Chapter Four

SERENA

The first thing I needed to do was find somewhere to breathe. Right now, I felt like the walls were closing in on me, and I was about to suffocate from the sheer terror of knowing what I'd just done. So I ran to the bathroom and locked myself in a stall, and I finally let the tears fall.

It wasn't fair. The one time I decided to risk it and have sex with a guy without using protection, and look where that landed me. I was in a fucking mess, and I didn't know how to get out of it.

If it was simply the fact that I'd accidentally slept with my boss, I could live with that. I mean who doesn't make a stupid mistake every now and then in their lives? I mean so what if I hooked up with one of the Knight twins? It was an honest mistake, and the son of a bitch who I'd actually hooked up with didn't even realize it. I was just another bland, boring face he didn't even remember. So it should be in the past, right?

But like a fucking moron, I'd gotten myself knocked up. And now I had to live with the reality that a Knight baby was growing inside me.

Of course I should have seen this coming. I should have remembered that whenever it came to Serena Hale, the worst thing that could possibly happen to me was always the outcome I would eventually end up facing.

So now what was I going to do? I couldn't keep this baby. It would be a disaster of epic proportions. How on earth was I going to raise a kid by myself? Because I sure as fuck couldn't go over and tell my bosses, "Hey, sorry to disturb your meeting, but one of you (and I'm not sure which one) might have accidentally knocked me up, and now I need you to help me take care of the baby.”

They would throw me out into the street before I could even finish the sentence.

No, I needed to think about this carefully. First of all, I needed to decide if I was going to keep it or not. I didn’t like the idea of aborting a pregnancy, but I might not have any choice. Having a baby would derail my career right now. I was just starting out, and they would think I wasn’t dedicated to the corporate world if I pulled up with a baby after only a few months at my new job.

But could I just get rid of the pregnancy and carry on with my day? Didn’t the father have a right to know at least? Surely if I could figure out who it was, he would want to know that he had a baby growing in me. Maybe that would change everything, or maybe it wouldn’t.

Reluctantly, I wiped my tears and stepped out of the stall, then I headed for the sink and splashed some water on my face. When I looked up at my reflection, I looked like I’d seen a ghost. My eyes were sunken in and bloodshot, my nose was red from crying, and there was a vein pulsing in my forehead. It was obvious that I was losing it, and I had to pull myself together if I didn’t want to look like a lunatic out there.

“Pull yourself together, Serena,” I whispered. “So what if he knocked you up? You’re not the first woman who’s accidentally gotten pregnant, right? Suck it up.”

My little pep talk didn’t make the fear and anguish go away completely, but at least the tears stopped flowing. I was able to properly calm myself down, and get a grip on my raging emotions.

Or so I thought.

I freshened up as much as I could possibly manage, then I straightened my blouse and adjusted my hair. I looked somewhat normal, and I was proud of that. I still looked shaken a little bit, but you would only realize that if you stared too much.

I finally headed for the door and stepped out, after taking a deep breath and nearly choking on the smell of antiseptics. But when I stepped outside, I was back to my old self. I smiled at one of the interns as she passed me and headed into the bathroom, then I headed back to my desk and started replying Ms. Stanton’s emails. It was mindless work, and I adjusted her calendar and forwarded any important emails to her. I could focus on just staying distracted, and not thinking about the fact that the father of my unborn child was five floors above me right now, and completely oblivious to the fact that he had a baby on the way.

I ended up skipping lunch, and by closing hour, I was so hungry that I could barely stand. My vision swam, and I had to hold the wall to make sure I didn’t fall. There was a raging hunger in me, and I wondered if I was just imagining it because I knew I was pregnant. I normally didn’t get this hungry, but now it felt like I hadn’t eaten in an entire week. When I thought about getting a burger on the way home, my mouth actually began to water and I thought I was going to break down in tears again.

I barely made it to the elevator, but thankfully there was no one inside so I could sit on the floor and bury my head in my knees. My ears were ringing, and I really thought I was going to pass out. Maybe I should press the stop button and lie down here for a few minutes. The floor was cold and comforting, and I just wanted to curl up into a ball and die.

But then, suddenly, the doors swung open and I could see a pair of black shoes in front of me. I froze immediately, because I recognized the scent.

“Jesus Christ!” one of the Knights cried. “Are you okay?”

I looked up slowly, and my eyes immediately snapped to the ring on his finger. It was Adrian Knight, and he looked absolutely terrified at the sight of me sitting on the floor of the elevator. He immediately knelt down in front of me, and he pressed a hand to my forehead. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I kept thinking about how hot he looked in his grey suit, with his dark eyes fixed on me, and looking like he was on the verge of screaming.

