The pharmacy felt unnaturally bright.
Lillian stood beside Chloe near the back aisle, staring blankly at shelves lined with pregnancy tests while people casually walked past them without a second glance.
The normality of it felt surreal.
Like the world had continued moving while hers had abruptly stopped.
Chloe stayed beside her quietly, giving her space without leaving her alone.
Lillian still hadn't picked one up.
Her arms remained folded tightly across herself as if holding herself together physically.
"…Lillian."
"I know."
But she still didn't move.
Her mind kept replaying the same thought over and over again.
This can't actually be happening.
And yet—
the nausea.
The exhaustion.
The dizziness.
Suddenly it all made terrifying sense.
Lillian looked away from the shelves sharply.
"I feel ridiculous."
Chloe frowned slightly.
"Why?"
"Because this feels insane."
Her voice lowered.
"A month ago Sebastian surprised me for my birthday."
The memory hurt instantly.
The necklace.
The way he looked at her that night.
The warmth between them before everything shattered the next morning.
And now—
this.
Chloe's expression softened immediately.
"You don't have to panic before you even know anything."
Lillian laughed quietly under her breath.
The sound held no amusement at all.
"That's easy for you to say."
Chloe didn't argue.
Because honestly—
there wasn't really a comforting response to this.
After a long moment, Lillian finally reached forward and grabbed a test box from the shelf.
The movement felt strangely mechanical.
Like someone else was controlling her body.
Chloe gently took another one too.
"Just in case."
Lillian swallowed hard.
Neither woman spoke again while heading toward the register.
The cashier scanned the boxes without interest.
Normal.
Routine.
Entirely unaware that Lillian felt like her life was balancing on the edge of something irreversible.
Back in the car afterward, silence filled the space between them.
Not awkward silence.
Heavy silence.
Lillian stared out the window while New York blurred past outside.
Her hand rested unconsciously against her stomach briefly before she quickly moved it away again.
The motion didn't escape Chloe's notice.
But she said nothing.
Because now wasn't the time.
At Chloe's apartment, the quiet became worse.
Lillian sat on the edge of the couch holding the small pharmacy bag in her lap.
Untouched.
The television remained off.
No music.
No distractions.
Just silence and tension.
Chloe returned from the kitchen with water before sitting beside her carefully.
"You should take it."
Lillian stared at the bag.
Not moving.
"I know."
But several more minutes passed anyway.
She couldn't make herself do it yet.
Because right now—
everything still existed in possibility.
The moment she took the test, possibility would become certainty.
One way or another.
And something deep inside her already knew her life would split into before and after that moment.
Lillian suddenly stood and began pacing slowly.
Then stopped.
Then sat again.
Then stood once more.
Chloe watched quietly.
Concerned.
Not judgmental.
"What happens if it's positive?"
The question came out softer than expected.
Smaller.
And somehow that made it hurt more.
Chloe answered gently.
"Then you breathe first."
Lillian closed her eyes briefly.
"Then what?"
"Then you figure out the next step."
Chloe's voice remained calm.
"Not your entire future in one minute."
Lillian looked down at the pharmacy bag again.
Her chest felt tight now.
Not panic exactly.
Something quieter.
Fear mixed with grief.
Because all she could think about was Sebastian.
Cold Sebastian.
Distant Sebastian.
The version of him who looked at her like closeness hurt now.
What would happen if she was pregnant?
How would she even tell him?
Would he think she was trying to trap him?
The thought made her stomach twist sharply.
Because Sebastian's entire life had been shaped by betrayal and manipulation.
And now this timing looked terrible.
Lillian pressed a trembling hand briefly against her forehead.
"He barely even wants to look at me anymore."
Chloe's expression softened immediately.
"That's not true."
"Yes it is."
Lillian laughed weakly.
"He calls me Miss Parker now."
That hurt to say aloud.
Because hearing it at Sovereign had felt like losing something all over again.
Chloe hesitated before answering carefully.
"I think Sebastian is trying very hard not to need you."
Lillian's chest tightened painfully.
Because that sounded exactly right.
And somehow that hurt worse than anger would have.
After several long moments, Chloe finally stood slowly.
"Take the test."
Lillian looked up at her.
Fear flashed openly across her face now.
Actually vulnerable.
Chloe softened immediately.
"I'll stay right outside."
That helped slightly.
Just enough.
Lillian nodded weakly before finally picking up the pharmacy bag.
Her hands shook while opening it.
The sound of the packaging felt unbearably loud in the quiet apartment.
Then slowly—
she walked toward the bathroom.
Across the city, Sebastian sat alone in the darkened sitting room of the mansion.
A single lamp illuminated part of the room softly while rain tapped quietly against the windows again.
His tie had already been loosened hours ago.
The flask rested on the table nearby beside a half-empty whiskey glass.
Another drink burned slowly down his throat.
But tonight it wasn't helping much.
Because something felt wrong.
Not work.
Not Sovereign.
Something else.
His mind kept returning to the hallway outside the bathroom.
Lillian's expression.
The fear in her face.
And Chloe.
Chloe had looked alarmed too.
Not confused.
Concerned.
Like something significant had happened.
Sebastian leaned back slightly in the chair, jaw tightening faintly.
He hated that he still reacted like this.
Hated that even now—
after the breakup
after the hurt
after forcing distance between them—
his mind still tracked her automatically.
Still worried.
Still noticed.
The whiskey glass rested loosely in his fingers now.
His thoughts drifted unwillingly again.
She looked scared.
Not sick.
Scared.
That distinction bothered him more than it should have.
Sebastian closed his eyes briefly.
Then opened them again almost immediately.
Sleep had become difficult again lately.
Insomnia lingering heavily beneath the surface.
And tonight felt worse.
Restless.
Unsettled.
Like something had shifted somewhere outside his understanding.
Inside Chloe's bathroom, Lillian stared at the pregnancy test in her shaking hands.
The room felt too quiet.
Too small.
Her breathing sounded unnaturally loud to herself.
This didn't feel real.
None of it.
Slowly, she set the test down on the counter afterward.
Then stepped back.
Her heart hammered painfully inside her chest while the seconds stretched endlessly.
Outside the bathroom door, Chloe waited silently.
Giving privacy.
But staying close enough so Lillian wouldn't feel alone.
A minute passed.
Then another.
And then—
Lillian looked down again.
Everything inside her stopped.
Two lines.
Positive.
She stared at it.
Frozen completely still.
No tears came immediately.
No dramatic reaction.
Just shock.
Pure, overwhelming shock.
Because suddenly one thought drowned out every other emotion inside her.
This is Sebastian's child.
And Sebastian barely looked at her now.
Lillian's hand moved unconsciously toward her stomach again.
This time she didn't stop herself.
Her eyes burned painfully.
Not from fear alone.
From timing.
From heartbreak.
From the unbearable complexity of still loving someone while standing this far away from them.
A soft knock sounded against the bathroom door.
"Lillian?"
Her throat tightened immediately.
She opened the door slowly.
Chloe looked at her face first.
Then down at the test in her hand.
And immediately understood.
Her expression softened into stunned silence.
"…Oh."
Lillian laughed weakly through shaky breathing.
Except it sounded dangerously close to crying now.
"I'm pregnant."
The words changed everything the moment they left her mouth.
Across the city at that exact moment, Sebastian sat alone in darkness with whiskey resting untouched in his hand.
And for reasons he couldn't explain—
his chest suddenly tightened sharply like something irreversible had just happened.