Chapter 3 What the Silence Revealed

The door opened quietly.

At first, I didn't react. I was curled on the couch, knees pulled tight to my chest, staring at the blank television screen like it might eventually say something back to me. For a second, I wondered if the sound was just my mind playing tricks on me.

Then I heard her voice.

"Mira?"

I lifted my head slowly.

Lena stood just inside the doorway, her bag slipping from her shoulder, forgotten. Her eyes moved over me in one quick sweep, taking in my bare feet, my stiff posture, the way I looked smaller than usual, like I'd folded in on myself.

Her face changed instantly.

"Oh God," she whispered. "What happened?"

I tried to answer. I really did. But my throat locked up, and the words refused to form.

She crossed the room in two strides and dropped to her knees in front of me. "Hey. Hey." Her voice softened. "Talk to me. You scared me."

That was all it took.

Something inside me broke open.

I collapsed into her arms and cried like I hadn't cried in years deep, gut-wrenching sobs that felt like they were tearing their way out of my chest. I couldn't control the sound or the shaking. My lungs burned. My head ached. I cried until my body felt hollowed out.

Lena didn't say a word. She just held me, rocking gently, her hand moving in slow circles against my back, grounding me while everything else came undone.

When the tears finally slowed into weak, hiccupping breaths, she pulled back just enough to look at my face.

"Okay," she said quietly. "Start from the beginning."

So I did.

I told her about the restaurant. The dim lights. The wine. The way everything had seemed normal until it wasn't. I told her about bending down to check my phone, about standing up and feeling like my body no longer belonged to me.

I told her about waking up.

About unfamiliar sheets. About panic setting in before I even fully opened my eyes. About turning my head and seeing Julian beside me.

I didn't spare the confusion. Or the fear. Or the sickening shame that followed me like a shadow.

When I finished, the room fell into a heavy silence.

Lena didn't laugh.

Didn't interrupt.

Didn't try to soften it with humor or logic.

She just sat there, jaw tight, eyes dark with something close to fury.

"Mira," she said finally, her voice slow and deliberate, "you were drugged."

I shook my head weakly. "I don't even remember everything."

"That's exactly my point," she replied. "You didn't consent. You didn't choose that. Someone took advantage of you."

My chest caved in again. "It was my boss."

Her hands curled into fists. "Julian Cross?"

I nodded.

She stood abruptly and began pacing the room. "Did he give you the drink?"

"Yes," I whispered. "I bent down to check my bag. My phone. When I stood up... everything blurred."

She stopped pacing.

"That's when it happened," she said flatly. "That moment. Someone spiked it then."

I wrapped my arms around myself, my skin suddenly feeling too tight. "Why would he do that? If he wanted something, he could've just asked. I would've said no, but-"

"That's exactly why," she snapped, then softened immediately. "Because you would have said no."

Silence settled between us, thick and heavy.

"He hasn't called," I murmured. "He hasn't even asked how I am. He just sent an email telling me to take the week off."

Lena let out a short, humorless laugh. "Of course he did."

"I feel dirty," I admitted, staring at the floor. "And stupid. And weak."

She knelt in front of me again and cupped my face in her hands, forcing me to look at her. "Listen to me. You did nothing wrong. Nothing. Do you hear me?"

I nodded, even though my eyes betrayed me.

She pulled me into another hug. "You are not to blame for someone else's crime."

That night, neither of us slept.

We stayed in the living room, the lights low, time stretching in strange, uneven ways. Sometimes we talked. Sometimes we sat in silence. Lena made tea I barely touched. Every time I closed my eyes, my body remembered before my mind did.

Eventually, she rested my head against her shoulder and whispered, "You're not alone. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

For the first time since that night, I believed it.

The Next Morning

I woke with a pounding headache and a heaviness that felt permanent.

Lena made breakfast something light and watched me eat like she was afraid I might disappear if she looked away.

"What are you going to do about work?" she asked carefully.

I swallowed. "I don't know if I can face him."

"Then you don't," she said immediately. "Your safety comes first."

I checked my phone.

No calls.

No messages.

Just silence.

By afternoon, an email arrived.

Hope you're feeling better. Take all the time you need.

I showed Lena.

"That's it?" she scoffed. "No accountability. No explanation."

I didn't reply.

Four Weeks Later

I still hadn't returned to the office.

Julian didn't push. Didn't apologize. Didn't explain.

It was like that night existed only in my body-and nowhere else.

Time stopped behaving normally after that. Days blurred together without clear beginnings or endings. I slept at odd hours, waking up anxious and disoriented. Food lost its taste. Mirrors became something I avoided.

I stopped dressing up. Stopped answering messages unless they were from Lena.

The apartment grew quieter. Heavier.

One morning, while Lena was getting ready for work, she paused and studied me like she already knew something was wrong but was waiting for me to say it first.

"You don't look okay," she said softly.

"I'm just tired," I whispered.

She didn't argue. She just took my hand, her thumb brushing over my knuckles.

"Mira," she said gently, "have you noticed anything... off?"

I frowned. "Like what?"

"You've been nauseous. Exhausted. And your period-"

I froze.

The calendar came back to me all at once.

Late.

My hands shook as I locked myself in the bathroom and took the test. I didn't need to wait long.

Two lines.

My knees gave out.

When I walked back into the living room, Lena knew before I said a word.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "Mira..."

I nodded, tears spilling again. "I'm pregnant."

She pulled me into her arms, holding me like she could shield me from everything.

And in that moment, I understood something terrifying and irreversible.

That night hadn't just changed my past.

It had rewritten my future.