Chapter 3

ARIA'S POV

Six weeks. Forty-two days of staring at a phone that refused to buzz, of waking up in a room that felt more like a prison cell than a home, and of mourning a best friend who had essentially ghosted my entire existence.

According to the rumors Lydia made sure I overheard, Adrian had been on some high-society tour of Europe, a month-long trip meant to prepare him for his "real" life—a life that apparently didn't include me.

I’d actually gone to his house a few days after that morning at the hotel. I was desperate, my pride in tatters, just needing to hear from a maid or a guard that he was okay.

But I was just met with a cold wall.

They told me he traveled and wouldn't be back for a while, and the way they looked at me made it clear I wasn't welcome on the Blackwood property anymore.

But this morning, the world shifted again. I’d created a burner I*******m account…..call me desperate, but I needed the false sense of closeness.

And there he was. A tagged photo at his private penthouse downtown.

He was back.

I had spent the last three days curled over the toilet bowl every morning before anyone else in the house was awake. 

I tried to tell myself it was just the stress, or maybe a stomach bug from the endless food I'd recently been consuming, but the bone-deep exhaustion was something else entirely. 

I could barely keep my eyes open in the afternoons, and my coffee—the one thing that usually kept my "genius" brain running—suddenly tasted like battery acid. 

I knew I couldn't ignore the signs anymore. The late period, the way my favorite perfume made me want to gag... I needed to know what the hell was happening. 

I gripped the edge of the sink in the public clinic bathroom, my knuckles white. I looked down at the plastic stick sitting on the counter.

Two pink lines.

A month and a half since the best night of my life turned into the worst morning, and here was the proof that I couldn't just "move on" like everyone told me to.

"Aria Vale?"

I jumped, nearly knocking the test into the trash. I shoved it into my bag and walked out, my legs feeling like lead.

I followed the nurse into a small, sterile office that smelled of lemon bleach and bad news.

"The doctor will be with you in a moment," the nurse said, her voice completely flat.

I sat there, my heart hammering against my ribs. I just needed a blood test.

I needed a professional to tell me what to do next because in this state, being nineteen, unmarried, and pregnant was basically a social death sentence. My father would kill me.

Literally.

He and Veronica—my "lovely" stepmother—were obsessed with their status, and a bastard grandchild was not part of the Vale brand.

The door swung open, and I felt the air leave the room.

It wasn't just any doctor.

It was Dr. Sterling, Veronica’s close friend. The woman who sat on the charity board with her and, more importantly, the mother of Sarah Sterling, Lydia’s best friend, the girl who, along with Lydia and the rest of their group, had bullied me for four years and made my life miserable on campus.

"Aria," Dr. Sterling said, her eyes scanning my chart with a look of pure disgust. "I must say, I’m surprised to see you here. I thought you were the 'smart' one of the Vale girls."

"I just... I needed a confirmation," I whispered.

She didn't even perform an exam. She just tossed the lab results onto the desk.

"Positive. Six weeks along. You've been quite busy since graduation, haven't you?"

I couldn't breathe.

"Please, Dr. Sterling. This has to stay confidential. HIPAA laws—"

She cut me off with a sharp, jagged laugh. "Don't lecture me on laws, little girl. In this community, we look out for each other. Your mother is a close friend of mine. Do you really think I’m going to let her stay in the dark while you bring shame to her name? This isn't just a medical issue; it's a moral one."

"You can't tell her," I begged, my voice breaking. "Please. I'll figure it out. I just need time."

"You've had six weeks of time," she snapped, standing up. "I’ll be calling your mother—excuse me, Veronica—this afternoon. We believe in family values here, Aria. Not secret sluts."

I bolted out of that office before she could say another word. My vision was blurred with tears as I ran to the bus stop.

I had one chance. One person who could stop this.

Adrian. He was his father’s son; he had power.

If he told Dr. Sterling to be quiet, she would. If he told my father we were together, maybe... maybe I wouldn't be thrown out into the street.

