Until the day she felt dizzy and went to the clinic.
“Congratulations,” the nurse smiled. “You’re pregnant.”
Her heart fluttered. A baby. She imagined telling Sam. He’d be thrilled, she thought. They’d become a family.
She called him excitedly, asked him to come over. He arrived, and she handed him the clinic envelope.
He opened it, frowned, and looked at her.
“You’re pregnant? By whom?”
Mary froze. “By you, Sam. You’re the only one I’ve ever been with.”
Sam’s gaze turned ice-cold.
“No. This must be a joke. You were supposed to use protection. What were you doing with all that money?”
Mary’s lips trembled. “Saving for a baby shower.”
He scoffed, pulled a wad of cash from his pocket, and threw it across the room.
“Take it. Get rid of it.”
“You want me to—” she whispered, “ab0rt the baby?”
Sam shrugged. “I never said I wanted kids. Or you.”
Mary collapsed onto the couch, crying. He walked away without another word.
That night, she packed her things and went home.
Her parents were shocked. Her mother wept. Her father simply stared out the window.
“I thought we raised you better,” he said. “But what’s done is done.”
