In my story Aria is 26 and she is a very successful author and artist. She was dating Jason Dilaurentis for five years since college and they only broke up six months ago. Aria moved to Paris six months ago by herself to further her art career but she also moved for a different reason, to keep a secret. She is eight months pregnant with Jason's baby and nobody, not even her family knows about it.
A rush of anxiety washed over Aria as she stared out at the enormous line of fans queuing up to get their book signed. Having written a young adult series as popular as the Twilight saga, Aria had to do a lot of book signings. Tonight she was signing the last book in the series of four and she had to do a TV interview as well. She hated all the attention and wished the books would just sell themselves. The books were so successful they were adapted into movies that were huge hits. Aria had made millions of dollars. It was actually surreal. She had written the first book during her first year of college and sent it off to a bunch of publishers. She never expected anyone to publish it. After it hit the shelves everything kind of snowballed.
"Here you go," Aria said politely to the smiling teenage fan as she handed her back a signed copy of the book.
It took hours to get through all of the customers, but at eight o clock Aria was done with the signing. Unluckily for her, she had a TV interview to attend. Her manager, Regina, a thirty something gold digger, practically pushed her into the car to get her to the next venue. In the car, Aria and Regina spoke.
"So good news," Regina announced as she looked down at her phone. "I got your painting into the 2015 winter art showcase in Munich Germany. Oh it fabulous. I've been there so many times. The after parties they have at these events are divine." Aria was just sadly staring out the window, Regina poked her leg.
"I thought you'd be a little more excited. You've been talking about that weird skeleton painting since I met you when you were in college. What's wrong?"
Aria sighed. "No I am excited. I'm just not in the mood for any parties at the moment." She rested one hand on her growing bump as the baby kicked.
"The baby's not born yet. You can still go to the party."
Aria's problem wasn't the baby, it was loneliness. Since moving to France, Aria hadn't made a single friend. Regina was friendly to her when they worked together, but it was mostly professional. They'd never talk or hang out outside of work. That's why Aria hated going to all the social events that were associated with the job. She had nobody to go with at parties or dinners. It actually kind of sucked. She had worked her butt of to be this successful and she couldn't enjoy any of it. There's nothing more uncomfortable than looking like a loner at a party full of people having a great time. It was hard to make friends in France when you have a very poor understanding of the French language.
The baby was kicking like crazy. When Aria first found out she was pregnant she didn't know whether to keep it or not. She and Jason had just broken up the week before and everything was so messy. The whole reason they broke up was because of their packed schedules. Aria was always busy going on books tours and Jason owned his own very successful real estate company, he was a millionaire too. After taking some time to consider her options Aria decided to keep the baby. She was financially stable and having a baby couldn't be that hard. Besides all the secrecy, she was actually excited to see the baby.
"So, not trying to pry, but who is the father of that baby?" Regina asked.
"My ex-boyfriend. I don't know what I'll do. He doesn't know. Nobody knows." Aria admitted.
"Well do you still love him?" Regina asked.
That was the thing. Aria was still in love with him, very much so. "Yeah, but it's too late now. He'll never forgive me for keeping this secret from him."
"You're being dramatic. You guys don't need to get back together but he needs to know that he's going to be a father. It's better that you tell him now than when the kid is ten. Then he won't forgive you. The baby isn't even born yet. Tell him." Regina laughed. "I mean what are you going to do? Live in France miserably when you can't even speak French forever? Tell your family, friends and Jason about the baby. It may be a little awkward at first but you'll be happier in the long run."
Aria thought about it. She was having a girl and she was going to name her Nadia. She could imagine the little girl now. She would have blonde hair and green eyes, just like Jason. She would be pretty and happy. Aria would bring Nadia to theme parks, throw her birthday parties, tell her bedtime stories. She was genuinely excited to be a mother but she knew it wasn't right to keep Nadia a secret from Jason. She didn't want her perfect little girl wondering why her father isn't around.
Regina went back to her apartment to change clothes after spilling champagne. Aria was alone in the back of the car. The chauffeur was behind a screen so he couldn't hear anything. Aria decided to call Jason. He stomach was in knots as she waited for him to pick up.
"Hello," he answered.
"Hi, Jason, it's me, Aria."
Jason cleared his throat. "Aria, why are you calling? I haven't heard from you in a long time."
Aria immediately felt bad. "I know, it's just, I have something to tell you." Just as Aria was about to blurt out that she was pregnant, she heard a woman's voice in the background. It didn't sound like Ali, Spencer or even Jessica. "Who was that?" Aria asked, her heart sinking more and more with each second.
Jason hesitated to answer. When he did, his voice was strained. "That's Cece. We're engaged."
The awkward silence was killing Aria. How the Hell could Jason move on so quickly? AND WTH CECE!. That girl had treated him like dirt when they were together. Aria didn't expect Jason to wallow sadly forever, he could rebound with whoever he wanted, but to be engaged. That was serious. More serious than what he had with Aria. He never proposed to Aria. That's why is it was so easy for Aria to put work before Jason, he never made their fragile relationship a priority so neither did she.
"Aria, are you okay?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? It's your life you can do what you want. I'm really happy for you, seriously. So how long have you two been together?"
"For about six months. It all happened pretty quickly. So, what is it you want to tell me?" Jason asked.
Aria swallowed hard. Her baby kicked again, this time really freaking hard. She was sick of lying. The situation wasn't going to get any better. She had to tell him. "I'm eight months pregnant. The baby is yours."
Jason was just about to respond. A large truck hit into Aria car.
What do you think should happen next? Will the baby live or die? What will Jason say?
