Chapter Eight: Secrets Beneath the Surface

It started with the dizziness.

One moment, Mia was helping Sam organize a new shelf of books at the quiet little shop beneath her apartment — the next, the room tilted without warning. The spines of the novels blurred, the world around her swaying as if the ground had shifted beneath her feet. Her hand shot out, gripping the edge of the counter to steady herself.

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the sudden wave of nausea to pass. Not here. Not now.

"Mia?"

Her heart jolted at the sound of Sam's voice. It wasn't loud, but the concern threading through his usual calm tone made her stomach clench even more. She forced a smile, ignoring the faint ringing in her ears.

"I'm okay," she lied softly, straightening up. "Just… skipped breakfast."

Sam's brow furrowed, his gaze lingering on her pale face for a moment longer than necessary. He didn't push, but Mia could tell — he noticed.

People in Everdale always noticed.

The moment passed, but the nausea didn't.

The next morning, it struck again — only worse.

Mia barely made it past Clara's café before the smell hit her. It wasn't anything offensive — just the usual aroma of roasted coffee beans and freshly baked bread — but the scent curled in her stomach like smoke.

Her throat tightened. She stumbled into a narrow alleyway beside the café, one hand pressed to her mouth, the other gripping the wall for support.

The world spun.

Her stomach lurched.

And then — she retched, her body betraying her in the most brutal way.

She was still bent over, her breath ragged, when she heard Clara's voice behind her.

"Mia?"

Panic flared.

Mia wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, quickly straightening up. She forced a weak smile, her face hot with embarrassment. "Food poisoning," she blurted, though the words felt clumsy — unconvincing even to her own ears.

Clara didn't move. Her arms slowly crossed over her chest, one eyebrow arching in that way only Clara could manage — equal parts skeptical and concerned.

"That's the third time this week," Clara said softly. "You sure it's not… something else?"

Mia's stomach twisted for an entirely different reason now.

She blinked. "What do you mean?"

Clara's gaze didn't waver. The unspoken question hovered in the air between them, as obvious as the sky above.

Mia, are you pregnant?

The words were never spoken aloud, but they didn't have to be.

Mia's pulse roared in her ears. She felt cornered — not by Clara, but by the truth she'd been running from.

She managed another flimsy smile. "Just a stomach bug," she muttered, reaching out for the water bottle Clara was now holding. Her hand shook slightly as she took it.

Clara didn't push. She just handed Mia a small paper bag filled with plain crackers. "In case the bug sticks around," she said softly, her voice gentle but heavy with meaning.

Mia muttered a thank you and left the alleyway as quickly as she could — her heart pounding louder with every step.

By the time she got home, her hands were still trembling.

The apartment felt too small — the walls pressing in on her as if they, too, knew the secret she was trying so hard to conceal.

She sank onto the couch, curling her legs beneath her, and let out a shaky breath. The bottle of water and crackers sat untouched on the coffee table.

Her hand drifted to her stomach — flat for now, but not for long.

The truth was becoming harder to ignore. The subtle changes in her body — the morning sickness, the sudden dizziness, the growing sensitivity to certain smells — all pointed to the reality she had tried to bury.

But it wasn't just the town she was hiding from.

It wasn't Clara's questions or Sam's worried glances that made her heart race.

It was herself.

Because acknowledging the truth meant facing everything she'd been avoiding — the man she had left behind, the one-night mistake that wasn't a mistake at all, and the undeniable fact that her life was no longer just her own.

Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away, pressing a hand against her stomach once more.

"You're okay," she whispered into the quiet room, her voice barely audible. "We're okay."

But for the first time since arriving in Everdale, Mia wasn't sure if that was true.

Because secrets had a way of surfacing.

And this one — the life growing within her — would soon be impossible to hide.