Scenario:Once there was a young woman named Jocelyn Walker who got married to a police officer named Ajay Harris. They always stayed to themselves and have a courthouse wedding. Their family wasn't invited because as soon they moved out, they lived a private life.
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Once there was a young woman named Jocelyn Walker who got married to a police officer named Ajay Harris. They always stayed to themselves and have a courthouse wedding. Their family wasn't invited because as soon they moved out, they lived a private life.
Chapter 1
I stared at the two pink lines on the pregnancy test, my heart racing.I was pregnant.My husband and I had only been married for a few months, but we’d been together for years.We were both young, but we’d always known that we wanted to be parents someday.And now that it was happening, I couldn’t wait to tell him.But I also couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that settled in the pit of my stomach.He was going to be so happy, but he was also going to be worried.His job as a police officer was dangerous enough without throwing a baby into the mix.And with everything that had happened recently, I knew that he would be even more protective of me than ever before.
I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to fight back the wave of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me.
I clutched the pregnancy test in one hand and my phone in the other, still staring at the two pink lines as if they might suddenly disappear.
But they didn’t.
It wasn’t like in the movies where you had to squint at it from every angle just to make sure that it was really there.
The lines were bright and bold and absolutely unmistakable.
I felt a surge of joy and excitement.
We wanted this baby so much.
My husband would be thrilled, even if he was going to have a lot of worries about it too.
And then the fear came back in full force for a moment and I bit my lip, wondering how I was going to tell him.
He wanted this baby more than anything, but we both knew that our marriage wasn’t like other people’s marriages.
He worked long hours, and sometimes late into the night, and his job was dangerous.
This wasn’t supposed to happen yet, not until everything else had settled down first.
Ajay Harris was exactly what I’d always imagined when I thought about what kind of man I wanted to marry someday.
Elena's eyes widened, hurt and confusion etched on her face. “What are you talking about?” she asked, her voice trembling.
I couldn't bring myself to explain. There was too much at stake. If Ajay found out that I had confided in anyone before him, it would only add to his stress, and he didn't need more reasons to be anxious about his dangerous job.
“I just need some space," I mumbled, avoiding her gaze. "It's not you; it's me."
Elena stood there for a moment, her silence heavy with unspoken questions. "Okay," she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. "If that's what you need."
As she walked away, I felt a pang of guilt twist in my stomach. I wanted to run after her and tell her everything—that I was pregnant and terrified—but I couldn’t.
The next step was telling Ajay. My fingers trembled as I dialed his number, each ring echoing my heartbeat. When he answered, his voice was filled with the usual warmth and concern.
"Hey babe, what's up?"
I took a deep breath, clutching the test tighter. "Ajay, there's something we need to talk about."
I had been pushing Elena away for weeks now.
It wasn't easy, because she didn't give up easily.
She'd been my neighbor from hell for years, and then she’d become the best friend I’d ever had—but I had a feeling it would be just as hard to make her an enemy.
That woman did nothing by halves.
She was all or nothing, no matter what it came to.
And when it came to life and love?
She wanted it with every fiber of her being.
But I couldn't let her have it.
Not this time.
Not when so much was at stake.
Elena Torres might not know what she wanted most days, but when she did?
She went after it with a vengeance.
Maybe that was why I loved her so much, even though she drove me crazy half the time.
But Elena was a little too nosy sometimes.
Like right now.
I'd had a feeling she'd seen me staring out the window.
We might not have been friends anymore, but it wasn't like we lived on opposite sides of the city.
We were inches apart, separated by nothing more than our shared wall and a thin sheet of glass.
And even if I couldn’t see her through the curtains, I knew she was there.
I could feel her eyes on me, burning a hole in my back until I turned around and met her gaze.
Elena Torres did not take no for an answer, and she did not let people shut her out of their lives once she’d decided they were worth fighting for.
And right now?
She thought I was.
It was like a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off.
Elena couldn’t stop herself.
If she thought something was wrong, she’d come charging in to save the day, whether you wanted her help or not.
I definitely did not want her help. I didn't want anyone’s help.
Not when I knew what she would say if she found out the truth.
Not when I could still hear her voice from all those weeks ago: "He’s going to break your heart."
She didn’t know how wrong she really was.
I took a deep breath and plastered on my best fake smile before opening the door and greeting Elena with a big hug.
She smiled up at me with those piercing brown eyes of hers, and I squeezed her tightly for a moment before stepping back again.
"Hi," I said. "What can I do for you?"
Elena hesitated for a moment before glancing around nervously.
Her eyes darted back in forth in a way that made me wonder if there were hidden cameras around us somewhere and she was trying to find them.
Ajay’s eyes were filled with a mix of determination and concern. "Yes, Jocelyn. I can't bear the thought of you and our baby being at risk. This neighborhood... it’s not safe."
I glanced around our small but cozy apartment. We had made so many memories here in such a short time. Leaving felt like abandoning the only stability we had.
"But what about your job?" I asked, clutching his hand. "You’ve worked so hard to build your career here."
Ajay squeezed my hand reassuringly. "I can transfer to a quieter precinct or even take a desk job for a while. My priority is you and our child."
Tears welled up in my eyes as I nodded slowly. "Alright, let's do it," I whispered, feeling a sense of relief mixed with apprehension.
Just then, another knock echoed through the apartment. Elena's timing was impeccable as always.
