16

"Congratulations!" I tell Ella as I stand beside her at the sink. My wish to be alone for some moments got denied when she followed me to the bathroom.

She smiles, but her brows raise as she looks at me.

"On having a baby."

She throws me a quick and confused stare. My brows also pull together, wondering what is in her mind.

"Oh, that. Thank you. I thought you meant Zed and me,” she says, tilting her head into a radiant smile. She speaks with such elegance and gracefulness that I feel inferior to her.

Oh, heavens! She's confirming it. They're pregnant!

“That one also. I was worrying for him back then. I was kind of guilty,” I pause, trying to find the right words. I'm sure Zed has confessed everything about us. “But some things just happened beyond our control. So, seeing that he’s happy now makes me breathe freely again.”

“We all fail in life,” she says, holding my gaze; her interlaced hands suspend under the faucet, “but what’s more important is we move on.”

“Right,” I smile,