Daddy’s billionaire step-brother
Chapter 43: Nine weeks

Clara sat in physics class, her mind miles away. The formulas on the board blurred together, her thoughts consumed by the overwhelming situation she found herself in. She was pregnant-really pregnant-and the weight of that reality was suffocating. Adrian was gone, back to Europe without a word, leaving her with nothing but a gaping void of uncertainty. *What am I going to do?*

The question ran through her mind like a broken record. She didn't want to marry Henry, let alone sleep with him, and she knew he wouldn't want to be intimate with her either, especially with his secret relationship with Elena. There was no way she could pass this baby off as his, and even if she could, the thought made her stomach turn. The idea of lying about something so enormous, so life-changing, made her feel sick. *Should I tell Adrian?*

Her heart ached at the thought. Adrian had vanished from her life as if everything between them had been nothing. He hadn't responded to her messages or calls since that final conversation with her father. It felt like he was truly gone, like he didn't want anything to do with her anymore. Would he even care about the baby if he knew?

Then there was her father. How would he react? He'd probably be furious, disappointed beyond words. Her reputation, already fragile, would be completely destroyed. Clara felt like she was drowning under the weight of expectations, of decisions she wasn't ready to make.

Maybe I should run away, she thought. Maybe she could leave all this behind-start a new life somewhere far away, where no one knew her, and raise her baby on her own. But how? How could she, a teenager with no resources or plan, possibly make it on her own? The stress of it all wrapped around her like a vice, and she felt her chest tighten, her vision narrowing.

Suddenly, everything went black.

When Clara woke up, the first thing she noticed was the sterile white walls and the faint beeping sound of a heart monitor. She blinked, her mind fuzzy, trying to make sense of where she was. An IV bag hung beside her bed, and the cold, metallic scent of a hospital filled her senses.

"Clara?"

She turned her head slowly, her body weak, to see her father standing beside the bed. His face was tight with worry, a look she hadn't seen from him in a long time.

"Dad..." she mumbled, her voice hoarse. She tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness hit her, and she sank back into the bed.

"Don't move too fast," her father said, his voice gentle but filled with concern. "The doctors said you passed out in class. They're running tests, but they think it's just stress and exhaustion."

Clara closed her eyes, trying to fight back the overwhelming flood of emotions. The last thing she needed was to worry her father, especially when she knew exactly why she had passed out. It wasn't just stress—it was the baby. The baby she hadn't told him about.

Her father sat down in the chair beside her, his hands fidgeting in his lap. "Clara, what's going on?" he asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

Clara felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. She wanted to tell him, to spill everything that had been weighing her down, but the words wouldn't come. How could she tell him about the pregnancy, about how she had been sneaking around with his own brother? How could she tell him that everything he had planned for her future was about to come crashing down?

"I'm just... tired,” Clara finally said, her voice weak. "Everything is so overwhelming right now."

Her father sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I know it is. But you need to take care of yourself. Soon we'll be headed to France and your engagement to Henry Caldwell jr. will be announced. You need to be your best." Clara swallowed hard, forcing herself to nod. But the truth was, the situation was already consuming her, and she didn't know how much longer she could keep it a secret.

The doctor walked inside the room. Sensing the tension, he cleared his throat to announce himself. "It's nothing to be alarmed about. Her blood pressure is low, but that's not uncommon in the first trimester. She's nine weeks along, and from what we can see, both mother and baby are healthy."

Clara's heart stopped when the doctor mentioned the baby. Time seemed to freeze, and the room became eerily silent. She glanced at her father, whose face had gone from concerned to a deep, unmasked shock. His eyes widened in disbelief as the realization settled in.

"Baby?" Richard's voice was cold, cutting through the tense air. "You're pregnant?"

Clara's throat tightened, her eyes filling with tears. She couldn't speak, couldn't form the words that would make this better, because there was no making this better.