Chapter 3 The Email That Changes Everything

The office had never felt so suffocating. The pristine walls, the perfectly arranged furniture, even the quiet hum of the air conditioner grated on my nerves. I stared at my laptop screen, the numbers from the quarterly report blurring into a meaningless mess.

Work was supposed to be my refuge, the one place where I could lose myself and forget about the disaster my personal life had become. But today, even that wasn't working.

I leaned back in my chair, running a hand through my hair, and exhaled slowly. I'd been in a funk for weeks now-ever since the divorce was finalized. It was official. Elena was no longer my wife. The realization hit me like a punch every time I thought about it.

She was gone.

And I had no one to blame but myself.

I could still see her in that courtroom, her eyes distant, her expression hard. She didn't cry, not once. That had hurt more than anything. It was like I wasn't even worth her tears anymore.

The sound of an incoming email snapped me out of my thoughts. I welcomed the distraction. Anything to pull me out of the pit I was sinking into.

I clicked on the notification, and the subject line stopped me cold:

Congratulations on Your Upcoming Arrival

My heart thudded as I opened it, my eyes scanning the words faster than my brain could process them.

"Dear Mr. Carter,

Congratulations on the exciting news of your partner's pregnancy. We look forward to assisting you and Ms. Carter during this wonderful journey..."

The words hit me like a freight train. My partner's pregnancy?

I read it again, slower this time, as if the words might change. But they didn't. The email was congratulating me on becoming a father.

I pushed back from my desk, my mind racing. This had to be a mistake. Some kind of administrative error. But the hospital's name was there, clear as day, and they didn't just send out emails like this on a whim.

Elena was pregnant.

The realization crashed over me like a wave, leaving me breathless.

I rubbed a hand over my face, trying to think. The last time we'd been together... it was right before the divorce was finalized. That night, we'd both been angry, hurt, desperate to cling to something familiar even as everything was falling apart.

Could it have been enough? Could that night have resulted in... this?

I stood up abruptly, pacing the length of my office. My thoughts were spiraling out of control.

If she was pregnant, why hadn't she told me? Did she think I didn't deserve to know? That I wouldn't care?

My chest tightened at the thought. Maybe I didn't deserve to know. I had betrayed her, broken our vows, destroyed the life we'd built together. But this wasn't about us. This was about the baby.

If the baby was mine...

I stopped pacing and gripped the edge of my desk, staring down at the closed laptop. I couldn't just sit here. I needed answers.

I grabbed my phone and pulled up Elena's contact info. Her name stared back at me, a painful reminder of everything I'd lost. My thumb hovered over the call button, but I couldn't bring myself to press it. What was I even supposed to say?

"Hey, I got an email saying you're pregnant. Is it true?"

Yeah, that would go over great.

I sank back into my chair, my mind racing with a thousand questions. If the baby was mine, what did that mean for us? For her?

And then another thought hit me, one that made my stomach churn.

What if it wasn't mine?

The idea clawed at me, sharp and unrelenting. Had she moved on? Found someone else? The timing didn't make sense, but jealousy and doubt didn't care about logic.

I slammed the laptop shut, the sound reverberating through the room.

"She can't keep this from me," I muttered under my breath.

I grabbed my coat and stormed out of the office. I didn't have a plan, didn't know where I was going, but I couldn't just sit there any longer.

The elevator ride down felt like an eternity, the walls closing in on me as I replayed the email over and over in my head. When the doors finally opened, I stepped out into the bustling lobby, ignoring the receptionist's cheerful "Have a good day, Mr. Carter."

Out on the street, the cold air hit me like a slap, but it did little to clear my mind. I needed answers. I needed to talk to Elena.

But what if she didn't want to talk to me? What if she refused to see me?

The questions swirled in my mind, each one heavier than the last. But one thing was clear: I couldn't let this go. If she was carrying my child, I had a right to know.

I hailed a cab and gave the driver her address before I could second-guess myself.

As the car sped through the city, I stared out the window, my thoughts a chaotic mess. This wasn't how I'd imagined things would be. I'd always wanted kids, but not like this. Not in the middle of a broken marriage, with so much anger and pain between us.

But if there was a chance, even the smallest chance, that the baby was mine...

I clenched my fists, determination settling over me like a storm cloud.

I wasn't going to let this slip through my fingers. Not this time.