6. Restless Secret

Daniel continued to drive into his partner without pause. The hotel bed shook, swaying with every thrust of his hips. Satisfying the man’s desires was indeed exhausting. Taken from behind, the woman looked utterly worn out.

"Ahhh... Mr. Daniel, aren't you close yet?"

"Shut up and just enjoy it!" Daniel squeezed the woman's full breasts.

How could she possibly enjoy it? Her knees felt on the verge of giving out from Daniel’s relentless pace. Her ragged breaths and gasps sounded pathetic. Yet Daniel had no intention of stopping; he drove in deeper until a low groan tore from his throat. For some reason, he pulled out at the last second, spilling his release all over the sheets.

"Clean yourself up, and let’s go again!"

"W-what, Sir?" The woman was visibly terrified.

Meanwhile, inside Ghea’s bedroom, both she and Jenny sat in dead silence. Almost half an hour had passed without a single word exchanged between them. Jenny had her head buried in her hands.

A few hours earlier...

"Jen—Jenny! Jenny!"

Ghea’s desperate screams sent Jenny hurrying into the bedroom. She was stunned to find her artist hysterical, trembling uncontrollably.

"What is it, Ghe? Are you in pain? Come on, let’s go to the hospital!" In her panic, Jenny cupped Ghea’s cheeks; the girl's skin felt icy cold. "Wait! I’ll have the car brought around."

Jenny stood up, but Ghea’s next words froze her in her tracks.

"Je... what if I’m pregnant?"

"What?" Jenny’s eyes widened in utter disbelief. She stammered, "W-what did you just say?"

"I did it, Je. I’m not a virgin anymore." Ghea’s shoulders shook violently. Yet strangely, a wave of relief washed over her chest. Honestly, carrying such a massive secret alone all this time had eaten away at her.

"When? When did you do that?!" Overwhelmed with emotion, Jenny slapped Ghea's arm. Like a mother discovering her child’s catastrophic mistake, Jenny broke down in tears. "What am I supposed to tell your mother when I meet her in the afterlife, huh? You know I promised to look after you, Ghe! Why would you do this?"

Ghea remained motionless, taking Jenny’s strikes without resisting.

"Now tell me! Tell me right now, when did you do it, and who is the man you slept with?"

Remembering her agreement with Daniel—one of the clauses strictly requiring her to keep their one-night stand an absolute secret—Ghea chose to lie and claim she couldn’t remember anything.

"When I was drugged with that cursed substance."

"What?"

"It’s your fault! Why didn't you come pick me up like Kris picked up Noah?"

"Why are you blaming others for your own reckless actions?! I told you that you could go to the club as long as you took care of yourself. I’m your manager, not your mother. It's not my job to watch over you twenty-four hours a day!"

Jenny’s sharp words silenced Ghea. At the same time, Jenny immediately felt a pang of guilt for bringing up Ghea’s late mother.

"I’m sorry, Je. I’m so sorry..." Ghea whispered brokenly.

Jenny took deep breaths, trying to steady herself. Her chest rose and fell heavily, still brimming with rage. But looking at Ghea, her heart softened.

"I’ll get you a pregnancy test. Your hunch might be wrong," Jenny said, turning and leaving Ghea alone.

**

 

Jenny glanced back down at the pregnancy test Ghea had placed on the table. Two distinct pink lines were visible. The girl was undeniably pregnant.

"Tell me, who is the man?"

"I don’t know, Je. I wasn't in my right mind. I don’t even remember his face," Ghea lied.

Jenny let out a harsh, frustrated scoff, at an utter loss for what to do. If reporters ever found out that Ghea was pregnant, the girl’s career and livelihood would be finished in an instant. Especially now, when Ghea’s star was shining at its brightest.

"Get some rest! I need to rest too. I can’t think of a way out right now!"

After Jenny left, Ghea could only curl up alone in her bed. Her mind raced with tormenting questions: Should I demand Daniel take responsibility? Or should I terminate the pregnancy? Can I really bury all my dreams? I still want to hold my own solo concert. The thoughts swirled chaotically in her head until she wept, calling out for her mother over and over until she finally fell into an exhausted sleep.

**

"Aghh... shit!"

Daniel’s muscles tensed as he spilled his seed once again. Beside him, the woman who had just ridden him collapsed onto the mattress, limp from exhaustion.

