Who Are We To Fight The Alchemy? (en)

Bigger Than The Whole Sky

When they finally got home, Taylor knew there was no more running. The moment of truth had arrived, and she had to face the ghosts of her past to reveal the secret that had been eating her alive. The weight of it pressed down on her, almost suffocating, but she knew there was no more delaying. Travis deserved to know what was going on.

Travis closed the door behind them, tossing his keys onto the hallway table before turning to face her, concern etched across his face. "Taylor, you're killing me here. You need to tell me what's going on," he said, his voice firm but still gentle.

Her stomach tightened, and she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. But the weight of what she was about to say felt crushing. "I... I'm pregnant," she finally admitted, her voice trembling but steady enough to make the words clear.

The air between them seemed to freeze, the words hanging there, heavy and unshakable. Travis stood still, processing what he'd just heard. His eyes widened in surprise, and then, slowly, a smile began to spread across his face, lighting it up completely.

"You're pregnant? Oh my God, Tay!" He took two large strides toward her and wrapped her in a tight embrace, laughing in pure joy. "This is incredible! I don't even know what to say... I'm so happy! We're going to have a baby!"

Taylor felt the warmth of Travis's arms around her, but with the relief of finally telling him the truth came a wave of painful memories. She tried to mirror his smile, to share in his happiness, but her chest tightened. Before she could stop them, tears started rolling down her face.

Still grinning, Travis pulled back a little to look at her, and his expression shifted the moment he saw her tears. "Tay... why are you crying?" he asked, confused, his hand gently cupping her face.

She tried to pull herself together, but the flood of emotions was too much. "I... I'm scared, Travis," she began, her voice cracking between sobs. "This... this isn't the first time I've been pregnant."

Travis's smile faded slowly, replaced by a deep frown of confusion. "What? What do you mean this isn't the first time?"

Taylor closed her eyes for a moment, gathering the courage to continue. Every word felt like a boulder being lifted from her chest. "In 2021, I got pregnant... with Joe."

Travis's reaction was subtle but unmistakable. The joy and confusion in his face darkened, giving way to something more complicated-jealousy, hurt, maybe even anger. His hands dropped slowly from her shoulders as if he needed space, room to process this new information.

"You were pregnant... with Joe?" he repeated, disbelief thick in his voice.

Taylor nodded, the tears falling more freely now. "At first, I was over the moon. Being a mother has always been something I've wanted, and even though it wasn't planned, I felt like that pregnancy was... it felt like the beginning of something special, almost like fate was giving me a new purpose," she explained, pausing to collect herself. "But when I told Joe, he was furious. He thought I was trying to trap him into marrying me. It was awful, Trav... I didn't plan it. It just happened. But I was still so happy."

Travis stood frozen, his gaze locked on hers as he processed everything she was saying. His jaw clenched, and he ran a hand through his hair, clearly struggling with the flood of emotions.

Taylor continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "I got so attached to the idea of being a mother. Even though Joe's reaction was terrible at first, I thought we could work through it. He eventually came around, started to accept it. We told our parents, our closest friends... I thought everything was going to be okay. But then, when I was almost three months in I started bleeding."