No Strings Attached

The couple raced to the hospital, the engine of their SUV humming steadily beneath them. Anxiety bubbled under the surface, but lan's hand found Clara's, offering a semblance of calm in the tempest of their worries.

Lying in the ultrasound room, Clara felt the cool touch of the transducer gliding across her belly, her heartbeat quickening with each sweep. The four-dimensional ultrasound could reveal any physical anomalies in their child, and after the tumultuous events of her pregnancy, the fear of potential consequences for their baby weighed heavily on her heart. Her palms were icy, her grip on lan's hand almost desperate. "Ian, I'm kind of scared," she admitted, her voice quivering slightly.

lan stroked her forehead gently, his voice a soothing balm. "Don't worry, sweetheart. Everything's going to be just fine."

He sounded confident, but his palm was damp with perspiration, his shirt sticking to his back. The odds of a birth defect during a normal pregnancy were about two percent, but Clara had been through so much more a dunk in the ocean, a knife wound. There was no way those events hadn't left their mark.

They exchanged a silent, knowing look. The room was enveloped in an eerie quiet, broken only by their breathing and the soft clicking of the ultrasound machine.

Finally, the doctor finished his examination and spoke, shattering the silence. Unable to contain her impatience, Clara blurted out, "Doctor, is the baby okay?"

healthy as can be. You can tell this

as she clutched lan's hand. "Ian, did you hear that?

love, and he wrapped her in his arms, kissing her on the top of her head. "Now you can rest easy, waiting

how do you know it's a boy?" Clara looked puzzled. "The doctor didn't

must be real. The doctor said we have a handsome young man on the way. What more of

dawned on Clara, and she laughed, "Honey, I'm carrying the next Hayes family heir. You've

celebrate with some ice cream cake later?" lan suggested. "Oh yes, and I want some spicy street food

gaze. "Alright, but just a little. Too much

left the hospital with the ultrasound images in hand. As they got into their car, lan couldn't wait to share the news with his friends, sending the pictures to a group chat along with a cheeky message. [Whose good-looking kid is this in the