The week crawled by.
Adrian sat behind his mahogany desk, papers scattered before him, but his mind was elsewhere. The memory of that night wouldn't leave him—the taste of heat, the shadow of a woman's trembling body, the fire that had consumed him unlike anything before.
He hated not knowing. He hated losing control.
As soon as he walked into his office that morning, he snapped at his brother lounging casually in his chair. "Where are the details?"
Ethan glanced up, smirking lazily. "About that… sorry, brother. I got there late. By the time I arrived, she was already gone."
Adrian's jaw clenched. "Gone?"
"All I saw was her shudder before she slipped into a black Corolla with her friend. No name. No face. Nothing." Ethan shrugged like it was nothing.
Adrian's fist slammed the desk. "Shit. That's not good."
"Relax," Ethan drawled, swinging his leg. "Maybe it was just a fling. Happens to men all the time."
Adrian's eyes darkened. "Not to me."
Because deep down, he knew—she wasn't like the others. Whoever she was, she had burned something into him.
And now, she was gone.
And now, she was gone.
---
Meanwhile…
Elena tried to move on, though her heart felt like shattered glass. She clung to Anna, her only lifeline, as they went grocery shopping in the bustling city market.
"Elena, you look pale again," Anna said, her brows knitted with worry as she adjusted the basket on her arm. "It's been two weeks since the… since that night. You've been weak and dizzy every day."
Elena waved it off. "I'm just tired. Nothing else."
Anna pursed her lips. "Tired doesn't make you faint in the middle of a store."
As if on cue, Elena swayed, her hand reaching for the shelf. Her vision blurred, her legs buckled.
"Elena!" Anna shrieked as her friend crumpled to the floor.
Shoppers gasped. Someone shouted for help. Within minutes, Elena was rushed to the hospital, Anna clutching her hand the whole way.
---
When Elena finally stirred, the white ceiling above her spun into focus. Anna sat at her bedside, eyes red from crying, gripping her hand like she'd never let go.
A doctor entered with a chart, his expression unreadable at first—then warm.
"Ms. Elena," he said gently. "I have good news."
Elena blinked, still groggy. "Good… news?"
"You are pregnant."
The words hit like thunder.
Anna gasped. "Pregnant?"
The doctor nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Yes. Not just with one child. You are carrying triplets."
"WHAT?!"
Both Elena and Anna screamed at the same time, their voices echoing down the sterile hallways.
Elena's mouth went dry, her heart pounding as though it would leap out of her chest. Triplets? Three babies?
Her trembling hands went instinctively to her stomach.
The room spun again—but this time not from faintness. From sheer disbelief.
The doctor had lingered longer than expected after delivering the news.
"Triplets," he'd repeated, almost in disbelief himself. He looked at Elena's pale face, then at the ring glinting faintly on her finger. His brows furrowed. "I assume your husband will be very pleased—"
Elena's eyes widened. The ring.
It wasn't a wedding band. It was just a simple, pretty ring she wore to feel less bare, less lonely.
But she didn't correct him. She couldn't. Her throat locked, her shame too heavy.
Anna quickly changed the subject, thanking the doctor before hurrying Elena out of the hospital.
---
Back at Anna's home, Elena locked herself in the guest room.
She pressed her back to the door, her chest heaving.
Pregnant.
The word circled in her head like a curse.
She stumbled to the mirror, staring at her reflection—the hollow eyes, the trembling lips. "No," she whispered. "It can't be. Not now. Not like this."
Her trembling hand went to her stomach. The thought clawed at her mind. I don't even know his father. A stranger. A night I didn't choose.
Her knees buckled, and she collapsed on the floor, sobbing until her throat burned.
She had lost everything—her virginity, her pride, her family's love. And now this.
How am I supposed to live on?
Her sobs turned to hysterical cries, muffled against her palms. The shame was too much, the weight unbearable. She curled into herself, rocking like a child.
Outside the door, Anna's voice trembled as she pleaded. "Elena, please don't hurt yourself. Please! Be strong. Everything will be fine, I promise. You're not alone."
But Elena couldn't hear anything beyond her own torment.
The day bled into evening, her tears soaking the pillow until there was nothing left in her body to give.
When the moonlight finally filtered through the window, she sat up, her face swollen and raw, her eyes hollow but resolute.
She wiped her tears roughly, her whisper sharp with bitterness.
"I know what to do."
Her gaze fell to her stomach, hatred twisting her insides.
"I will get rid of them. I hate them."
Her words hung heavy in the silence, a vow spoken into the dark.