Chapter 6 The pregnancy

Hilary Windsor

I stared at the cracked ceiling of the motel room, listening to the distant hum of traffic outside. My heart beating fast and uneven, matching the rage inside me.

Two weeks.

It has been two weeks since I ran, since I heard Emily was getting engaged, since I walked away from everything and everyone.

I told myself I needed space. A moment to breathe.

But no amount of distance could dull the ache in my chest.

The betrayal still stings. The humiliation even more. And the one-night stand with a stranger whose name I didn't even know.

I thought I could handle it. That I was strong enough to bury the pain and move on.

But I was wrong. So damn wrong.

I turned off my phone the night I left. Deleted my location. Blocked everyone. No one could find me. And I didn't want them to.

I believed leaving would make me feel free. But all I feel is... emptiness.

There's a void inside me, something missing but I don't know what.

Maybe it's the desire to be loved sincerely.

Maybe it's the part of me that believed in people blindly.

I placed a hand over my chest, but it didn't ease the pain.

I loved Liam. I gave him my heart, and he shattered it like it meant nothing.

"You're my sunshine, and I'll never love you less." That was his favourite line.

Lies.

All fucking lies.

I was too blind. Too naive. Maybe because I had never known real love before. I clung to any form of affection like it meant something.

My mother died the day I was born. My father was all I had until he married Vivian when I was eight.

For a little while, I was happy, thinking I had a new mother, a sister. But then, shortly after, my father died too.

And everything fell apart. I became everything they needed me to be. Thinking maybe they'd love me back. But they didn't. They never did.

I was broken and used.

And now, here I am lying on a cheap bed, my life in ruins, trying to convince myself I could fight back.

But can I really go against the people I called my own family?

At least they took care of-

No, Hilary. They didn't.

They used you.

Vivian with her sweet lies and fake smiles. Emily, always taking what was mine and pretending it was hers.

I know there are some shady things about Vivian and the company.

But I don't know what exactly. So many untold secrets.

But even if I try to expose her... would anyone believe me? I don't even have any proof.

I'm not cut out for this. Maybe I should just stay here.

I closed my eyes, willing the thoughts away, but my body had other plans. A sharp wave of nausea rolled over me, twisting my stomach. My throat burned, and before I knew it, I was stumbling to the tiny motel bathroom, gripping the edges of the sink as I gagged.

I barely made it to the toilet before everything came rushing up. My body trembled as I clutched my stomach, trying to catch my breath.

This wasn't the first time.

For the past week, I'd been sick all morning. Feeling tired all day. I had brushed it off as stress, as the aftermath of everything that happened.

Then I realized my period is late.

A cold, terrifying thought crept into my mind.

No. No. No.

Without thinking, I threw on a hoodie and stepped out into the cold morning air, my body moving before my mind could catch up.

I found a small pharmacy a few blocks away. The lights were too bright, too harsh for how I felt inside.

"Morning! Can I help you find something?" the cashier said in a cheerful tone.

I didn't answer. I just walked straight to the aisle, grabbed the test, and went to the counter.

I paid in silence and walked out just as quietly.

This can't be happening.

But deep down, I already knew it was.

As I got back, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My skin was pale, my eyes dull.

I quickly took the test. Then I saw two pink lines.

I felt the truth settle into my bones.

I'm pregnant.

A shaky breath escaped me, my whole body trembling.

Now I was carrying the child of a man whose name I didn't even know.

It wasn't Liam, I knew that for sure. He hadn't touched me in months. He always had one excuse or the other.

That bastard.

I pressed a hand to my stomach, a new life was growing inside me. An innocent life that didn't deserve to be born into all this pain.

I staggered back into the bedroom, my mind spinning. What was I supposed to do now? Where was I supposed to go?

I had no one.

No family cared. I have no friends.

And the father of my child?

A stranger who probably hadn't thought about me since that night.

My stomach churned again, but this time, it wasn't from nausea. It was fear.

I needed to think.

I grabbed the remote and turned on the old motel television, hoping for something or anything to distract me.

But the moment the screen lit up, my entire body went still.

I saw the man from that night.

Stepping out of a sleek black car in a perfectly tailored suit, his face glowing on the screen, his expression unreadable as flashes of cameras and microphones surrounded him.

He looked like someone Important. Powerful. Untouchable.

A reporter's voice filled the room.

"...Bennett Landon, CEO of Landon Enterprises, has officially announced his engagement to Emily Windsor, daughter of socialite Vivian Windsor..."

I couldn't breathe.

I dropped the remote. The sound of it hitting the floor barely registered.

My head was spinning.

My eyes locked on the screen.

So he was the Bennett Landon they were talking about?

The man I slept with... the father of my child. Was engaged to my sister?

My hands trembled as I whispered to myself.

"What the Hell..?"