CHAPTER 5 – “IS IT MINE?”
CHAPTER 5 – “IS IT MINE?”
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a white ceiling.
The second...
was Andrew.
He was sitting beside the examination bed, elbows resting on his knees, his hands clasped so tightly the knuckles had turned white.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
The office nurse noticed I was awake.
"Oh, thank goodness."
"Miss Smith, can you hear me?"
I nodded weakly.
"Yes..."
"You fainted."
"I know."
She smiled reassuringly.
"Your blood pressure dropped. It happens sometimes."
Sometimes.
The word echoed painfully.
She looked toward Andrew.
"I'll give you two a moment."
The door clicked shut.
Silence settled over the room.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Andrew stood slowly.
His eyes drifted toward the handbag sitting on the chair.
The two pregnancy tests had already been placed inside a clear evidence pouch by the nurse to keep them from getting contaminated.
Two unmistakable blue lines.
He looked back at me.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Is it mine?"
I closed my eyes.
I had imagined this conversation a hundred different ways.
None of them happened in a medical room inside his own company.
"I..."
My throat tightened.
"I haven't been with anyone else."
His breathing stopped.
"When?"
"Three weeks."
His eyes calculated instantly.
Thursday night.
The bar.
The hotel.
The morning I disappeared before sunrise.
Every date lined up perfectly.
He looked away toward the window.
For the first time since I'd met him...
he looked frightened.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Afraid.
"You should have told me."
"I found out yesterday."
"I wasn't hiding it."
"I was trying to understand it myself."
He turned back.
"Have you seen a doctor?"
"Not yet."
"Only home tests."
"I was going to the lab after work."
I laughed bitterly.
"Instead, I collapsed."
He ran a hand through his hair.
A habit I'd never seen during meetings.
The billionaire CEO standing before investors had vanished.
Only the man from the bar remained.
Finally, he spoke.
"If the baby is mine..."
I interrupted.
"There is no 'if.'"
His blue eyes locked onto mine.
"I haven't slept with anyone except you."
The room became impossibly still.
He nodded once.
Slowly.
"I believe you."
Those three words nearly made me cry.
But then—
The door burst open.
"Andrew."
Victoria Hart stood frozen in the doorway.
Her eyes moved from me...
to him...
to the pregnancy tests.
Everything clicked into place.
Her face drained of color.
"...No."
Andrew's expression hardened instantly.
"Get out."
She didn't move.
"You..."
She looked directly at me.
"You're pregnant?"
I remained silent.
Victoria laughed once.
It wasn't amusement.
It was disbelief.
"This is impossible."
Andrew stepped between us.
"I said leave."
She stared at him.
"You slept with an intern?"
The accusation echoed through the room.
His answer came without hesitation.
"I met her before she joined this company."
Victoria blinked.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I don't care what you believe."
The air felt electric.
Finally she whispered,
"The board is going to destroy you."
Then she walked out.
Closing the door a little harder than necessary.
Andrew remained perfectly still.
Without looking at me he said,
"This just became much bigger than us."
By lunchtime...
the rumors had already begun.
No one knew exactly what had happened.
Only fragments.
"The CEO carried someone to the medical clinic."
"It was one of the new interns."
"I heard she collapsed in his office."
"No..."
"I heard he skipped a board meeting."
Whispers followed me through every hallway.
People stopped talking whenever I passed.
Phones disappeared into pockets.
Eyes lingered too long.
I understood something terrifying.
Even without the truth...
people could smell scandal.
That evening, Andrew called.
"I've arranged an appointment."
"Tomorrow morning."
"Private clinic."
"I'll meet you there."
I hesitated.
"You don't have to."
"I know."
A pause.
"I'm choosing to."
May you like
For reasons I couldn't explain...
that scared me even more.
