Chapter 3

“Well, who do we have here?”

She glared at me, her voice icy and sharp. Mrs. Backwood. Lucian’s mom. The one who owned this whole place without lifting a finger.

Maya tensed up next to me, but before she could speak, Mrs. Backwood waved her away like a fly.

My throat tightened. “I… I need to see Lucian.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You want to see my son? And who are you?”

“I… I can't talk about it out here,” I stammered. “But please, it's really important.”

The younger woman smirked. “Everyone wants him. It's so annoying.”

Mrs Blackwood ignored her. She checked me out, then noticed my hand on my stomach. Her face changed.

“You. Stay there.” She stared at me, her eyes boring into me. “You. Come with me.”

I hesitated.

“Now,” she snapped.

Maya squeezed my arm like a warning, but I had to follow. My knees shook, but I tried not to show it.

She led me down the hall, away from everyone. The office was huge. Mrs Blackwood sat in one of the black leather chairs. I felt so out of place.

“So?” she said, her voice flat. “Start talking.”

My throat felt like it was closing. “I…I came to see Lucian.”

Her eyebrows went up, like she was so annoyed.

“Lucian,” she repeated, like the name tasted bad. “And why do you think you can just do that?”

I swallowed and tried not to back away. I touched my stomach again without thinking. I've been doing that a lot since I found out about the baby.

“I...I…” I'm usually pretty brave, but around Mrs Blackwood, in that place, I couldn't say anything.

“I didn't mean to...I promise I'm not trying to trap him or anything.… I didn't even know that he worked here...I…” I was so embarrassed, and talking badly. Just seeing her made me feel bad.

But I didn't need to say more. She seemed to understand.

And then she smiled. Slow and mean.

“Oh,” she whispered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “So that’s what this is all about.”

My face burned, and my voice cracked. “I…I’m not here to make trouble. I just thought…”

“You thought wrong.” She cut me off, her words sharp. “Girls like you…see a rich guy, and suddenly you think you’ve hit the jackpot. But you don’t belong here. You don’t fit in his world. And whatever mistake you’ve made…” she glanced at my stomach, “…you should know there are things you can do to fix it.”

Her meaning hit me hard. My chest tightened.

“I’m not…” My voice failed. I couldn’t even stand up for myself.

Before I could say anything, a soft gasp came from the side.

“Oh my God,” a voice said sweetly. “Is this… really happening?”

I turned and froze.

It was the girl from earlier with Mrs Blackwood.

She walked over all smooth and put her hand on Mrs Blackwood’s arm. “I’m so sorry,” she said to me. Her voice was full of pity, but it was the kind that made you cold. “This must be…so hard for you.”

My stomach dropped. “I don’t get it…”

Her smile got bigger. “Lucian never told you?” She sounded too nice, almost fake.

“We fought the night he… well, the night he messed up. He came back to me, but I didn’t know he’d left something with you.” She looked at my stomach and sighed. “Oh, Celeste, I’m so sorry. I really am.”

Her words stung, making me feel like I was a mistake.

Mrs Backwood nodded, her lips curling up. “See? You don’t have a chance. Lucian chose someone. He’s engaged to Leona. They want kids. You’re just in the way.”

The floor seemed to move. My hands shook, so I hid them. “He’s… getting married?”

Leona came closer, her perfume making me sick. “Yeah, to me.” She seemed happy, but her lips shook like she was trying to pretend to be sad.

“We’re getting married soon. And…” she looked down at her stomach and touched it a little, “we’re going to have a baby. So… this won’t happen. It just won’t.”

My chest got tight. Is she pregnant? With his kid? Could it be true? I felt lost and terrible.

“No…” It just came out, weak and quiet.

Leona touched my arm, trying to be nice.

“Please. Don’t make this worse. I don’t blame you. I really don’t. Lucian can be… hard to resist. But please don’t mess up his life. Or mine.”

Mrs Backwood broke in, her voice sharp. “You heard her. If you’re smart, you’ll leave. Deal with your… issue quietly. And don’t come back here.”

Something inside me broke. My throat hurt from trying not to speak out. I wanted to fight, to tell them the truth. But they were rich and powerful and mean, and I couldn’t even breathe.

Leona tilted her head and whispered, “Please, Celeste. Don’t mess us up. Don’t mess him up.”

Her fake tears sparkled.

She smiled at me, but it was a nasty one, even mocking.

I hated her. I hated Maya for talking me into it and I hated myself for not using a condom when I was fornicating with a stranger. God, I'm so stupid!

“He has to kn…”

Mrs Backwood cut me off sharply.

“He doesn't! Go home, dear. You are too young to even have this baby. What are you? 20? 21? You have your whole life. You and I both know it'd be best if you didn't have it in the first place.”

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. My tears had no regard for my companions and just kept falling down.

“Right,” I said and started wiping my tears. “Right.”

Outside, I could barely see through my tears.

“He doesn’t even know…” I whispered, touching my stomach. “And now he never will.”

I walked out of the office building, I was breathing hard. Maya was next to me, whispering my name, but I couldn’t even hear her.

I wiped my eyes, they stung, and I passed the parked cars. A black SUV was waiting with the engine running. As I walked past, the tinted window was lowered a bit, revealing only the faint outline of a man inside.

I didn't look up. I couldn't.

And just like that, I vanished, determined never to come back.