Ajay shot me a questioning look, and I sighed before opening the door to find Elena standing there with her usual vibrant smile but a concerned look in her eyes.
"Hey, Jocelyn," she began hesitantly, glancing at Ajay. "Is everything okay?"
I exchanged a glance with Ajay before nodding firmly. "Actually, Elena, we’re moving."
Her eyes widened in surprise, but before she could say anything, Ajay stepped forward and wrapped an arm around me protectively.
"For the safety of our family," he added.
Elena seemed to understand more than she let on and simply nodded, offering us both a small but genuine smile. "If you need any help... you know where to find me."
As we closed the door behind her and started packing our lives into boxes, I felt an unexpected sense of hope bloom within me.
For the first time since that positive pregnancy test, I believed that everything might just turn out alright after all.
I looked up in shock at the sound of Ajay’s low, rumbling voice.
He was standing next to me, watching Elena with a curious expression on his face.
She’d stopped talking and was staring back at him as well, looking just as surprised as I felt.
"Why don’t you come in?" he asked, gesturing toward our living room.
I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up a hand and met my gaze with a determined look.
"I insist."
I knew better than to argue when Ajay used that tone of voice, so I simply nodded and stepped back to let Elena through the doorway.
A faint smile tugged at her lips as she brushed past me and followed my husband into our home.
"Thanks," she murmured, still looking a little uncertain about what was happening.
Ajay led us into our small dining area and pulled out a chair for me before taking a seat across from me and placing his napkin on his lap.
"Why don’t you join us for dinner?" he asked Elena. "We could use some company tonight."
She opened and closed her mouth a few times, clearly at a loss for words.
I couldn’t blame her; I was surprised too, considering how hard I’d worked to keep her away these last few weeks.
Tonight was supposed to be special.
It had been months since we’d last seen each other, and I had missed him more than I could put into words.
I’d spent hours cooking his favorite meal—pasta and chicken Alfredo—and even baked a pie for dessert.
Everything had to be perfect; this was so much more than just dinner.
It was our second chance, and it was long overdue.
But as I watched him pick at his food, I realized something was wrong.
He looked tired, almost defeated, and there were dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days.
My heart clenched with worry; it wasn’t like him to let anything get him down like this.
But then again, today had been an especially rough day on the job, even by his standards.
He’d responded to an emergency call earlier this afternoon, only to arrive on scene and find two children who had been murdered in cold blood by their own father.
Chapter 2
"Thank you," she said softly, her voice laced with curiosity and concern.
As we ate, I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong. Ajay's eyes were distant, haunted by the horrors of his job. I knew he was struggling to cope with the brutality he faced every day, and it was taking a toll on him.
After dinner, I offered Elena a drink to lighten the mood. I watched her closely as she took a sip, my heart pounding in my chest. It was a calculated risk, but I couldn't let her get too close. She was a threat to our fragile existence.
Moments later, Elena's face contorted in pain. She clutched her stomach and gasped for air. Panic surged through me, but I forced myself to remain calm.
"Ajay, we need to leave now," I whispered urgently.
He looked at me with confusion before realizing what had happened. Without another word, we grabbed our pre-packed bags and slipped out the back door.
We drove through the night in silence, leaving behind everything we knew. The poison had bought us time, but it wouldn't be long before someone discovered what had happened.
As dawn broke, we crossed the border into a new country where no one knew our names or our past. We had escaped one nightmare, but a new challenge awaited us—building a life from scratch while keeping our secrets buried deep.
I glanced at Ajay and placed a hand on my growing belly. For our child's sake, we had to make this work. We were free for now, but the shadows of our past would always loom close behind.
The look in Elena's eyes sent a chill down my spine.
She had been watching me closely, her gaze almost predatory as she took in my appearance.
I shifted uncomfortably beneath her scrutiny, unsure of how to respond to her questions.
Elena Torres had always been a nosy neighbor; it came with the territory of living next door to someone for years.
But lately, her curiosity about my relationship with my husband had become something else entirely—something that made me uneasy.
She seemed fixated on our marriage, constantly asking why we were always alone together and urging us to make more friends in the neighborhood.
I did my best to dodge her questions without raising any suspicions, but it was getting harder by the day.
Elena wasn't the type of person to let things go easily, especially when it came to matters of the heart.
And now she was watching me like a hawk, her eyes sharp and probing as she waited for an answer.
"Well," I began carefully, trying to keep my tone light and casual despite my unease.
"You know how it is. Ajay works long hours, so we don't get out much."
It wasn't entirely untrue—my husband's job kept him away from home more often than not—but there were other reasons why we chose to spend most of our time alone together.
Ajay and I had always been private people, and we preferred to keep our personal lives behind closed doors.
But there was more to it than that; our relationship was complicated, and there were things about us that I couldn't share with anyone else.
Especially not someone like Elena.
She studied me for a long moment, her eyes narrowing as if she could see through my carefully crafted lie.
"You're hiding something," she said matter-of-factly.
"I can tell. What is it? Is everything okay between you two?"
I forced a smile and shook my head, trying to dispel the doubt creeping into her mind.
"Of course everything's fine," I insisted, willing her to drop the subject.
"We just prefer being alone, that's all. You know how it is."
Elena didn't look convinced.
She leaned forward in her seat and rested her chin in her hand, regarding me with open curiosity.
"I'm just saying," she began slowly, choosing her words carefully.