Page 24 of Accidental Orc Daddy

I sink slowly into the driver's seat as the doctor talks through the next steps. His voice sounds far away, drowned out by the rushing in my ears. Pregnant. Based on the blood work, he thinks I’m about nine weeks along.

There's a new life taking shape inside me. Part of Mustaf, flowering within my body.

I press a hand to my still-flat stomach, partly in wonder, partly in fear. What happens now? I never planned for this, never dared imagine myself as a mother. Especially not to an orc child with a man I met in a bar on vacation. God, to him I was just a fling! How do I tell him now that he’s bound to me for the rest of our lives thanks to a baby?

My mind replays fleeting memories of our time together – the warmth of his smile, the strength of his embrace, the rumble of his laughter. He awakened something in me I didn't know was there. And now, he's given me the most precious and terrifying gift imaginable.

As I step inside my apartment, the blinking light on my answering machine pulls me from my thoughts. Still in a fog, I hit play.

"Meiko, it's Lalaine! Oh, my gosh, I have the most exciting news. We set the date. It’s two months from now, can you believe it?"

She giggles excitedly.

"Everything happened so fast, it's like a dream come true. Dragan is just so amazing, I know we're meant to be together forever. I know it doesn’t give us much time to plan, but I don’t want to waste a minute that I could be married to him, you know?"

Squeals of happiness.

"Anyway, I know it might be a lot to ask, but I was hoping you could be one of my bridesmaids! We have so much planning to do. I'll be over tomorrow afternoon so we can look at dresses and bouquets and cakes and everything else!"

Lalaine pauses and takes an audible excited breath.

"Okay, I'd better go. Lots more calls to make! But I'm so thrilled you'll be by my side for the big day. This is going to be the most magical wedding ever!"

She makes kissing sounds into the phone.

"Love you, can't wait to celebrate! Toodles!"

I sink onto the couch, emotions churning violently inside me. I tried my best to be happy for Lalaine when she first announced her engagement, but her news cuts deeper today. Lalaine is taking the very step I now must consider. And not just marriage, but a lifetime commitment to an orc. She sounds over the moon, while I'm weighted with uncertainty.

My hand rests on my belly again, feeling the new life within. Lalaine is marrying her orc by choice. I'm having a child with mine by chance. Where she's found joy, I'm lost in doubt and worry over the road ahead.

I rise and begin to pace, too keyed up to sit still. How could this have happened so fast? Sure, she was smitten after meeting Dragan, but getting married so soon? My analytical mind struggles to compute.

They've only known each other for, what, a couple of months? I sink onto the couch, elbows on my knees, head in my hands. It makes no logical sense. A Vegas wedding to a near stranger after a whirlwind summer romance? This impulsive leap into the unknown is so unlike the measured, practical Lalaine I thought I knew.

Maybe an orc's idea of commitment moves faster than humans. Or perhaps love has rendered reason irrelevant for them. Either way, the dichotomy between us has never felt sharper. I knew my ex for years, and our wedding was still an unmitigated disaster.

There’s only one thing I know for sure. Whatever uncertainties the future holds, I have to take it one step at a time.

I’m just not sure if I’m better off taking it alone.

CHAPTER 14

Mustaf

The bustle of the last-minute engagement party fills the banquet hall. Everyone filters in, offering congratulations to the soon-to-be bride and groom. But one face is mysteriously missing.

Meiko should be here for these pre-wedding festivities. I grab a passing bridesmaid I recognize from our time in the Maldives – Maica, I think her name was. "Hey, is Meiko around? I thought she'd be with the wedding party."

The girl shakes her head. "Oh, didn't you hear? She had to cancel. Terrible flu, she said."

My shoulders tense involuntarily. Her illness seems suspect, a flimsy excuse. "Right… the flu," I mutter. The bridesmaid rushes off, oblivious to my skepticism.

I contort my large frame into a seat, my restless energy at odds with the cheerful celebratory buzz. Something doesn't add up. Meiko missing all this fanfare because she’s suspiciously sick?

My gut says she's avoiding me. But does she really not want to see me enough to miss her friend’s engagement dinner? She agreed to be a bridesmaid, so she can’t be trying to back out of the wedding, can she? Would she even do that? It’s not like our one night together ended on bad terms, at least, not as far as she was concerned.

The days crawl by at a sluggish pace as the wedding draws nearer. I pass the time mechanically – going to work, eating meals alone, and attempting to read in the evenings. But focus eludes me. My thoughts circle endlessly back to Meiko and the strangeness between us.

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