Divorced Before He Knew I was Pregnant Chapter 11

Divorced Before He Knew I was Pregnant Chapter 11 Outside of Them

Aira didn’t go home immediately after.

She couldn’t.

The thought of returning to that apartment, of standing in the same space where everything suddenly felt uncertain, made something inside her resist. She needed distance, not just physically, but mentally. Somewhere that didn’t feel heavy with expectation or unfinished conversations.

So instead, she went to Zara.

Zara had been her closest friend since university, long before marriage, long before everything became complicated. She was one of the few people who knew Aira without the weight of being someone’s wife attached to her name. With Zara, things were simple. Honest. Unfiltered.

When Zara opened the door, she didn’t even try to hide her reaction.

Her brows pulled together instantly as her eyes scanned Aira’s face.

“You look like you’ve either seen a ghost,” she said, stepping aside slowly, “or become one.”

Aira almost laughed.

Almost.

But the sound never fully came out.

“Can I come in?” she asked instead, her voice quieter than usual.

Zara didn’t ask any more questions. She just moved aside, letting her in

without hesitation.

That alone made Aira’s chest feel a little lighter.

Ten minutes later, she was curled into the corner of Zara’s couch, a glass of water in her hand she hadn’t really touched. The apartment smelled faintly of vanilla and something warm from the kitchen, the kind of familiar comfort she hadn’t realized she needed until now.

Zara sat across from her, watching carefully.

Waiting.

Not rushing her.

And somehow, that made it harder to keep everything in.

“You’re pregnant?” Zara finally said, her voice lower now, more careful.

Aira nodded.

The word itself still felt strange, even in her own mind. Saying it out loud made it more real in a way she hadn’t fully processed yet.

Zara leaned back slowly, absorbing it.

“And he knows?” she asked.

Aira hesitated for just a second before answering.

“Now he does.”

Zara let out a quiet breath, her head tilting slightly as she tried to piece things together.

“Okay,” she said after a moment, lifting a hand slightly. “Pause. I need context. Because the last time we talked, you were almost divorced.”

“We still are,” Aira replied.

Zara’s brows lifted slightly.

“Are you?”

The question wasn’t sharp.

It wasn’t even judgmental.

But it lingered.

Aira’s fingers tightened slightly around the glass in her hand as her gaze dropped to the floor.

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

And for the first time since everything started unraveling, that answer felt honest.

Because it wasn’t just about papers anymore.

It wasn’t just about decisions already made.

It was about everything that still existed underneath all of that.

Zara watched her quietly, her expression softening just a little.

“For once,” she said gently, “this isn’t about what he wants or what he decides.”

Aira looked up.

Zara held her gaze.

“This is about you.”

The words settled deeper than anything else had.

Because that—

That was what Aira had been avoiding.

Thinking about Lucien was easier.

Reacting to him was easier.

But this?

Deciding for herself?

That was harder.

“What do you want?” Zara asked.

A simple question.

But it landed heavier than anything Lucien had said.

Aira opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again, her thoughts stalling.

Because she didn’t have a clear answer.

Not one she could say without doubt.

“I don’t want to beg someone to stay with me,” she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. “And I don’t want to raise a child in a

house where love feels… forced.”

The last word came out quieter.

More fragile than she intended.

Zara nodded immediately, like that alone made sense.

“Then don’t,” she said.

Aira frowned slightly, her head tilting.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t go back just because there’s a baby now,” Zara replied simply. “Don’t let that be the reason everything suddenly fixes itself.”

Aira’s grip on the glass loosened slightly.

“People do that all the time,” Zara continued. “They confuse responsibility with love. They stay because they feel they should, not because they actually want to.”

The words hit uncomfortably close.

“Make sure he’s choosing you,” Zara added, her voice softer now but no less firm. “Not obligation. Not guilt. You.”

Aira’s chest tightened slightly.

Because that—

That was exactly what she had been afraid of.

That Lucien wouldn’t come back because he wanted her.

But because he felt responsible.

Because there was a child now.

And she didn’t want that.

She didn’t want to be something someone stayed for out of duty.

Not again.

Zara leaned forward slightly, resting her arms on her knees.

“And more importantly,” she said, “make sure you’re choosing him for the right reasons too.”

Aira blinked.

Zara’s gaze didn’t waver.

“Not because it’s familiar. Not because it’s easier. Not because part of you is still holding onto what it used to be.”

Silence settled between them.

Aira swallowed slightly, her thoughts shifting in ways she hadn’t expected.

Because she had been so focused on what Lucien would do—

She hadn’t fully asked herself why she would say yes if he did.

The realization made something inside her go quiet.

Not empty.

Just… clearer.

For the first time since everything started spiraling, she wasn’t reacting.

She was thinking.

Really thinking.

And slowly—

It steadied her.

Not completely.

Not enough to solve everything.

But enough to breathe.

Enough to know that whatever came next—

It had to be a choice.

Not a reaction.