[4] Two Lines

ELENA

I wasn’t sure if I had truly woken up or if part of me was still trapped in the night I desperately wanted to forget.

All I knew was that my body felt unfamiliar the moment I opened my eyes. When I turned my head, Cedric was sleeping soundly beside me. For a few seconds, I could only stare at him, trying to convince myself this was real. My hand immediately rose to my face. The mask was still there. Still in place, exactly the way I remembered.

I climbed out of bed and quietly put my clothes back on one piece at a time. My hands trembled at several points, but I forced them to keep moving. Without looking back again, I walked out of the room.

I did it on purpose. Because if I looked at Cedric one more time, the memories of last night would only come rushing back into my head again. And the moment I opened the door, Edward was already standing there.

“I guess I don’t even need to ask to know you succeeded, El.”

I lowered my head further as I walked beside him.

“That room was supposed to be soundproof,” Edward continued once we stepped into the elevator. “But strangely enough, it didn’t seem that way tonight.” His lips curved faintly. “I hope you didn’t get too carried away, El.”

“Edward…” My voice came out hoarse. “Enough.”

Edward only glanced at me briefly before looking ahead again.

“At least everything went according to plan.”

My fingers tightened around my coat.

“I said stop talking about it.”

“If it weren’t for my help, tonight wouldn’t have gone nearly as smoothly for you and Cedric.”

The air in my chest immediately felt too tight to breathe. I turned my face away, unable to answer him anymore. Not a single word left my mouth for the rest of the drive home.

“Next month, there’ll be a family gathering with my parents,” Edward said once we arrived at the house. “Don’t make me look like a failure, Elena. I expect you to have good news by then.”

I stood frozen in place. The tears fell before I even realized it.

Edward didn’t wait for my response. He simply walked past me as though the conversation we’d just had was nothing important enough to remember.

But getting pregnant… From just one night? I shook my head. It felt too impossible to believe… and yet far too terrifying to ignore.

***

The days after that night felt strange. My body kept moving, but part of me still felt left behind in that hotel room. And lately, my body had started feeling even more unfamiliar.

I got dizzy more easily. I tired quickly. Even the smell of foods that normally never bothered me suddenly made my stomach churn. At first, I tried to ignore it. Until this morning, when I nearly threw up just from smelling coffee.

Edward, who had been sitting at the dining table, finally looked up at me. His gaze flicked briefly across my pale face before he spoke.

“How long have you been like this?”

“I haven’t been counting.”

“Try this.”

Edward slid a pregnancy test toward me. My breath caught instantly. I stared at the small object in his hand without moving. Somehow, the test felt far heavier than it should have.

“Edward…”

“I just want to make sure,” he interrupted calmly. “Or have you already started suspecting it yourself?”

I didn’t answer immediately. My throat suddenly felt dry. Edward rose from his chair and walked past me casually.

“If nothing happened, then everything ends faster, doesn’t it?”

His footsteps disappeared toward his study, leaving me alone in the dining room with my chest growing tighter by the second.

Slowly, my fingers wrapped more firmly around the test. I knew he was right. Sooner or later, I had to find out. A few minutes later, I stood in front of the bathroom door with my entire body feeling cold. For several long moments, I simply stared at my reflection in the mirror.

Pale. Restless. Terrified. I barely recognized myself anymore. My hands trembled as I slowly opened the pregnancy test package. The tiny sound of tearing plastic felt unnaturally loud inside the silent bathroom.

“This isn’t possible…” I whispered softly, more like I was trying to convince myself. “How could this happen after only one night?”

But ironically, I didn’t even fully believe my own words. Once I finished, I placed the test on the sink counter. Then I waited. Every second dragged endlessly. I tried looking away, but I couldn’t.

My eyes kept returning to that tiny object as though my entire life was being decided there. One line appeared first. My breathing stopped. Then several seconds later, the second line slowly appeared beside it. My entire body froze.

“No…”

My hand flew over my mouth instinctively. My chest rose and fell faster while my vision began to blur. Once again, I stared carefully at the test. My shoulders instantly dropped because there was no mistake. Two lines.

I was pregnant.

That was the only sentence echoing inside my head. Just weeks ago, I had still been trying to save my marriage. But now, my body carried the child conceived from a night I didn’t even want to remember. Slowly, my hand moved to my stomach. Still flat.

“Elena?”

My entire body stiffened at Edward’s voice from outside the bathroom door.

“You’ve been in there too long. Open the door.”

Panicking, I quickly turned on the faucet before shoving the pregnancy test into the bathroom drawer with shaky hands.

“Y-Yeah. I’m coming out now.”

Edward stood outside the bedroom wearing a dark gray shirt with the sleeves neatly rolled up. His gaze immediately landed on my face, which probably looked far too pale.

“Are you sick?”

I shook my head quickly.

“Just a little dizzy.”

Edward narrowed his eyes slightly. Whether from suspicion or genuine observation, I couldn’t tell. Then his gaze dropped toward my hand, which was clutching something tightly.

“Did you use the test already?”

I froze. And apparently, that split second of silence was already enough of an answer. Edward’s jaw tightened slightly.

“So…” he asked quietly, “it worked? You’re pregnant?”

Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could answer. My lips trembling, I finally nodded slowly and handed him the pregnancy test. For several seconds, Edward simply stared at it in silence. Then he pushed a hand through his hair and exhaled in visible relief.

“Thank God,” he murmured.

My chest tightened painfully. Because not once did he ask how I was feeling. There was no hug. No guilt. Only relief that the Ashford family had finally gotten the heir they wanted.

“There’s a family dinner tomorrow,” Edward continued calmly. “I’ll announce your pregnancy then.”

He walked further into the bedroom and casually placed the pregnancy test on the nightstand, as though the tiny object was nothing more than a business matter finally going according to plan.

Meanwhile, I still stood frozen beside the bathroom door.

“Don’t forget to prepare yourself for tomorrow,” Edward added while loosening the cuffs of his shirt. “Father and Mother will be very happy to hear this news.”

I lowered my head slowly. Happy? The word felt painfully out of place in a situation like this.

“Things are different now.” His gaze briefly flicked toward my stomach. “You shouldn’t exhaust yourself.”

Something twisted strangely inside my chest the moment I realized it. Edward was finally paying attention to me. But not because I was Elena. Because I was carrying the Ashford family’s heir.

“Edward…” My voice came out quieter than I intended. “Don’t you think this is wrong?”

He paused while adjusting his watch.

“What do you mean?”

Fresh tears gathered in my eyes.

“This baby…” My hand unconsciously touched my stomach again. “He was conceived from something I never wanted. And I don’t even know how long he’ll be lied to about who his real biological father is.”

But Edward’s expression didn’t change at all.

“Elena,” he said calmly, “you agreed to this yourself.”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“Neither of us had a choice.” Edward clicked his tongue softly. “What matters now is that you’re pregnant. Take care of yourself properly. I don’t want anything happening to that baby.”

I lowered my head quickly before he could see the tears burning in my eyes again.

Edward calmly adjusted the cuffs of his shirt once more, as though this conversation was already over for him.

“I still have an online meeting tonight,” he said while picking up his phone from the table. “Get some rest. And tomorrow, don’t wear that expression in front of my family.”

After that, he walked out of the room without waiting for my response. The door closed softly behind him. And I remained standing in the exact same spot, crying quietly while wrapping my arms around myself.