Chapter 1
599words
"I'm sorry, Sienna." The doctor removes her glasses, her expression softening. "The test results show your endometriosis is quite advanced. If you want children, you should start trying immediately."
My heart plummets as I stare at the ultrasound images—black and white blobs representing my failing reproductive system. At twenty-eight, I never imagined facing this conversation.
"How long do I have?" My voice trembles, but I force myself to meet her eyes.
"With this severity? Perhaps a year before natural conception becomes nearly impossible."
A year. The word echoes in my mind like a death sentence. I've always wanted children—a family to replace the one I lost when my mother died. Now that dream is slipping away before I've even had a chance to grasp it.
And how could I tell this to my boyfriend Lucas? Will he dump me if I can't have children?
I've been with Lucas for two years now, and every day I wake up thinking this might be the day he proposes. We've talked about our future together so many times—our dream house, my coffee shop, even our future children's names. Though he hasn't gotten down on one knee yet, I'm certain it's coming soon. The way he looks at me sometimes, like he's memorizing every detail of my face... it has to mean forever, right?
"What about treatment options?" I ask, desperate for any solution.
"There are surgical interventions, hormone therapies..." She hesitates. "But I should warn you, they're expensive, and success rates vary. With your particular case, you'd need specialized care."
Of course. The treatments I can't afford with my coffee shop owner's income. The irony doesn't escape me—I've spent years building my coffee shop Moonbrew into a successful small business, only to discover that success isn't enough to save my dreams of motherhood.
I leave the clinic in a daze and drive home, tears blurring my vision. My coffee shop can survive without me for the afternoon. Today, I need to process this news and talk to Lucas. He's always been my rock, my safe harbor in life's storms. Surely together we can figure something out. Maybe we'll start trying right away. Maybe we'll look into how to afford the treatments together.
I love Lucas. He's handsome and comes from the wealthy Grant family in Silver Creek city. While they're not billionaires, the Grants have always been comfortable and well-connected. Lucas never flaunts his family's wealth, which makes me love him even more.
I've worked tirelessly to prove I belong by his side—his mother's disapproving glances pushing me to show I'm worthy despite my modest background. Yet he chose me—a simple coffee shop owner with no impressive pedigree—over the socialites his mother constantly parades before him. That has to mean something, doesn't it?
When I arrive at our apartment, I'm surprised to find Lucas's car in the parking lot. He should be at work—he's never home this early on a Tuesday.
My heart lifts slightly. Maybe this is fate. Maybe he's meant to be here when I need him most. For the first time since leaving the doctor's office, I feel a flicker of hope. Lucas loves me. We'll face this together.
I unlock the door quietly, thinking I might surprise him, maybe even curl up in his arms and let the tears flow freely as I tell him everything. But I stop dead in my tracks at the unmistakable sound of our headboard rhythmically hitting the wall, accompanied by a woman's high-pitched moans.
My stomach drops, acid rising in my throat. This can't be happening. Not today of all days.
