I had already guessed Hayden wouldn't want this child. That was why, after receiving the report, I didn't tell him right away. Instead, I waited until we returned to the family manor, where his grandparents and uncle were present. If there was anyone who could make him reconsider, it was them.
When the time was right, I gathered my courage, took out the report and spoke in a steady voice.
"Grandpa, Grandma, I'm pregnant. Three months now."
The change in the elders was immediate. Their faces lit up with joy, smiles stretching all the way to their temples.
"Good, good," Elliot, Hayden's grandfather, exclaimed, his deep voice trembling with excitement.
Catherine, Hayden's grandmother, gasped in disbelief before her aged eyes welled up with tears. In the next moment, she removed her prized emerald bracelet—one that had been in the family for generations—and slipped it onto my wrist.
"Ariella, I've been waiting for this great-grandchild for so long," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "I thought I wouldn't live to see the day, but it's finally here."
Then, as if unable to contain her joy, she turned to Elliot. "We must go to Hayden's parents' graves to tell them the good news."