"You can keep using this room, but keep in mind that I won't pay for any extra charges if you check out late," Daniel said, casually buttoning up his dress shirt.

The woman nodded in understanding. Daniel always booked presidential suites whenever he spent the night with a woman.

Walking out of the hotel toward his car, Daniel noticed a news alert pop up on his phone screen, a frequent occurrence lately. His expression remained completely flat as he read about Ghea fainting during an event.

"Isn’t there any other celebrity worth reporting on?" Daniel grumbled.

Ghea stared at the five pregnancy test kits lined up neatly across her mattress. She was still desperately hoping one of them would show a single line. Unfortunately, she had to swallow the bitter truth. Every single test showed two lines. The fact that she was pregnant was unavoidable now.

"Am I carrying a hippo’s baby?"

Ruffling her hair in distress, Ghea rested her head on her knees. Her eyes drifted out the bedroom window as tears began to fall once more. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined getting pregnant out of wedlock like this.

"If Mom were still alive, would she be furious with me?" she murmured.

"Yes, she definitely would," Jenny said, stepping into the room unannounced. "Because you did something you never should have done."

Ghea stayed silent, having no energy left to argue. She was drained from crying over her own foolishness the night before.

"Get ready! I’ll give you fifteen minutes if you want to take a shower first."

"Where are we going this early?"

Ghea watched Jenny walk toward the bed and pick up one of the neatly arranged test sticks. Jenny stared quietly at the device for a moment before speaking. "I’m taking you to an OB-GYN."

"Je!"

"Don’t worry! I’ve already made sure the doctor won't leak a single word to the press. We need to confirm your condition." Jenny set the test stick back down. "Even though it’s glaringly obvious you’re pregnant, I need to know how far along the pregnancy is so we can figure out our next move."

Jenny turned and walked out, leaving Ghea alone. The chilly demeanor from the woman she had always viewed as an older sister made her heart sink.

On the other side of town that morning, Nova sat at the dining table with a sour expression. She had just read an update in her Patin group chat saying that the soap opera Ikatan Batin wouldn't air for the next few days because Ghea, the lead actress, was ill.

"Is she seriously sick? Should I send vitamins and food to her house?"

As a member of the Patin club, Nova was merely one of Ghea’s wealthy, elite fans. In fact, many members in that circle openly wished Ghea were their daughter-in-law.

While Nova was still agonizing over her plans to send food to Ghea, Daniel came down the stairs, sat down, and reached for his breakfast. His gaze occasionally shifted to his mother, who was thoroughly absorbed in the handheld screen.

"Didn’t you teach me that we shouldn't do anything else while at the dining table? Seems like you forgot. Are you getting senile, Mama?" Daniel teased sarcastically.

Still fixated on her phone screen, Nova didn’t bother looking up at her son, though she clearly heard his jab.

"What should I send her?" Nova muttered to herself. "Ugh... these cheap gossip accounts love making up trash. Claiming Ghea is pregnant! She doesn't even have a boyfriend."

COUGH!

Daniel choked on the bread he was chewing. Nova looked up at her son, her brows furrowing.

"Mila! Get Daniel some water!" she yelled toward the kitchen, eyeing her son in confusion. Nova didn't think much of why Daniel had choked so suddenly, returning her attention to her phone screen once she saw Jamilah hurry over.

"Yes, I'm senile because I'm old. That's why you should hurry up, get married, and give me a grandchild," Nova snapped, convinced Daniel had choked as karma for mocking her.

Daniel chose to stay quiet. For some reason, the image of Ghea was burned into his mind. Even though she certainly wasn't the first virgin he had ever taken.

"Niel, I want to send something to someone who’s sick. What do you think I should send?" Nova asked her son.

Gulping down the rest of the water in his glass, Daniel remained speechless, unable to give his mother an answer.

"I'm such a huge fan of Ghea, I don't even know why. Maybe because of her talent and her life story. Did you know? She lives in this city all by herself. Her mother passed away, and her father lives in Jogja. Isn't she such a resilient girl? No wonder so many people adore her. Even my friends are competing to make her their daughter-in-law."

"Just send her some flowers and a get-well-soon card," Daniel said curtly, standing up from his chair.

Massaging his temples as he walked away, Daniel found himself unable to shake Ghea from his thoughts—especially knowing his own mother turned out to be the girl’s biggest fan.