Chapter 1 The Beginning
"Excuse me, Auntie, I want to buy a pregnancy test," Amelia said, trying to lower her voice. However, her words attracted the attention of many people in the store because she looked very young, almost a minor.
Amelia's face turned red, and she tightly grasped her pants, avoiding eye contact with others.
The shopkeeper realized what she meant. "Oh, you want this?" She quickly grabbed a box of pregnancy tests from the counter and handed it to Amelia.
Amelia glanced at it and confirmed that it was what she wanted. She asked softly, "How much does it cost?"
"Ten dollars," the shopkeeper replied.
Amelia quickly took out ten dollars from her pocket and placed it on the counter. She turned to leave, but the shopkeeper hesitated for a moment and hurriedly caught up with her.
"Wait a minute, young lady," the shopkeeper called out.
Amelia nervously turned around. "Is there something else?"
The shopkeeper noticed how beautiful the girl was with her fair, flawless skin that seemed as if it could exude water, delicate features, and particularly her pure and clear eyes that were captivating and hard to look away from.
"Do you know how to use it?" the shopkeeper asked.
Amelia bit her lip. She didn't know how to use it, but her best friend said there would be instructions inside.
The shopkeeper spoke softly, explaining to her, "There's a container inside to collect urine. You need to collect the urine in the container, then use the dropper to add three or four drops to the designated area. After waiting for a while, if there's only one red line, then everything is fine. But if there are two lines then it means you're pregnant."
Amelia felt nervous and embarrassed. She tightly held onto the box of pregnancy tests.
"Thank you, Auntie," she quickly said and ran out of the pharmacy, never feeling so afraid of others' gazes before.
She ran all the way back home.
Her parents ran a fried chicken shop and were always busy, leaving early and coming home late. Her younger brother and older brother were still in school at this time, so there was no one at home.
Amelia rushed into the bathroom and quickly opened the box of pregnancy tests. Following the instructions given by the shopkeeper, she collected her urine and used the dropper to add it to the designated area.
Throughout the process, her hands trembled. She bit her lip and anxiously watched the movements of the pregnancy test. At first, there was no reaction, but then the red color swiftly appeared.
Amelia couldn't help but hold her breath, her eyes fixated on the test. In her mind, she prayed, "Please, don't be two lines. Please, it can't be accurate. I can't be pregnant."
As the red color rose to a certain area, a red line began to appear. At first, it wasn't very clear, but gradually, it became more distinct. Amelia gently bit her lip and felt like she was lucky, she wasn't pregnant.
However, soon, a second red line started to appear. She thought it must be her eyes playing tricks on her, so she rubbed her eyes vigorously. However, she realized that the second line seemed even clearer and slowly became as deep as the first line.
Her body went weak, and she suddenly sat down on the bathroom floor, her face as pale as paper.
She was really pregnant. How could there be two lines?
That day, she was just feeling upset and got drunk. She failed the college entrance examination, and her parents said she didn't meet the admission requirement, so she couldn't go to college. They told her to work at the shop and support her younger brother and older brother's education.
She felt so miserable that she went to the bar with her best friend. It was her first time going to a bar. Little did she know she would attract the attention of a bad person, but luckily, an older gentleman saved her. However, after that...
When she woke up, she found herself lying naked on the same bed as the older man. She was scared and quickly put on her clothes and ran back home. Over the past few days, she had suddenly experienced symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. At first, she thought it was heatstroke and drank several bottles of Aspirin, but it didn't help. Then her best friend suddenly asked if she might be pregnant.
At that time, her friend was just joking, but Amelia took it to heart. She had secretly bought a pregnancy test to check, and to her surprise, it was actually true. She was really pregnant.
Amelia was at a loss and couldn't imagine how her parents would react if they found out she was pregnant. She had just turned nineteen and her parents would definitely kill her.
She quickly checked her phone, and it was already past five o'clock. Her younger brother would be coming home from school soon. Looking at the distinct two red lines on the pregnancy test, she hurriedly put it in a small bag, making sure not to leave anything in the bathroom, and quickly left to dispose of it.
Just as she reached the fifth floor, she saw her younger brother unlocking the door.
Her brother also saw her.
"Sis, did you go out today?"
Amelia's heart tightened.
"Oh, I went out to hang out with my classmates for a while."
Ryan opened the door, but didn't see Amelia following him. He turned back to look at her.
"Sis, are you going out again?"
Amelia quickly rushed into the house.
"No, it's time to cook. Mom and dad will be back soon."
Watching Amelia hurriedly rush to the balcony to cook, Ryan felt somewhat puzzled. He felt like something was off with his older sister today. But his main task was to study, so he didn't ask any further and went straight to his small bedroom with his backpack.
The Sterling family were outsiders. Over twenty years ago, David and Judy came to Atlanta right after they got married to make a living. They initially worked on construction sites, carrying bricks and cement, and lived in a basement. Later, they did many other jobs and eventually opened a fried chicken restaurant.
Because the food was delicious and the business was decent, the couple finally saved enough money to buy a small 50 square meter house in the old city area when Ryan was born.
In Atlanta, every inch of land was valuable, even in the old and dilapidated neighborhoods, houses were still expensive. This house only had one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom, and a kitchen. It was very small. However, since Henry, the eldest brother, had already started junior high school, the parents converted the kitchen into a small bedroom, and from that point on, it became Henry and Ryan's room.
But Amelia still didn't have her own room. Her parents placed a small 1.2-meter bed for her in the living room, and she had always slept on it.
It was past seven in the evening when their parents finally came home. After washing their hands, the family sat around the crowded small table for dinner.
"Tomorrow, you should go to the store to help with the delivery. Your father just got a big order from a hotel, so in the future, you'll be doing the deliveries," Judy said, looking at Amelia, discussing it in a low voice.
"Mom, can we delay it for a few days? I want to hang out with my friends for a few days," Amelia replied.
Judy frowned.
"Hanging out? That's what students who got into college do. You didn't even meet the minimum score for university admissions. What are you going to do by hanging out with them? Do you want to embarrass yourself?"
Amelia's eyes turned red, but she was pregnant now and deliveries required heavy lifting. The baby...
Yes, the baby was an accident, and she truly didn't have the ability to raise it. She also didn't dare to tell her parents about the child; she didn't have the courage to face them.
If she had to move heavy things, would it harm the baby? Subconsciously, she lowered her head to look at her belly, feeling uncomfortable and guilty.
Sniffling, she choked out, "Alright, I'll go."
The next morning, Judy woke her up early. After getting ready, she didn't even have breakfast before going to work at the shop with her parents.