Blake’s POV
I slumped into the plush leather chair, a whiskey glass held in my hand. The faint lighting of the confidential parlor cast shadows across my exhausted face. Avoiding Ethan and Mark’s questions all night had been exhausting, but I knew I couldn’t escape their judgment much longer.
Ethan, always the straightforward one, leaned forward with frustration and disbelief shown on his face. “Blake, are you serious? You’ve been away from home for a month. What’s happening?”
I took a slow sip of my drink, avoiding Ethan’s piercing gaze. “Ana said she needed a break. She’s angry and frustrated. I figured giving her space would help.” I said to them knowing how flimsy it sounded.
“Help?” Ethan’s voice rose. “Blake, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Running away doesn’t solve anything. You’re only making it worse.”
Mark shook his head, pity in his eyes. “Ethan’s right. You can’t just leave her to stew in her anger. It’s spineless, man. You need to deal with this directly.”
I tightened my grip around the glass. “You don’t understand. She’s been blaming me for things, saying I’m rude and cheating. It’s like she’s lost her mind.”
“Lost her mind?” Ethan scoffed. “Or maybe she’s just fed up with your crap. Especially considering who you’re cheating with.”
Mark leaned in, his voice low but firm. “Yeah, Blake. We all know about you and Selene. Ana’s work rival? Really? She has every right to be angry.”
My face flushed with embarrassment. “It’s not like that. Selene and I… it’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” Ethan nearly shouted. “You’re having an affair with her rival. There’s nothing complicated about it. You’re just making excuses.”
Mark nodded. “You need to stop these shenanigans with Selene and start fixing your marriage. Hiding here and avoiding the issue isn’t going to help. You’re acting like a coward.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed as he leaned closer. “Blake, you had two choices: either cheat without getting caught, which is still terrible, or even better, don’t cheat at all. But you cheated with her work rival, not just a friend or colleague. A work rival. That’s insane, man.”
I seethed at the word, but deep down, I knew they were right. Time had made the rift wider. They just didn’t know why, they did not know how far I’d be willing to secure my future.
Ethan’s tone mellowed but stayed firm. “Look, Blake, we’re your friends. We’re telling you this because we care. Return home. End things with Selene. Talk to Ana. Face whatever it is you’re both dealing with. Running away is never the answer.”
I stared into my drink, the ice cubes clinking gently as I swirled the glass. They were right. I had to face Ana, no matter how difficult it might be. Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Okay. I’ll go home and talk to her. I’ll end things with Selene.”
Ethan and Mark shared a glance before Ethan said “We hope you will,”
Anastasia’s POV
I stared at the letter in my hand- I had been sacked.
“Mrs. Sinclair, I believe that you can’t be the one behind the fraud, but this is about the company,” Mr Pierce says finally.
My job termination had already been decided. I saw it coming, but seeing it play out took me down emotionally. “Thank you so much sir, I appreciate it,” I say, walking off to my ex-cabin to get my things.
Tyler, Secretary Kim, and some junior colleagues came to wish me well while I got my things ready. Every eye was on me as I walked out of the premises.
I stared at the high-rise building one last time before driving off.
Sophia’s phone call comes in
“Did you get my present?” Sophia says through the phone. “Who delivers a single pregnancy test to someone’s door? You are one of your kind, I could have easily gotten it.” I continued.
Sophia had a package delivered to my front porch. “So am I a soon-to-be aunt?” She asks.
“My goodness, you are so impatient, if that was the case, I’d have given you a phone call immediately, I haven’t even used it yet,” I pause for a while before talking “Plus I just got sacked,” I say, sadness lacing in my voice.
“Are you serious?” Sophia’s voice quickly shifts from excitement to concern. “What happened?”
I sigh, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “They pinned the fraud on me. Even Antonio said he doesn’t believe it, but the board needed a scapegoat.”
“That’s ridiculous! They can’t just do that. Are you okay?”
“No, but I will be,” I reply, trying to muster some strength. “I’ll figure something out. Right now, I just need to get home and clear my head.”
“Well, don’t you dare use that test without me,” she warns in a playful tone, attempting to lighten the mood. “We’re in this together.”
“Thanks, Soph,” I say, feeling a bit of comfort from her words. “I’ll see you later.”
When I finally get off the phone, I head home but my mind is not at ease. I am angry, sad, and confused. Everything just feels so heavy, but I have to stop it and not let it beat me.
The undecided result of the pregnancy still baffles me, I am excited too, but the current situation isn’t right for the arrival of a child.
Deep down, I feel it’s just due to the stress, “it couldn’t be because of that night, could it?” I soliloquize, my anxiety levels rising.
When I get home, the package is still on my porch as I park into the compound. I take it and bring it to the house, placing it on the kitchen counter. The pregnancy test stares back at me, a reminder of another potential life-changing moment.
I take a deep breath and decide to deal with one thing at a time. For now, I need to rest and gather my thoughts.
———-
My hands were shaking as I stared at the pregnancy test. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t.
I was restless ever since I got back. I couldn’t get my mind off the pregnancy test. Even tried sleeping, but to no avail. Who finds out about their pregnancy in the middle of the night? But here we are.
Blake and I hadn’t even been trying for a child during our marriage, we hadn’t even discussed it. Now, after all that has happened, after he had deserted me, I was pregnant? It felt impossible yet the truth of it gazed back at me in obvious, evident pink lines.
My mind raced back to the night of my deepest despair. Blake had been gone for weeks. The stranger with the kind eyes and the warm smile. We had talked and shared our miseries, and in a moment of weakness, I had let my guard down completely. It was a one-night stand, something I had never thought I was capable of, but the pain of Blake’s betrayal had driven me to it.
And now, I was carrying this stranger’s child. My breath came in short gasps as the realization hit me. I was pregnant, and it wasn’t Blake’s baby. I felt a flood of nausea, not from the pregnancy, but from the sheer terror of what this meant.
I got sacked and discovered I was pregnant with another man’s child whose name I don’t even know, whose face I probably might not recall, on the same freaking day. The day couldn’t get any worse.
“No, no at this point, I’ll practically go crazy. Sophia, yes Sophia, I need to call Sophia. I searched for my phone frantically, trying to dial her mobile number.
She picked at the third ring. “Babe, it’s past 3:am at night, wh…..,”
“It’s positive,” I say, cutting her off.
There was an awkward silence that lingered around for a while. “I swear if this is a prank, I am never speaking to you ever again,” she responds with anticipation.
“I suck at pranks Soph,” I took a deep breath while sighing. “Do you remember that one time in college when I tried to scare you with that fake spider? It was on the table, not even moving. You just looked at it, then at me, and burst out laughing because I was standing there with the most guilty expression ever,”
Sophia let out a small laugh, “Yeah, I remember that. You’re terrible at pranks, Anastasia.” There was a pause before she spoke again. “How many confirmations?”
“Three,” I responded.
Sophia’s voice immediately turned excited. “Damn, it’s legit, Ana! That’s amazing news! I’ll be at your doorstep soon.”