Chapter 3 When Secrets Leak

I sat on the edge of my bed, the phone pressed to my ear like it was the only thing keeping me grounded.

"Lila, you've got to tell them," Zoey said, her voice sharp. "Both of them. You can't hide this forever."

I ran a hand through my hair, fighting the urge to snap. It wasn't that simple. I didn't even know who the father was yet.

"You don't get it," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I don't even know. I'm not sure if it's Declan's or Jordan's, and I'm not about to drag either of them into this until I have the answer. This isn't some fairy tale where I get to pick the guy and live happily ever after."

There was silence on the other end of the line before Zoey spoke again, softer this time. "But you will have to tell them eventually. Secrets have a way of leaking out, Lila. And when they do, it's going to be ten times worse."

I didn't need the lecture. I knew the consequences of keeping secrets all too well. I'd lived through the betrayal of a man I thought I could trust-now I was the one holding the secret, and I wasn't sure I could trust myself.

"I know," I said, exhaling. "I'm just... I'm just trying to get a little more time before it all blows up."

"You better get to that doctor's appointment, then," Zoey urged. "Find out for sure. It's the only way you'll know what's really going on."

I didn't argue. Zoey had a point.

The next morning, I booked the appointment. A small part of me hated how routine it all felt-sitting in a sterile exam room, waiting for the confirmation that I was pregnant with a life I wasn't sure how to explain to anyone. I kept my fingers pressed against my lips, trying not to think of the future, of the confusion, of the absolute mess I was in.

The door opened, and the doctor walked in with a reassuring smile. "Lila, we're going to take care of you. Let's get this sorted out, shall we?"

I nodded, forcing a smile in return.

An hour later, I was out the door, the information still swirling in my head, but at least I had confirmation.

I was pregnant.

But what now?

I didn't have time to dwell on the future. As soon as I stepped outside, my phone buzzed. I glanced down, and my heart stopped.

Headline on Gossip Blog: "Moore's Mystery Woman Expecting?"

Another one popped up. "Carter's Ex and a Billion-Dollar Baby".

The comment section was already spiraling.

"Is that Lila Bennett?"

"Who's the father? Declan Moore or her ex-husband, Jordan Carter?"

"How does Moore's woman have a baby with Carter's ex? Somebody explain this one!"

I froze, my stomach dropping.

Someone had followed me. Someone had seen me entering the building. Someone had leaked it.

The walls seemed to close in, and my breath grew shallow. No one was supposed to know about the appointment. But now, everything had unraveled before I even had the chance to figure it out myself.

I went numb.

---

By the time I got home, I was barely holding it together. The apartment felt too small, the walls too thin. The weight of the world pressed down on me.

And then there was a knock on the door.

I didn't need to ask who it was. I could feel the rage radiating through the wood.

Jordan.

I opened the door, and there he stood-tall, imposing, his jaw clenched so tightly it looked like he might break something.

"I saw the photos," he spat, shoving past me as he stormed into the apartment. "What the hell is this, Lila?"

I didn't even have time to speak before he turned to face me, his eyes wild. "What did you do? Why were you at the Moore Prenatal Clinic? Is that his baby?"

My pulse throbbed in my temples. "Jordan, calm down," I said, trying to push past him. I couldn't let him get to me, not now. "I don't know. I don't know who the father is."

He laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "Don't play games with me. You think you can just walk into a doctor's office with Declan Moore's child inside of you and not tell me the truth?"

His words stung like acid, cutting deeper than I wanted to admit.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't know," I snapped, my hands trembling. "I'm not some woman you can control, Jordan. I'm not-"

He stepped forward, his hands reaching for me, but I pushed him away, instinctively. "No. Don't touch me. You don't get to decide this."

His eyes flickered with anger, and then, just as quickly, something shifted. His gaze dropped to my stomach, and the hardness in his face softened for a moment.

"Is it mine?" he growled, his voice low, filled with something darker, something desperate.

The question hung between us like a blade.

I didn't answer right away. I couldn't. The uncertainty felt like it was suffocating me, threatening to pull me under.

But I didn't have an answer for him. Not yet. And the longer I looked at him, the more I realized I might never have one.

"No," I whispered finally, my heart aching at the weight of the truth. "I don't know."

His eyes burned through me, and for a moment, I thought he might explode. But then, he seemed to deflate, his shoulders sagging as he turned away, pacing the small space. "You think this is some game, Lila? You think I can just walk away from this?"

"I don't know what you think you're entitled to, but I'm not playing games," I said, my voice steady despite the chaos inside. "I'm not going to be dragged into some pathetic back-and-forth over something I can't even control."

I hated the way the words tasted, but they were true. This was beyond my control now.

Jordan stopped pacing and turned back to me, his face unreadable. "You think I'm going to let him raise my child?"

I shook my head, my stomach twisting. "This isn't about you, Jordan. It's about me."

For a long moment, there was nothing but silence, the air thick with unspoken words.

Finally, Jordan spoke again, his voice barely a whisper. "We're not done, Lila. Not by a long shot."

And just like that, he was gone, slamming the door behind him.

I stood there, feeling as though the ground beneath me had split open, and I was left teetering on the edge of it all.