Finally hearing this from someone else’s lips, she could have cried. His words meant more to her than the promotion. More to her than anything.

She had her pride back.

A few weeks later, Aria had mastered the art of evasion, and hadn’t seen or spoken to Eli since she’d stormed out of his house. She tried to comfort herself with her new promotion and tell herself that the distance was what she needed, but she desperately wanted to see him again. She wasn’t moping, exactly, but she wasn’t her usual cheerful self, and her friends and family had noticed.

Justin had offered to give Eli a black eye, and Sophie had suggested they drown their sorrows together, but Aria hadn’t taken either of them up on their offer. Quiet time was what she needed. She busied herself writing about neighborhood disputes, baked over a dozen cakes and watched endless reruns of Friends.

On top of her being in a funk, something was conspicuously missing: her monthly. Usually, she was as regular as clockwork—as punctual in her cycle as everything else—but now there was no sign of it. Her breasts were tender, and meals were difficult to keep down. She hadn’t told anyone. Hadn’t even done a test. She was too afraid.

Aria’s plan for her personal life had been as follows: find a nice guy, get married, have babies. Two, preferably, but she’d be happy with any. By the time a baby arrived, she’d be a few years older, with more to offer, and a husband on the scene. Having a baby now didn’t fit into her plan. She was single and only finding her footing. Although her family would always stand by her, it wasn’t the same as having a partner.

Even though she hadn’t taken the test yet, she was certain of the result. She was pregnant. She’d never missed a period before, and she’d had unprotected sex. It all added up. She was on the pill, but occasionally she forgot to take it because she never actually expected to have sex. She’d been in an eighteen-month dry spell, after all. Her carelessness had landed her in this predicament.

Aria purchased a pregnancy test using the self-checkout option at a supermarket in Timaru—knowing that if she bought one in Itirangi, the entire town would know inside of an hour, including her brothers, her parents and her friends. She’d rather delay telling them for as long as possible. It was humiliating. How had she been so irresponsible?

Within a minute of dipping it, two pink lines appeared on the stick. Positive. Although it wasn’t a surprise, the lines took her breath away. Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the toilet cistern and breathed deeply.