Chapter 8 Missed opportunity

Elara POV.

"Table five" Elara quickly wiped her hands on her apron, forcing a small smile as she picked up the tray. Working helped.

It distracted her from the pregnancy, from the uncertainty, from the man she barely knew but couldn't forget.

Adrian.

Even his name lingered in her thoughts more than it should. "Coming!" she called, walking toward the table without looking up.

"Your order" She stopped. Everything stopped.

Because the moment her eyes lifted, She saw him. Adrian. Sitting right there.Real.

Not a memory. Not a dream.

For a second, neither of them spoke.

Then his eyes narrowed slightly... recognition flickering.

"You," he said.

Elara's heart skipped.

He remembered.

"You're... from that night," he added, his voice low, almost disbelieving.

This was it. Fate. It had to be.

"I-I've been meaning to find you," she said quickly, nerves spilling into her words. "There's something I need to tell you."

Adrian straightened slightly, his attention now fully on her.

"What is it?"

Elara swallowed.

Her hand instinctively moved to her stomach.

"This might sound crazy but...."

Buzz.

The sound cut through the moment like a knife.

Adrian's phone.

He glanced at it and everything changed. Again. His expression hardened instantly, all focus shifting away from her. "I have to go," he said abruptly, already standing up.

"What?" Elara blinked. "Wait Adrian, I need to tell you something important....."

"Not now." Cold. Dismissive. Final. And just like that He was gone. Elara stood there, frozen, her words dying in her throat as she watched him walk away without looking back.

Her chest tightened. Not from anger. Not from embarrassment. But from something far worse

A sinking feeling.

Adrian's POV

The message came like a bullet.

Adrian stared at his phone, reading every word once... then again... and again like somehow they would change.

Each sentence hit harder than the last.

You're not looking for me because you love me...You only need me...

His grip tightened around the phone.

"No," he muttered under his breath, eyes darkening. "That's not you."

Something was wrong.

He could feel it.

Seraphina was many things but she wasn't cruel without reason.

"She didn't write this," he said coldly.

And just like that the pain turned into something far more dangerous.

Rage.

"Track the message," he ordered immediately into his phone. "Now."

Elara's POV

The hallway felt longer than usual.

Elara adjusted the strap of her bag, her steps slow, careful like she was trying not to disturb something fragile inside her.

Maybe it was her thoughts.

Maybe it was her heart.

Or maybe...

It was the secret growing inside her.

She exhaled softly and pushed open the door to her brother's private ward.

But before she stepped in fully voices stopped her. Nurses "...I'm telling you, she's pregnant," one whispered.

Elara froze. Her fingers tightened around the door handle. "She comes here almost every day," another replied quietly. "The one with the quiet face... always checking on the young boy."

A soft chuckle. "And no man in sight. These girls, honestly..." Elara's chest tightened.

They were talking about her. She didn't need confirmation. She could feel it. Her first instinct was to walk away. To pretend she didn't hear anything. But before she could the door opened wider.

And someone opened it from inside.

"Elara?" Her heart stopped.

"Mum?" Elara stepped fully into the room, forcing a small smile despite the sudden panic rising inside her. "You're here..."

"I didn't expect you," Elara said, trying to sound normal, trying not to let her anxiety show.

"I came to see your brother," her mother replied, pulling back slightly to look at her. "How is he?"

"He's... he's better," Elara said quickly. "Still resting."

Her brother lay asleep on the bed, unaware of everything unfolding around him. A moment of peace in the middle of chaos.But Elara couldn't relax. Because the nurses were still there.

And so was the conversation.

Elara stood beside the bed, adjusting the blanket over her brother carefully, like everything was still normal like nothing had changed.

Like she wasn't carrying a secret that could destroy everything.

"Stop."

Her hand froze mid-air.

Slowly... she looked down.

Peter was awake.

His eyes were on her.

Not soft.

Not weak.

Sharp.

Aware.

"Elara..." he said slowly, his voice rough from sleep. "What did they mean?"

Her heart dropped.

"What do you mean?" she asked quickly, forcing a smile.

"I heard them," he cut in. "The nurses."

Elara's throat went dry.

"They said you're pregnant."

The words landed between them like a bomb.

She couldn't deny it. Not anymore.

Her shoulders slumped slightly as she looked away.

"...It's nothing," she whispered weakly.

"Nothing?" Peter repeated, his voice rising slightly despite his condition. "You're pregnant and you're calling it nothing?"

Tears burned her eyes instantly.

"Please," she said, rushing closer to him. "Don't raise your voice. Mum is just outside..."

"Does she know?"

Elara shook her head quickly, panic creeping in. "No. And she can't. Please, Peter... don't tell her."

He stared at her.

"Who is the father?"

A pause.

Elara's lips trembled.

"I don't know him," she admitted quietly. "It was just... one night."

Peter's expression changed.

Disbelief.

Then anger.

"You don't know him?" he said, his voice filled with shock. "Elara, what were you thinking?!"

"I wasn't!" she cried softly. "It just happened, I didn't plan it-"

"And now what?" he snapped. "You're just going to carry a child for a stranger?!"

Tears slipped down her cheeks.

"I'll handle it," she said desperately. "I promise. Just... don't tell Mum. Please. I'm begging you."

Peter looked at her....

And for a second, she thought he might agree.

But then "No." the word was final.

Cold.

"I'm not hiding this," he said firmly. "She deserves to know."

Elara's chest tightened.

"Peter, please..."

The door opened.

And everything fell apart.

Her mother stepped in, holding a small paper bag.

"I got the drugs....."