Chapter 3
Charlotte
I was standing in front of the long mirror in my bedroom, staring at my belly bulging under the dress. It wasn’t that I told my parents about the pregnancy because I wanted to, or that I thought I would get their support. Their anger at my state was obvious. There was no way they would look at this pregnancy as a blessing.
I had to tell them because I was beginning to show and I couldn’t hide it from them anymore.
I realized I was pregnant within three weeks of returning home. At first, I was panicked and I locked myself in my room, feeling shattered and miserable. Lincoln was going to be the father of my child, and there was no way for me to get in touch with him. Chances were, that I’d never see him again. I thought my life was destroyed.
I tried to keep the pregnancy a secret for as long as I could. But when I started to show, I had no other choice but to tell my parents. I knew what was going to happen—they were going to be disappointed and angry.
My father felt shame. He thought I was embarrassing him in front of all his friends. He knew he couldn’t keep it a secret, even though he ordered me to never go to the country club again.
But word eventually got out. Andrew Williams’ perfect daughter was pregnant, and nobody knew who the father was. I refused to give them a name. Lincoln had no clue he was going to be a father, and it would have been unfair for me to tell my family about him.
My parents were furious, especially dad. He couldn’t believe I’d done this. That I’d ruined my life like this. I had proven to him that he never should have given me the freedom I’d demanded. He shouldn’t have allowed me the year off.
Now it was September, and my time was running out. Not only was I going to have this baby soon, but my gap year was coming to an end too. Dad had decided my fate for me. His plan was that I’d give birth and then go to Law School. They were going to hire nannies to raise my child. And that killed me, because I wanted to raise this baby.
Over time, I had realized that this pregnancy was a blessing.
Now that I was going to be a mother, I had the courage to change my life. There was no way I’d stay here at home, let dad rule my life and the life of this child. My plan was to give birth and then leave. I’d go somewhere dad and his associates would never find me. Somewhere I could raise this child the way I wanted to. I wasn’t going to Law School, dad just didn’t know it yet.
My hand flitted over the baby bump as I stood in front of the mirror and stared.
Dad’s charity auction party was today, and he’d ordered me to dress appropriately. Now that everyone around us knew that I was pregnant, they were all going to be talking about me.
I didn’t care.
I was proud of my body and my baby. I was tired of the claustrophobic life I had to led all these years. It was time for me to rebel.
I’d chosen a form-fitting dress for the occasion, just so my body would be a constant reminder for my father. My bump was accentuated by my dress and I stroked my belly lovingly. I knew this child already. It was mine, even though it would never know its father. I felt at peace as I held my belly, knowing that I was going to be a mother soon.
I was willing and waiting for my whole life to change, even though I was going to have to do it without any support. Without Lincoln. But wherever in the world he was, I now knew that I’d never be able to forget him.
***
At the auction, I could see dad socializing with the crowd. He looked pleased with himself, with the turnout. This was an event which he organized on an annual basis, and everyone in the city wanted to attend it. So, all eyes were on us.
I tried to stay away from the cameras as much as possible because I wasn’t interested in being in the limelight. I knew what people were saying about me. Andrew Williams’ daughter was pregnant, she was going to be a single mother, nobody knew who the father was.
I remained in the background, trying to socialize as little as possible. I could sense eyes on me wherever I tried to hide. Even though everyone wanted to come to this party because of how highly publicized it was, they were all fueling the gossip mills with my presence too.
It made me feel sick. That people around me were using my baby as a source of entertainment.
Dad and mom barely spoke to me throughout the event. They wanted to draw as little attention to me as possible as well.
Dad was pretending like nothing new was happening, that there wasn’t this big scandal surrounding my family. The fact that tension had been high in our home ever since I started showing—was very carefully hidden right now.
Dad remained calm and handled the spotlight well as he interacted with the guests. While I lingered in the background, watching them, trying not to explode.
The more time went by, the more I realized that we were approaching the moment when we all would have to go up on stage. It was making me nervous. I wished dad changed the tradition a little this year, but he wasn’t going to. He was going to follow every set pattern, to prove to people that nothing had changed in the family.
***
They were inviting us up on stage, and I had to force myself to go. Dad was going to make a speech, and talk about the charity he had picked this year to raise money for. In the meantime, mom and I would have to stand with him and we’d have to pretend to be a happy family.
I’d never enjoyed being up on stage like that, pretending to be supportive of dad while he ran our lives in the background. But I’d been doing it all these years, and I would have to do it again. It’s just the way my world worked.
Mom caught my eye and her first instinct was to look down at my belly.
“You should have worn something different, Charlotte. Something less tight on your body,” she whispered beside me, while she kept the smile plastered on her face. “Dad is angry with you, because the dress is drawing attention to the pregnancy,” she added.
I rolled my eyes. How was a dress going to stop the wagging tongues? I felt like I had nothing to hide. I wasn’t ashamed of my pregnancy and I wasn’t going to hide my child either.
“Don’t you roll your eyes at me, young lady!” mom snapped as we took up our positions behind dad.
“Maybe stop telling me what to wear!” I snapped back.
I was twenty-four years old, and it was hard to believe that I was still having petty quarrels with my mother. Over a dress!
I looked away from her, while the crowd cheered and clapped at the venue. It was a bright evening, without a cloud in the sky. Dad had picked this spot on the museum grounds so we could organize the auction on stage, with plenty of seating. All eyes were on us now and as I looked around, I noticed the men for the first time.
I caught sight of a handful of them, spread around at the back ends of the venue. They reminded me of Lincoln, in their body shape and tattoos. What were a bunch of strong men doing at dad’s event?
There was no way that my father knew men like them personally. I could feel my body stiffening up as we stepped up to the stage. Dad and mom were ahead of me, smiling and waving at the crowd like royalty. I felt a little dazed, still confused by the presence of these biker men in our midst.
Would I even have noticed them if I hadn’t gone to the campsite? If I hadn’t met Lincoln?
I walked slowly to the center of the stage to take my position. All eyes were on us, especially on me. I searched the crowd, my heart racing. Suddenly, I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that Lincoln was here too.
Then I saw him. My eyes met his. He was at the back, standing with his arms crossed over his expansive chest. When I saw him, I knew that he wasn’t expecting to find me here either. What was he doing here? Why was he in Nashville? At my father’s charity auction?
I thought I felt my knees wobble and I was going to collapse to the ground.