I took the bus straight to his penthouse. I didn't care about my dignity anymore.

This was about survival. I used the service entrance I knew from when we were kids—back when we used to sneak in here to watch movies and eat cereal on his floor.

My mind flashed back to a rainy afternoon when we were fifteen. He’d caught me crying because Lydia had ripped up my scholarship application.

He held my hand and told me, 'Aria, as long as I’m around, nobody is ever going to hurt you again.'

What a lie that turned out to be.

I made it up to his floor, my breath coming in short, painful gasps. The door wasn't fully closed.

I pushed it open, the words "Adrian, I'm pregnant" already on the tip of my tongue.

The words died in my throat.

He was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, the city skyline behind him. And he wasn't alone.

Lydia—my stepsister, my tormentor, the person who hated me most in this world—had her arms wrapped around his neck.

Adrian was laughing. A real, genuine laugh that I hadn't heard in weeks.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips, his hands resting on her waist in the exact same spot they had rested on mine forty-two days ago.

"Adrian?" my voice was barely a croak.

They both jumped. Lydia pulled back, a slow, triumphant smirk spreading across her face.

"Oh, look. The outcast found us."

Adrian’s face went from happy to stone-cold in a second. There wasn't an ounce of guilt on his face. 

Rather, he….he looked annoyed. "Aria. What the hell are you doing here? I told the staff I didn't want to be disturbed."

"I... I saw you were back," I said, stepping into the room, my eyes burning. "I tried to call. For weeks, Adrian. Why did you block me?"

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Look, last night—graduation night—it was a mistake. We were caught up in the moment. I realized the next morning that it was better if we just had a clean break. For both of our sakes."

"A clean break?" I repeated, my voice rising. "You were my best friend! You told me you loved me!"

"He was being nice, Aria," Lydia piped up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "He felt sorry for you. But he’s a man now. He needs someone who fits his world. Not a charity case from the attic."

"Lydia, shut up," Adrian said, but there was no heat in it. He looked at me, his eyes empty. "Go home, Aria. I’ll have my assistant send you something for your trouble. A graduation gift."

"I don't want your money," I spat, the anger finally bubbling over the fear. "I'm pregnant, Adrian."

The silence that followed was deafening. Lydia’s eyes went wide, and for a second, Adrian actually looked shocked.

But then, his face hardened again.

He let out a short, bitter laugh.

"Nice try," he said, stepping toward me. "Is that the plan? A fake pregnancy to try and keep me on the hook? You really are desperate."

"It's not fake! I just came from the doctor. It's six weeks. It's yours, Adrian. You know it is. I’ve never even been with anyone else!"

"Six weeks?" Adrian sneered. "I’ve been in Europe for five of those, Aria. How do I know who you’ve been running around with while I was gone? You were always so 'studious,' but maybe that was just a cover."

"How can you say that to me?" I whispered, the betrayal cutting deeper any pain I'd ever felt. "You know me. You know I would never—"

"I thought I knew you," he interrupted. "But clearly, I didn't. I’m not playing this game. I’ll have my lawyer contact you. We can do a test when it's born, but until then, stay away from me. Don't come to my house, don't call my family, and stay away from Lydia."

Lydia leaned against his shoulder, looking at me like I was a bug she was about to step on. "You heard him, sis. Get out. Before he calls security."

Something inside me snapped. Before he could speak again, I stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

The sound of my palm connecting with his cheek echoed through the penthouse.

"I hope she’s worth it," I said, my voice cold and steady even as my heart shattered into a million pieces. "Because you just lost the only person who actually gave a damn about you for who you are, not for your name."

I turned and walked out. 

I didn't cry until I was back on the elevator.

As the doors closed, I realized Dr. Sterling was probably already on the phone with Veronica. My father would know by the time I got home.

I was nineteen, pregnant by a man who hated me, and about to be homeless.