Elena thought her life couldn’t get more complicated after her fiancé vanished upon learning she was pregnant. But when her boss humiliates her during a staff meeting, the truth about her child’s father comes crashing into the spotlight…Three months ago, my life fell apart. I’m not even kidding.I was 27, engaged to a man I thought I’d spend forever with, and blissfully unaware of how quickly dreams could shatter.The day I told Ethan I was pregnant, I’ll never forget how his face froze.
“Are you serious?” he asked, his voice low and sharp.I nodded, trying to smile through my nerves.”We’re going to be parents…”Instead of the joy I’d hoped for, he muttered something about needing time to think. And then he walked out the door.Oh, and he never came back.I didn’t tell anyone. Not my family, not my coworkers, nobody.How could I?My father was a powerful man, and he owned the company where I worked, with my sister Rebecca running another branch. She was married to Adam, my boss.Everyone had high expectations for me, and my pregnancy. But the truth about the father felt like a ticking time bomb. I couldn’t risk it. So, I left my parents’ house and moved out on my own, hoping to hide the truth for as long as I could.
My father had given Rebecca and Adam control of his businesses, so he was more than happy to take my mother on lavish trips or spend his days playing golf.But secrets have a way of surfacing, don’t they?And today, mine became the punchline of a cruel joke.I was standing in the middle of the conference room during an all-staff meeting when Adam, my boss, and brother-in-law, decided to turn my pregnancy into office entertainment.”So, Elena,” he said, leaning back in his chair with a smirk. “I hear congratulations are in order. You’re pregnant, huh? Guess you’re finally settling down! Very good, very good.”
A few people chuckled nervously. I felt heat rising to my face as every eye in the room turned to me.”Guess now you probably have to find the dad, huh?” he added, slapping the table like he’d just made the biggest joke.The laughter died quickly, but Adam wasn’t done.”But even if you don’t, you don’t really have to worry, right? Single moms get decent benefits, right? Maybe I should give you a thousand-dollar raise a year! What do you think, folks?”The room went silent. My chest felt tight as I clenched my fists, willing myself not to cry. Where had this version of Adam come from? He hadn’t been like this with me before. He used to be… different.
“The father of this baby told me that he loved me more than life itself,” I said, my voice trembling. “But as soon as he found out, he ran.”Adam’s smirk widened.”Ah, men. Typical, huh?”I was seconds away from walking out when the double doors to the office burst open.A young woman holding a baby strode in, tears streaming down her face. There was no way that she was older than twenty-two or twenty-three, but despite her tears and trembling hands, she stood tall.Behind her came Rebecca, and my father.
