Pregnant with the Senator's Son

An unexpected meeting shatters Anna's certainties.

**

Belmont University – Dumas Lecture Hall – 11:15 a.m.

Anna Leroy typed furiously on her laptop, eyes darting between the screen and her constitutional law professor. Her mind raced faster than the words she tried to capture. The lecture on separation of powers felt like a promise of order in a chaotic world-one where the powerful too often wrote the rules.

The daughter of a nurse's aide and a mechanic, Anna knew what it meant to earn every win. She hadn't come to this prestigious university to waste time on illusions-rich boys, flashy parties, selfies in front of red-brick walls... Not for her.

But that day, a voice broke into her carefully ordered world.

- "Excuse me, is this seat 27?"

Annoyed, she looked up. She had purposely chosen one of the back rows to avoid this kind of interruption.

A young man stood before her, wavy hair, a lopsided smile, casually draped blazer. Coffee in one hand, leather notebook in the other. He had a cocky, laid-back attitude.

- "Yes, but it's taken," she snapped.

- "By you?"

He raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.

With a sigh, she gathered her things and shifted seats.

- "Thanks," he said as he sat down. "I hate being late."

- "Seems like you're used to it, though."

He chuckled softly.

- "You're right. But today I had an excuse-my dad gave me a lecture on 'the responsibilities of heirs.' Took forever."

Anna didn't reply. She disliked that word: heir. It often came with unearned arrogance. But he didn't seem hostile. Just... different. Too self-assured.

- "Nathan Elridge," he said, offering his hand.

She turned to him slowly. The name dropped like an anvil in her mind.

Elridge. The senator's son.

She had seen him once or twice in the news-the rebellious son, party boy, uninterested in politics but always in the spotlight.

- "Anna," she replied cautiously.

- "Just Anna?"

- "Just Anna."

He smiled, amused by her quick wit. She turned back to the lecture, but her heart was beating faster than usual.

**

End of Class – 12:30 p.m.

As she descended the steps of the lecture hall, she heard his voice again.

- "Got two minutes?"

She turned, surprised he was following her.

- "If it's about your father, no thanks."

- "No, promise. I actually need help catching up on the lecture. I'm kinda lost."

She narrowed her eyes.

- "Does that line usually work?"

- "What line?"

- "The clumsy charm tactic."

Nathan raised his hands in mock innocence.

- "No charm. Just genuine need. You seemed... serious. Smart. Different."

That last word struck her. Different. Exactly what she aspired to be.

She hesitated, then sighed.

- "Fine. But thirty minutes. No more."

He nodded, visibly pleased.

**

Central Library – 2:10 p.m.

- "I've never met someone who quotes Montesquieu for fun," Nathan said, eyes on Anna's notes.

- "It's not for fun. I want to be a lawyer. And the Constitution isn't just a campaign prop."

He looked at her, genuinely impressed.

- "You really don't like politicians, huh?"

- "I hate power games. And people who think the world owes them everything."

He nodded, smile fading slightly.

- "You don't know me, Anna. I'm not my father."

She crossed her arms.

- "Prove it."

Stronger words than she intended. He held her gaze, then softly replied:

- "Give me a chance."

**

Late Afternoon – University Quarter

They walked side by side under the pale early autumn sky. Nathan talked little, but listened closely. She told him about her mom, her two younger brothers, her evening classes, and her part-time job at a law firm.

Not once did she feel the condescension she feared.

- "Do you live alone?" he asked.

- "Yes. I moved out as soon as I got my scholarship."

- "You're strong."

She shrugged.

- "No choice. Strength isn't optional when no one's there to catch you."

He paused.

- "Can I walk you home?"

She shook her head.

- "Not today."

But a faint smile crossed her lips.

**

Anna's Apartment – 8:42 p.m.

Sitting on her bed, Anna flipped through her notes, her mind elsewhere. She kept recalling Nathan's gaze, his sincere tone, the way he walked silently beside her, never pushing.

It wasn't what she had imagined. She had expected arrogance, emptiness.

But there was something else. A crack. A spark.

She shook her head to chase the thoughts.

- "He's just a senator's son," she murmured. "Nothing more."

But deep down, she already knew something had changed.

**

Elridge Mansion – Private Lounge – Same Night

- "You've made a scene again, Nathan," snapped Senator Douglas Elridge, reading a report about his son.

- "I just attended a class," Nathan replied, leaning against a mahogany shelf.

- "With a scholarship girl. A commoner. Do you know what that does to our image?"

- "She's brilliant. And she doesn't care about your 'class.' It's refreshing."

The senator slammed his glass of whiskey down.

- "We don't need refreshing. We need discipline."

Nathan met his gaze.

- "You want a pawn. I want to be free."

- "You don't have that luxury, Nathan. You're an Elridge. An heir. You owe me your loyalty."

Nathan stood up straight, eyes hard.

- "I owe you nothing. Least of all my life."

He walked out, leaving his father alone, seething.

**

Final Scene: Anna's Apartment – Midnight

She stared out the window, a cup of tea in hand. A text arrived.

Thanks for today. It was different. – Nathan

She hesitated. Then her fingers tapped back softly:

Good night, rebel heir.

She smiled. And for the first time in a long while, she didn't feel alone.

**

What Anna didn't yet know was that this message would set off a chain of events no courtroom argument could ever control.

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