As she peed on the stick, she decided she was doing it to appease Zeynep who was standing on the other side of the washroom door, her foot tapping an impatient tattoo against the tiled floor.

Yasmin set the test aside, wiped and stood, pulling her skirt into place. She washed her hands and then she waited. Zeynep asked to come in so she could see the results too, but Yasmin told her she wasn’t finished. She didn’t want to share this moment with anyone.

She definitely wasn’t pregnant… but if she was, she needed to be the first to know.

After a minute had passed, she nervously looked at the test. The positive result had her kneeling in front of the toilet and offloading everything left in her stomach. Zeynep banged on the door until Yasmin reached behind herself and unlocked it.

Zeynep stepped over Yasmin and snatched the test off the counter, holding it out so she could see. Yasmin watched her expression flicker from what looked like disappointment, to pain, to the fake smile she often showed the world.

“Congratulations, you’re going to be a mother,” she said in a strange voice.

A chill swept through Yasmin and she felt suddenly vulnerable. Using the wall for support, she pushed herself up until she was standing and once she was steady enough, faced Zeynep. “Thank you,” she said with a tight smile. “And thank you for purchasing the test for me, I appreciate your help.”

Zeynep nodded, but she seemed dazed.

“Are you alright?” Yasmin asked drily. She was the one puking up her guts, but Zeynep looked like she’d seen a ghost or something.

Zeynep seemed to pull herself out of wherever her thoughts were. She gave Yasmin a huge smile and hugged her, kissing both her cheeks. “I’m wonderful! I’m going to be an aunty. I was just shocked for a moment. You and Volkan haven’t known each other very long. I thought you’d wait before you started trying for children, especially considering the circumstances that brought you here.”

She was doing it again, implying that she knew for a fact Yasmin had been kidnapped. She couldn’t know, but her words were eerily accurate, and Yasmin couldn’t disagree. If she’d had a choice, she would have waited a good long while before entertaining the thought of having Volkan’s child.

Her hand drifted to her stomach as she tried to imagine becoming a parent. It wasn’t something she’d wished for. Well, she had, but not for a long time into the future. She was only twenty-two. No one purposely had babies at twenty-two anymore.

Yasmin looked at Zeynep. “Please don’t tell anyone. I want to be the one to let Volkan know he’s going to be a dad.” She almost choked on the word dad. How could he make a good father? He was so… kidnappy.