable place for me was definitely out here.

"I came to tell you something. Maybe we can talk about it here... please." I diverted, and he caught onto it. He didn't press anymore, though his expression and body language shifted like he already had an idea of what I was about to say. Did my expression give it away?

"Alright? talk to me." His eyes grew focused.

"I'm pregnant." I let the words out, watching his face closely, desperate for any reaction. But he stayed impassive, apart from the subtle weight settling over his features.

"Uh, congrats? I guess?" His reply was detached.

I felt knives twisting in my stomach right then.

He wants nothing to do with it.

"Aaron, it's yours," I clarified, in case he was choosing to avoid the obvious reason I was telling him.

His jaw clenched before his lips pulled into a smirk as he looked at me with a distant calm, his eyes unrecognizable. "Are you here to blackmail me or something?"

"What?" I was taken aback, watching as his head turned toward the house.

What was he doing?

"Kyle? Grab some cash," he called.

"Man, you're like eighteen soon. They'll be all over you now. How much?" his cousin's disembodied voice rudely said, and Aaron's gaze returned to me, appraising me from head to toe. "Twenty grand," he answered coolly.

It dawned on me then that he was putting a price on me and our child.

"No!" I snapped, fuming at the insult as I held his unyielding stare.

He mistook my defiance for negotiation.

"Double it," he called out to Kyle, not breaking eye contact as his cousin left.

"I don't want your money," I murmured, the words pushing through the ache in my chest.

How can he be this calm?

"Look, it's enough to cover an abortion, with plenty left over. Use it however you want." He said dryly.

Abortion.

"I'm six months along, Aaron. I already know the gender. The baby is alive," I let out in shock, trying to steady my voice, hoping it might make him care even slightly. But his eyes were empty, wandering everywhere but to me.

"Figure it out. There is no way I am claiming it. I don't even know if it's mine. Maybe you're out there with other guys. Did you go to them too? Or just zero in on a Wallace when it's convenient?" His tone dripped with disdain as he stepped back.

Of course, the lies I had spun to my parents were now coming to life. God, I was paying for it. He was calling me a whore in my face.

"There... I've only ever been with you," my voice broke, a tear slipping free.

"I don't believe you. Why now? Why not earlier? We barely even know each other. I saw you only one time. What is this rubbish? Trust me, I'll have my attorney erase any trace of whatever this is. You can't disappear after one night and show up six months later, expecting me to just go along with this story. That's exactly how blackmailers work with families like mine. It's nothing new. We win all lawsuits even before it goes public," he sneered.

How could anyone be this heartless?

"How am I supposed to reach you, Aaron? Do you know how hard this is for me?" I let out a bitter laugh, feeling a tear slip down as he stood there, entirely unmoved.

His cousin tapped his shoulder from behind, handing over a vintage leather purse. Aaron turned, a condescending scowl playing on his face, and thrust the purse at me.

"Take it. Get rid of that mess, for both our sakes. It's not mine, and I don't know you. Don't make this harder for yourself if my family finds out," he warned, his voice like ice.

My gaze dropped to the purse he was holding out. Every word he had said had pierced inside of me.

No way I will kill my baby.

I opened my mouth to tell him I didn't want anything from him, but the words felt insufficient. Nothing I could ever say would capture what he truly deserved. And I'm not one to wield and hurl vulgar language or throw a fit.

"No?" he taunted at my silence, shaking his head with a smirk like he already knew what I'd decide. He was certain he settled this, that he won by paying for it.

I can't even consider ending a pregnancy at six months. The baby is alive. He had become a part of me. I was going to love it as a mother would when I brought him into this world. But he'll be met with nothing but cold indifference from his father and deprived of the love he deserves. He could have had so much more if I'd waited to find someone responsible, someone, who matched my heart. But I made stupid choices that will affect my child's future for the rest of their life.

I felt a slight weight in my hands. Looking down, I saw the purse he placed there.

"Don't ever come near me again or try to connect me with your problems. I'm about to turn eighteen; what are you? Fifteen? I don't know you. Get rid of that and focus on your future, kid."

"It's a boy. I thought of naming him—" I started, but he slammed the door in my face, cutting me off mid-sentence. All I'm left with is the door. "Bubble," I whispered to the empty air.

Bubble, because I'll protect him with everything I have, I will wrap him up tight with my love, so nothing out there can harm him. He wouldn't be hurt by anyone, not Aaron, not the entire Wallace family. I promise.

Tears spill from my heavy lids, blurring my vision until everything splits into double. The purse slips from my numb fingers, falling to the floor.

"Miss?" a voice calls gently from behind.

***

I sprinted to the same portico where I stood six years ago, tears streaming down my cheeks, my chest pounding. The same man who opened the door back then stands before me today.

"Welcome, Miss Kelby," he greeted warmly, but I was too caught up in my storm to even respond as I stepped inside.

"AARON!" I yelled, my voice raw from shouting his name since I leaped from the car.

There he stood, casually waiting for me in the foyer as if he had been expecting this moment. His hands tucked into his trouser pockets, his white shirt pristine, like he hadn't just kidnapped my son.

If he thought he earned the right to be a father to Bubble by forcing it, he is mistaken. Probably maybe the universe didn't want him to be a father at all. That's why he was deprived of it in the first place.

"Where is my son?" I demanded, voice taut with rage as I met those cold eyes.

"So we're finally being honest," he nodded in mock acknowledgment.

I will kill him. I will take my son, and he will heal in my protection.