Chapter 2 A Twist Of Fate

• Emma’s POV
• I stared at the pregnancy test as if it would suddenly change if I blinked enough times. My hands trembled, and my breaths came in shallow gasps.
• Pregnant.
• The word thundered in my head, drowning out every other thought.
• Sliding down the bathroom wall, I hugged my knees to my chest. I’d faced my share of struggles—losing my mom, surviving under my stepmother’s cruel thumb, enduring Audrey’s relentless jabs—but nothing could have prepared me for this. How could I bring a child into a world where I was barely keeping my own afloat?
• Tears stung my eyes, but I forced them back. Crying wouldn’t fix this. It wouldn’t give me answers. It wouldn’t make Lucas—or whatever his full name was—magically reappear.
• “Emma?” Jake’s voice startled me from the other side of the bathroom door. “You okay in there?”
• Jake. My stepbrother. The one person in this house who treated me like I mattered. I wiped my face quickly, hiding the evidence of my spiral. “I’m fine,” I called, though my voice cracked.
• “You don’t sound fine.” His voice softened. “Want to talk?”
• I hesitated. Jake had always been my ally, the one who defended me against Audrey and our stepmother. But this? This was different.
• “I’m good, Jake. Just… need a minute.”
• There was a pause, then a quiet sigh. “Alright. But I’m here if you need me.” His footsteps retreated down the hall, leaving me alone with the crushing weight of reality.
• But as I sat there, staring at the test in my hands, a new thought took hold. A single test wasn’t enough. I needed to be sure.
• An hour later, I sat in the cramped waiting room of a small clinic, my fingers tangled in my lap. The antiseptic smell burned my nose, and the steady beeping of a heart monitor from somewhere in the back only made my nerves worse.
• My foot tapped restlessly against the floor as I replayed the past few weeks in my mind. How had this happened? Well, I knew how, but it still felt unreal.
• When the nurse finally called my name, my legs felt like lead as I followed her into the examination room.
• Dr. Patel, a kind-looking woman in her fifties, greeted me with a reassuring smile. “What brings you in today, Emma?”
• I hesitated, my voice barely above a whisper. “I took a home pregnancy test. It was positive. I just… I need to be sure.”
• She nodded understandingly. “We’ll run some tests and do an ultrasound, just to check everything.”
• Minutes later, I lay on the exam table, my heart hammering as Dr. Patel spread cool gel over my stomach. The room was silent except for the hum of the ultrasound machine. Then—there it was. A rhythmic, fluttering sound filled the air.
• A heartbeat. No—two.
• Dr. Patel’s gaze softened as she turned the screen toward me. “Emma, you’re not just pregnant. You’re having twins.”
• I barely heard the rest of what she said. The world blurred around me, my mind struggling to process the news. Twins. Two tiny lives depending on me.
• Tears burned the back of my eyes, but I wasn’t sure if they were from fear, shock, or something else entirely.
• How was I supposed to do this alone?
• And what about Lucas?
• Would he even care?
• I spent the rest of the day in a fog, avoiding everyone and everything. Audrey’s usual smug comments about my “frumpy clothes” and “boring life” barely registered. Even my stepmother’s sharp glares didn’t sting the way they usually did.
• That night, I lay awake, staring at the ceiling. My mind raced with questions I couldn’t answer. Should I keep the babies? How would I even support them? And what about Lucas? Should I try to find him?
• The memory of his dazzling smile and those piercing blue eyes sent a shiver through me. He’d been kind, charming, magnetic—but he’d also left without a trace. For all I knew, he could’ve been lying about his name, his life, everything.
• Still, a part of me clung to the idea that he deserved to know.
• The next morning, I woke to the sound of shouting downstairs. My heart sank as I recognized Audrey’s shrill voice.
• “I can’t believe you let her wear my dress!” Audrey screeched.
• “It was sitting in the donation pile,” Jake said calmly. “You weren’t even going to wear it.”
• “That’s not the point, Jake!” she snapped. “Emma doesn’t belong at places like that. She probably embarrassed herself—and by extension, us!”
• I rolled my eyes, dragging myself out of bed. Another day in paradise.
• When I stepped into the kitchen, Audrey’s glare immediately zeroed in on me. “Speak of the devil,” she muttered.
• “Good morning to you too,” I said, heading for the coffee pot.
• “Good morning? After the stunt you pulled?” Audrey folded her arms, her perfectly manicured nails tapping against her elbow. “You waltzed into my event, wearing my dress, and God knows what else you did. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is?”
• “I didn’t waltz anywhere,” I said, pouring my coffee. “And for the record, your ‘event’ didn’t even notice I was there.”
• Jake stifled a laugh, earning a scathing look from Audrey.
• Before the argument could escalate, our stepmother swept into the room, her presence as suffocating as ever. “What’s going on here?” she demanded, her icy gaze flicking between us.
• “Emma stole my dress and crashed my event,” Audrey said, her tone dripping with venom.
• “It was in the donation pile,” Jake pointed out again, but our stepmother ignored him.
• “Emma,” she said, her voice deceptively calm. “Is this true?”
• I opened my mouth to argue, but the exhaustion of the past two days caught up with me. What was the point? They’d never listen.
• “Sure,” I said flatly, setting my coffee down. “Whatever you want to believe.”
• Her lips curved into a cold smile. “I always knew you’d cause trouble. Just like your mother.”
• My chest tightened, but I refused to let her see how much her words hurt. “If you’ll excuse me,” I said, turning toward the door. “I have better things to do than entertain this conversation.”
• Hours later, I found myself in the park, sitting on a worn bench under a canopy of trees. The crisp air was a welcome relief from the suffocating tension at home.
• I glanced at my phone, debating my next move. The idea of tracking down Lucas had been nagging at me all day. I didn’t know much about him, but I remembered the name of the hotel where we’d met. Maybe it was a long shot, but it was something.
• Before I could overthink it, I typed the hotel’s name into my phone and hit “call.”
• “Crescent Bay Hotel, how may I assist you?” a polite voice answered.
• “Hi,” I said, my voice shaking slightly. “I… uh… I’m looking for a guest who stayed there recently. His name is Lucas.”
• “Do you have a last name?”
• “No,” I admitted, my cheeks burning.
• “I’m sorry, ma’am,” the receptionist said. “Without a last name, I’m unable to provide guest information.”
• “Right. Of course. Thanks anyway.” I hung up, frustration bubbling in my chest.
• What now?
• That evening, as I sat in my room sketching aimlessly, my phone buzzed with a text from an unfamiliar number.
• Hey, Emma. It’s Aunt Grace. Can we talk?
• My heart skipped a beat. Aunt Grace? My mom’s sister? I hadn’t heard from her in years.
• I quickly typed a reply. Of course. Is everything okay?
• Her response came almost instantly. It’s about your mom’s side of the family. I think it’s time you knew the truth.
• The truth?
• A mi
• x of dread and curiosity swirled in my stomach. Whatever Aunt Grace had to say, I had a feeling it was about to change everything.