C159 Are You Pregnant

The question lingered in the air. "...Was it Chris?" No one spoke. The gentle morning breeze that swept across the Wood family's garden seemed unusually cold. Sarah stood frozen. Her fingers trembled slightly as they clutched the edge of her sweater. She had imagined this day countless times. She had rehearsed excuses. Prepared explanations. Even planned how she would break the news.

Yet... Now that the moment had truly arrived... Not a single word would leave her mouth. Kelvin took another step forward. His usually calm face had become frighteningly serious. "Sarah." "I asked you a question." "Was it Christopher Chambers?" Sarah slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were already glistening with tears. She looked at her father... Then at her mother... Finally at Samantha.

Seeing the concern in their faces, she realized something. No matter how long she kept hiding... The truth would eventually come out. She slowly nodded. "...Yes." Her voice was barely audible. "It... it was Chris." Silence. A silence so complete that even the birds in the garden seemed to stop singing. Samantha covered her mouth in disbelief. "So..." "It really was him..."

Her mind immediately returned to everything she had witnessed over the past few weeks. Chris delivering lunch. Sarah smiling at her phone. The mysterious graduation photograph. Everything finally made sense. Tracy remained surprisingly calm. She slowly walked toward Sarah and gently held both of her hands. "My child..." "You don't have to be afraid anymore."

The warmth in her mother's voice made Sarah's carefully built composure crumble a little more. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I..." "I'm sorry, Mom..." "I never wanted to hide it from you." "I just..." She lowered her head. "I didn't know how." Tracy gently wiped away one of her tears. "A mother always wishes her children would trust her." "But I also know..." "...sometimes fear is stronger than courage."

Sarah bit her lower lip. "I was scared." Kelvin remained standing a short distance away. His expression was unreadable. "Scared of what?" Sarah slowly looked at him. "Of disappointing you." "You've always believed I would make the right decisions." "You've always been proud of me." "I was afraid that..." "...if you found out..." "...you would think I had embarrassed our family."

Kelvin frowned slightly but remained silent. Sarah continued. "And..." "I didn't know how to explain everything." "Even I couldn't understand what had happened." Samantha quietly listened from the side. Although she had her own regrets, seeing Sarah carrying such a burden made her heart ache. Tracy squeezed Sarah's hands. "My child..." "We're your parents." "Whether you've made a mistake or not..." "Our first thought isn't punishment." "It's protecting you."

Sarah's tears fell even faster. "I know..." "I know that now." She paused before speaking again. "I just..." "I needed time." Kelvin finally spoke. "How long have you known?" Sarah instinctively placed one hand over her abdomen. "For..." "For a little while." "I wanted to tell you." "Many times." "But every time I saw Dad..." "I lost my courage."

She gave a bitter smile. "You always looked so busy." "So confident." "I couldn't bring myself to destroy that peace." Kelvin let out a slow breath. "You call this protecting our peace?" Sarah lowered her head again. "No..." "I was only making things worse." Another silence settled over the garden. This one wasn't filled with anger. It was filled with regret.

Tracy gently embraced her daughter. "You've been carrying all of this by yourself." "That must have been exhausting." Sarah could no longer hold back. She hugged her mother tightly. "It was..." "I was terrified every single day." "I kept wondering..." "What if my stomach starts showing?" "What if everyone at the company notices?" "What if you hate me?"

Her shoulders trembled. "I couldn't sleep properly." "I couldn't eat normally." "I kept pretending everything was fine." Tracy rubbed her daughter's back lovingly. "We could never hate you." "Never." Tracy quietly wiped away a tear. She realized Sarah wasn't simply hiding a relationship. She had been living in fear. Fear of disappointing the people she loved most.

Kelvin looked away toward the garden. His voice was much quieter than before. "Sarah." She slowly looked up. "When did you realize..." "...that you were expecting a child?" Sarah answered honestly. "Not long after returning from England." "I wasn't feeling well." "I was always tired." "I thought it was because of work." "But..." "I eventually went for a check-up." "The doctor confirmed it."

Tracy immediately understood why Sarah had been sleeping so much lately. Why she had suddenly become picky with food. Why certain smells made her uncomfortable. Everything she had dismissed as exhaustion suddenly became obvious. Kelvin also remembered the countless moments. Sarah sleeping in her office. Her falling asleep during weekends. Her constantly looking pale. He had thought she was simply overworking herself.

Never once had he imagined... His daughter was carrying his grandchild. He slowly shook his head. "No wonder..." Sarah's eyes filled with guilt again. "I'm sorry, Dad." Kelvin looked directly at her. "For what?" "For worrying you." "For lying." "For making you find out like this." "I should have trusted you." Kelvin remained quiet for a long time. Then he sighed. "You should have." "But..." His voice softened ever so slightly. "I also should have noticed sooner."

Sarah blinked in surprise. Kelvin continued."I kept asking about work." "I kept telling you to rest." "But I never stopped to ask..." "...whether something else was troubling you." "I failed as your father." Sarah quickly shook her head. "No!" "You didn't fail." "You've always loved me." "I was the one who couldn't tell you." Tracy looked between the two before smiling faintly. "The two of you are so alike." "Neither of you likes expressing your feelings."

That earned the faintest smile from Sarah. Even Kelvin's stern expression eased a little. The suffocating atmosphere had finally begun to loosen. Samantha also smiled. "It seems..." "Our family really isn't good at communicating."Everyone laughed softly. The laughter was brief... But it was enough to lighten the heavy mood. Kelvin looked at Sarah once more.

His eyes no longer carried the same anger they had moments ago. Instead... They carried the concern of a father. "Sarah." She straightened instinctively. "Yes, Dad." Kelvin's voice was calm. "But there is still one thing I need to know." Sarah nodded. "I'm listening." Kelvin took a slow breath. Then asked the question everyone already knew was coming. "Does Christopher Chambers know?"

Sarah answered without hesitation. "Yes." "He knows." "And..." "He accepted everything." "He never once asked me to face it alone." "He has been by my side from the very beginning." Kelvin silently processed those words. His gaze drifted toward the garden for a moment before returning to his daughter. Then, in a firm voice that allowed no room for argument, he said, "Call Chris."