#Chapter 559: Where We’re Meant to Be

Nina The warm summer breeze brushed across my skin as I stood on the patio, clutching my robe tightly around my body. Laughter and splashes echoed up from the pool below, where our friends were already gathered for our big end-of-summer party. I should have been down there too, soaking up the very last rays of the season. But something was holding me back—a nagging sense of self-consciousness that had only grown more intense as my baby bump had blossomed into full view over the past couple of months. Letting out a shaky breath, I slowly undid the sash at my waist and shrugged off the robe, revealing the vibrant red bikini beneath. My hands automatically moved to cover the taut swell of my belly, my fingers brushing over the stretch marks that had begun to form on my skin. It wasn’t that I was ashamed, necessarily. Pregnancy was a miraculous thing, a journey I knew I was blessed to experience. Still, putting myself on display like this in front of all our friends felt...