Bella Conrad couldn't help but sometimes wondering if her mother ever regretted having her. From a very young age she had known that she had been an happy accident.
Now that she was seventeen years old and in a similar position as her mom once was, she realised that she didn't know the answer to that question. She knew that her mom didn't had it easy taking care of her. Despite with all the help she had from her friends.
Bella didn't have so much luck as her mom had. Last week she had turned seventeen. Instead of celebrating it with friends, she had celebrated it at home with her moms and aunts and the rest of their makeshift family.
Although she had inherited her moms looks, she was the complete opposite of her mom. She was an introvert who preferred studying at home to partying with friends. The thought of being close to strangers in an unfamiliar area made her physically sick.
Despite having not having many friends, she managed to have a boyfriend. Or actually had. Sawyer, her boyfriend of two and a half year had dumped het as soon as she had told him that she was pregnant. Suddenly he didn't want to have anything to do with her. He immediately had broken up with him and left. After he made it very clear to her that she didn't have to contact him anymore. He had offered to pay for an abortion which she quickly had declined.
Heartbroken she had locked herself in her room. When she found out that she was pregnant, she never once thought of an abortion. No matter what would happen, she would give birth to this baby. She could always give it up for adoption but she wasn't going to end an innocent life.
But there were still a few things. Outside Sawyer, she hadn't told anyone about it. Keeping this a secret any longer made her crazy. She needed to talk about it with someone.
Her first instinct was running to her mom and tell it. But somehow she was afraid for her moms reaction. Although her mom never gave her the feeling she was unwanted, she still was afraid that her mom would be disappointed with her.
Her other mom was definitely not an option. Beca Conrad Mitchell was very protective of her daughter. If she found out how Saywer had reacted, she would hunt his ass down and sue him. Her aunt Aubrey would probably happy to be the lawyer in that trial. That's why she wasn't an option either.
Despite being scared of her moms reaction she decided that she would tell her. Yeah, her mom would probably be disappointed but she wouldn't kick her out of the house. Or at least she hoped.
With a heavy feeling in her heart, she left her room and went downstairs to look for her mom. Fortunately for Bella, her other mom wasn't at home. She sighed when she spotted her mom on the couch, her nose buried deep in a book.
Quietly she walked closer and sat down next to her mom.
"Mom, do you ever regret having me at such a young age?" she suddenly asked.
Her mom, clearly surprised at her question, immediately put her book away and looked her in straight in her eyes.
"No, absolutely not sweetie. Why?" her mom questioned her.
"I was just wondering" she answered.
Not at all convinced by her answer, her mom stroked her hair and tucked it behind her ear.
"Bella Anastasia Mitchell Conrad, I want you to know how proud I am of you. I don't know who gave you the idea that you're unwanted, but having you was one of the best decisions I ever made. Your mom and sisters made us a family, but you made me a mom. And I'm forever grateful for that" her mom said emotionally as she hugged her tight.
Hearing those words coming from her mom was all she needed. She hugged her mom back and started to cry.
"What's wrong baby girl?" her mom asked immediately concerned.
"I'm pregnant" she said without hesitation.
Her mom didn't say a thing. She just continued to comfort her. When she was way more calmer, she started to tell her what happened. In between tears she told her mom how Sawyer had reacted.
The more she told her mom, the more she could feel her mom getting angry. She also knew that her moms anger wasn't directed towards her.
To her surprise her mom reacted much better than she expected. She wasn't angry or disappointed. She wasn't exactly happy but at least she didn't yell at her.
When she told her mom she thought of giving her baby up for adoption, her moms reaction surprised her.
"Before you give your baby up I want you to do three things. I want you to listen to your babies heartbeat. And I want you to look at the ultrasound and give it a name. If you have done that and still want to give it up for adoption, I fully support you. Until you haven't done that I don't want to hear about it" her mom had said.
She accepted her moms odd requests and with that their discussion was over.
As she expected her other mom didn't take the news of her pregnancy very well. She completely freaked out when she had heard how Sawyer reacted. She had threatened to kill him and it had cost Stacie all her patience and effort to calm her wife down.
After a while things settled down and life went on. Bella's pregnancy went well and she hadn't thought about her moms requests. Until she had her first doctors appointment. Both her moms accompanied her.
That moment she first heard the heartbeat of her baby she felt something she couldn't describe. Hearing that tiny heart beating made it somehow more real. But it was nothing compared as when she saw her baby for the first time. When she saw the tiny human that grew inside of her she understood why her mom had said it.
She could never give up her baby. This was her flesh and blood. She felt a love she had never experienced before. A love she never imagined she could have. Suddenly she understood her mom when she said that she never regretted having her.
When she later found out she was having a girl, she started thinking about a name. She wanted a strong name for her daughter. Something that meant something, just like her own name had a meaning.
A name was the first gift a child received from their parents. It was a gift that lasted for the rest of your life. When she thought of it that way she found the perfect name for her little girl. A name she would carried with pride. And that moment Bella realised that she would never give up her child. That no matter what happened she was going to make it. She would be the best mother for her child as she could be.
She knew that because of the strong woman that her own mother had been.