“I’m fine,” I muttered weakly. “I’m just tired.”

“You’re sweating,” he said, concern laced into his voice. “Have you eaten anything all day?”

“I had a slice of bread before I stepped out this morning,” I said. “And I think I had a juice box at the hospital.”

“The hospital?” he gasped. “What happened?”

“Oh… um… it’s nothing,” I said awkwardly, moving away from his hand as his touch was sending shivers down my spine. “I just had to get some tests done.”

“Tests?” he repeated. “So, did they take your blood?”

“Yeah?” I said, desperately trying not to stare at him. He was even more handsome up close, and maybe it was the exhaustion talking, but I could have sworn that he was glowing from the light of the elevator.

“I think your blood sugar is low,” he said, loosening his tie. “You should have eaten something as soon as they took your blood. Didn’t the nurse tell you that?”

She might have mentioned it, but I honestly couldn’t remember. I was more preoccupied with the thought that I might be pregnant at the time. But hey, at least now I knew for sure that I was.

“Come on,” he said suddenly. “Let’s get some food in you right now.”

And then he freaking scooped me up in his arms and pressed me to his chest. I was so shocked that my heart nearly leapt out from my throat, and I was so taken aback by it that I didn’t know what to do. He carried me so effortlessly, like I weighed absolutely nothing in his arms. Even through his suit and shirt, I could feel how ridiculous hard his chest and abs were, and I could have sworn that he was a statue that somehow miraculously came to life. And yet, it felt so comforting to be held that way. I didn’t even realize my arms were wrapped around his neck, until I felt the tiny strands of hair on the back of his head tickling my fingertips. He was the most handsome man I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t believe that he, Adrian Knight, the freaking CEO of Knight Enterprises himself, was carrying me in his arms.

“There’s a McDonalds on 8th and 42nd,” he said as the elevator opened and he stepped out while still carrying me effortlessly. “I know it’s not ideal, but we just need to get some food in you right now.”

I buried my face in his chest as we walked out onto the main lobby, and I could immediately feel the collective stares of dozens of people who were probably baffled by the sight of the CEO of the entire building carrying a woman outside in his arms. I was mortified at the thought of someone figuring out it was me, so I kept my face firmly in his chest and distracted myself by the scent of his very expensive cologne.

“Mr. Knight!” someone cried from behind, rushing towards us. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, everything is fine,” Adrian said. “Just tell my brother I’ll be late to dinner later.”

He walked away before I could try to figure out who it was, and the next thing I knew, we were already outside and he was stuffing me into the back of a G-Wagon. I had assumed he would have a driver, but then he walked around and hopped into the driver’s seat.

“Just lay down and rest,” he said. “I’ll get us there in no time.”

I couldn’t believe it. My boss’s, boss’s, boss’s boss was actually driving me to McDonalds in the back of his car. How on earth did I end up in this situation? It certainly wasn’t something I imagined would ever happen to me when I took the job. Who could have ever predicted I would be in this situation?

He didn’t say anything as we drove, and I suspected it was because he didn’t want me straining myself by talking. He seemed genuinely concerned, and I was so touched by how selfless and caring he was being. I watched him out of the corner of my eyes as he drove, and I wondered if he was the father of my unborn child.

Lowkey, I wished it was him. Who wouldn’t want a kindhearted, loving and powerful man as their father of their child? Adrian was nothing like Aiden, from the rumors I’d heard. Aiden was more of a rebel, and a wildcard that nobody could control. He’d throw a tantrum on a Friday and fly off on the company jet to Cape Verde for the weekend, then return on Monday like nothing happened. He was flippant, egotistical, and a bit of a loose cannon. I was terrified of him, and I found myself silently praying that he wasn’t the father. I hoped it was Adrian, the quiet and responsible one who was severely concerned about me.

But he was married, wasn’t he? That automatically made him an invalid candidate. Could it be that he chose to have a fling on that night when we hooked up? Was he just looking for someone to bang and forget about his girlfriend?

“We’re here,” he said suddenly, and he parked the car and stepped out. In a flash, he’d opened the door and carried me out. I tried to tell him that I could walk, but he refused to listen to me as he carried me all the way into the restaurant, and set me down at an empty table. As he walked away to place an order, I watched the way he confidently glided across the floor, and there was only one thought in my head:

I definitely wanted him to be the father.