I went home that night and lay awake until dawn.

I thought about what it meant to carry a life and not keep it. I thought about boundaries, about attachment, about the invisible lines between generosity and permanence. And beneath all that, I thought about how deeply I loved them.

In the end, love outweighed fear.

I said yes.

The months that followed were both ordinary and extraordinary. Doctor appointments. Vitamins lined up on the counter.

The slow transformation of my body as a heartbeat flickered on a monitor and became something undeniable.

I felt every kick. Every hiccup. Every shift beneath my ribs.