5

Elena's Point of View

I don't know how long I sat on that bathroom floor.

Maybe ten minutes. Maybe an hour. The little white stick lay on the sink above me, and I kept looking at it, hoping the second line would fade away if I stared hard enough.

It didn't.

The front door opened. Tessa's keys jingled. "Elena? I brought Thai food!"

I couldn't answer.

Her footsteps came closer. "Elena? Are you in there?"

I wiped my face with my sleeve, but it was useless. My eyes were swollen, my nose was running, and my whole body was shaking. I reached up and unlocked the door.

Tessa pushed it open and froze.

She looked at me. Then at the sink. Then at the two other boxes on the floor.

"Oh my God," she whispered.

"I'm pregnant."

Saying it out loud made it worse. The words hung in the small bathroom like something heavy.

Tessa dropped the food bag and got down on the floor next to me. She didn't say anything. She just pulled me into her arms, and I cried into her shoulder like a child.

We sat on the couch for hours that night.

Tessa made tea that neither of us drank. She didn't talk much at first. She let me say everything, the same things over and over. How stupid I was. How unfair it was. How the one night I did something reckless was the night that ruined my life.

When I finally ran out of words, she took my hand.

"Okay," she said softly. "So what do you want to do?"

I looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are your options? You can tell Damian. You can... not keep it. Or you can..."

"I'm keeping it."

The words came out before I even thought them. They surprised me, but they also felt true, like something in my chest had already made the choice before my brain caught up.

Tessa blinked. "Elena, wait. You just found out an hour ago."

"I know."

"You're not thinking clearly. You're scared and angry and—"

"I'm keeping my baby, Tessa."

She stared at me. "Are you sure? That man called you a whore in front of a hundred people. He ruined your name. And now you want to have his child?"

"It's not his child," I said, and my voice shook. "It's mine."

"Elena."

"It's mine." I pulled my hand away. "He doesn't get to take that from me too. He took my job. He took my name. He took everything. I'm not letting him take this."

"I'm not saying he should," Tessa said carefully. "But you have to tell him. He has a right to know."

I laughed. It was a bitter, ugly sound.

"A right? He has no rights, Tessa. You saw the video. You heard what he said. If I walk into his office and tell him I'm pregnant, do you know what he'll say?"

She didn't answer.

"He'll say it's a trick. He'll say I'm trying to trap him. That I'm after his money." My throat tightened. "He'll call me a liar and a thief again. And this time I won't be able to stand it. Not with a baby inside me."

Tessa's face softened. She looked down at her hands.

"So you're not going to tell him."

"Never."

"Elena, that's a big thing to carry alone."

"I'm not alone. I have you." I tried to smile. "And I'll have the baby."

She let out a long breath. We sat there in silence. The night outside the window was quiet, and the streetlights threw soft yellow patches across the floor.

"Then what's the plan?" she finally asked.

I had been thinking about it for two hours. It had come to me while I sat on that bathroom floor, clear and simple, like a door opening in a dark room.

"I'm leaving."

"Leaving where?"

"The country."

Tessa's eyes went wide. "What?"

"I can't stay here. Everyone knows my face now. I can't walk down the street without someone whispering. I can't get a job in this city, not with my name on every page. And if Damian ever finds out..." I shook my head. "I won't risk it."

"You can't just run away, Elena."

"Why not?"

"Because... because it's your home. Your life is here."

"What life?" I said quietly. "I don't have one anymore."

That hit her. I saw it in her face.

"My father owns an apartment in Lisbon," I told her. "He bought it years ago as an investment. It's been empty for months. I can live there. No rent. No questions." I took a breath. "My parents have enough money. I'm not poor, Tessa. I never had to be a secretary in Damian's office. I did it because I wanted to earn my own way."

"And now?"

"And now I'll earn it somewhere else."

Tessa wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She was crying too, quietly, and I hadn't even noticed.

"I'm going to miss you so much," she whispered.

"You can visit."

"Every month."

"Every month," I agreed, and we both laughed through our tears.

The next two weeks were a blur.

I called my parents and told them I wanted a change. I didn't tell them the truth. I couldn't. My mother cried and asked a hundred questions, and my father was quiet for so long that I thought the call had dropped.

"Are you in trouble?" he finally asked.

"No, Dad. I just need a fresh start."

"Is it a man?"

I closed my eyes. "It was. It isn't anymore."

He sighed. "The keys are with the building manager. I'll call him tonight. And Elena?"

"Yes?"

"If you ever need anything. Anything at all. You call me."

I had to hold the phone away from my mouth so he wouldn't hear me cry.

I packed two suitcases. I didn't take much, just clothes, my laptop, and a framed photo of me and Tessa from college. I left everything else behind, the dresses, the old books, the small life I had built in this city.

I changed my phone number. I deleted every account I had. I booked a one-way ticket under my full name and then sat staring at the confirmation email for twenty minutes.

On the last night, Tessa slept next to me on the couch. Neither of us said much. I lay there with my hand on my stomach, feeling nothing at all, no kick, no movement, just flat skin and a secret.

I'm here, I thought. I'm going to take care of you.

The airport was loud and bright and full of people who had no idea what I was running from.

Tessa walked me to the gate. She hugged me so tight that I could barely breathe.

"Text me when you land."

"I will."

"Every day."

"I will, Tessa."

She pulled back, holding my face with both hands. "You're going to be a good mom."

My eyes stung. "You think so?"

"I know so." She kissed my forehead. "Go. Before I change my mind and kidnap you."

I laughed. Then I picked up my bag and turned toward the gate.

My heart was pounding. My hands were cold. Somewhere behind me was a city that had broken me, and a man who had called me every ugly name he could think of. Somewhere ahead was a country I had never lived in, a language I only half spoke, and a baby I hadn't met yet.

I should have been scared.

And I was. But underneath the fear, there was something stronger. Something steady.

I held my passport tight and walked through the doors.

I was going to take good care of myself and this baby.

And Damian Cross would never find us.