Emma stood in front of the bathroom mirror, her hands trembling as she gripped the pregnancy test. The two bold pink lines stared back at her, confirming her worst fear. Pregnant!
Her breath hitched. This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not like this.
A sharp knock on the door jolted her back to reality.
"Emma?"
It was Ava, her best friend and roommate, sounding concerned.
Emma swallowed the lump in her throat and forced her voice to remain steady. "Yeah?"
"You've been in there forever. Are you okay?"
Emma hesitated before replying. "I'm fine. Just, just give me a minute."
A minute? She needed a lifetime to figure out how she'd gotten herself into this mess.
Her mind reeled, flickering through the last month of her life like a twisted highlight reel. Five men. Five possibilities. Five fathers? Each of them a different shade of mistake.
She slid down onto the tiled floor, her back pressing against the cold wall. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away. She had to think of what to do, and she had to think of it real quick because, she can't afford to be stupid again.
The door creaked open slightly, and Ava peeked inside. "Emma?"
Emma didn't have the strength to snap at her for barging in. She simply held up the pregnancy test.
Ava's eyes widened. "Holy shit!"
Emma let out a weak chuckle. "Yeah. That about sums it up."
Ava crouched beside her, taking the test from her hands as if inspecting it would change the outcome. "Okay. We'll figure this out. It's not the end of the world?"
Emma let her head fall back against the wall. "Feels like it. Feels like my whole world is crumbling before me."
Ava exhaled, setting the test down on the bathroom counter. "Do you... have any idea who the father is?"
Emma bit her lip. "That's the problem. There are... multiple possibilities."
Ava blinked. "Multiple? As in more than two?"
Emma winced. "Five."
Ava's mouth fell open, and for a moment, she was speechless. "Jesus, Em. Five?"
Emma buried her face in her hands. "I know. I know how it sounds. But it's not like I planned for this to happen. It just... did."
Ava sat back on her heels. "Alright. Let's think logically. Who are they?"
Emma's stomach twisted. Saying their names out loud made everything feel more real. But she had to face the truth.
"There's Alex. We had this... passionate, toxic thing one-off thing and he ghosted me"
"Okay, Alex…" Ava brought out her phone from her back pocket and starts typing, "ghosted you"
Emma looks at her weirdly but continues, "Then Michael, the smooth talker who made me feel special until he didn't. I just wanted a man, Ava!" tears gushed down her cheeks and her voice became shaky, "I'm not a whore, I just… I'm under pressure!"
"Look Emma, I'm not judging you! And this is not the time to cry, just let's sort this thing out, okay?"
"Okay!" Emma took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, she stood up from her confined position in the corner of the bathroom and starts pacing around, "Ryan, the workaholic businessman who barely had time for me, I literally threw myself at him. Ethan, who I never should have crossed the line with, he is married. And Daniel..."
She trailed off, her heart clenching at the thought of him.
Ava picked up on the change in her tone. "Daniel? Who is he?"
"He's the CEO of Herbert Tech Group"
"Jesus Christ, Emma!" Ava exclaimed excitedly. "How? When? How come you didn't tell me you caught that big fish?"
Emma let out a shaky breath. "It was just an accident, I only remembered his name because he transferred some money to me afterwards. He was drunk and..."
"It doesn't matter! He's the father! He has to be the father. Or don't you want a rich father for your unborn child?"
"Oh, Ava he'd be the last person I would want to talk to. We never talked after that day! He's awkward and just too busy."
Ava's face softened. "Emma, would you rather have a less-busy poor man, or a freaking busy rich man?"
Emma shook her head. "I can't do that until I know for sure. What if he's not the father? It would crush him."
Ava nodded slowly. "Alright. What's the plan? Because you obviously don't expect to call a meeting among them, and expect them to debate who the father is. You have to choose the father for yourself"
"I'll do my research, track my ovulation days and the days I met them, text each of them, anyone who responds is the father."
"Okay, not a bad idea. Or you could just opt for an abortion"
Emma wiped her eyes and pushed herself off the floor. "Ava, have you forgotten so easily? That weird woman from the candy shop?"
"Oh my goodness! It all makes sense now!"
"I'm keeping this baby."
Ava searched her face. "You know, it could just be a coincidence, that woman may not be a prophetess, or a seer like she claims"
"I had nightmares Ava, had I know I would have just trusted my instincts…"
Ava squeezed her hand. "Then we'll figure this out. One step at a time."
Emma let out a deep breath. She had no idea how she would navigate the storm ahead. But she knew one thing is for sure, God has given her this child, and he will definitely help her overcome the trials that comes with it.
She excused herself from Ava and rushed into her room, where she took her phone and started tracking her period and ovulation.
She wasn't going to blame herself anymore, she was destined to have this child anyway. She started with Alex, going through her texts with him got her raging, how was she so stupid to have fallen for his tricks in that club? He was just too charming, toxic charming.