"Ugh..." Sophia groaned, her head pounding as she slowly opened her eyes. She squinted against the harsh sunlight filtering through the curtains of the unfamiliar room. A wave of nausea hit her as fragmented memories from the night before came flooding back.
Lily's drunken laughter rang in her ears, along with the blaring music and flashing lights of the club. She remembered shot after shot being passed to them, the burning sensation of alcohol scorching her throat with each sip as her inhibitions melted away into a night of reckless revelry.
Then a tall, devilishly handsome stranger with an alluring smile had sidled up to their group, offering to buy the next round of drinks. Sophia's stomach twisted into knots as she replayed that fateful moment in her mind. What the hell happened after that?
She slowly extended her arm across the bed, her heart dropping as she realized the other side was empty and cold. A grip of panic seized her as she looked down at her naked body, suddenly acutely aware of her vulnerability.
"Oh god...what did I do?" she whispered, tears already stinging her eyes.
Sophia jerked upright, frantically scanning the squalid motel room until her gaze landed on the crumpled pile of cash on the nightstand. She felt like she had been sucker punched in the gut, bile rising in her throat.
This couldn't be real. Not to her. Not the day before her wedding to Ethan, the love of her life.
With shaking hands, she hastily gathered her belongings and dressed, desperate to flee this nightmare, not wanting to still be there in case...that man returned. She had to get out of here, had to escape this sordid nightmare she found herself trapped in.
Money clenched in her fist, she crept to the motel room door and carefully pulled it open, peering out into the harsh daylight just as a cleaning cart rolled into view. A uniformed employee looked up in surprise at Sophia's disheveled appearance, raising an eyebrow.
"Everything okay, miss?"
"Y-yes, I'm...I'm leaving," Sophia choked out, brushing past the woman and rushing away down the cracked sidewalk as quickly as her trembling legs could carry her. She had no idea where she was or how she would get home, gut-punched and reeling.
Her perfect future stretched out before her no longer - now it felt shattered into pieces, and the selfish, stupid actions of one drunken night out had possibly cost her everything.
Still gripped by nausea, Sophia ducked into a filthy alley and doubled over, emptying what little contents were in her stomach as sobs wracked her body.
"I can't...I can't do this, I can't let this destroy the life I've worked for, the FUTURE we planned!" She tried desperately to reassure herself. There has to be a way to fix this, to make this go away before it ruins everything for good.
She pictured Ethan's beloved face - the tender smile he always gave her, the pure love and adoration shining from his eyes as he gazed at her, the way his strong arms felt wrapped around her protectively. How could she even begin to find the words to explain what she had allowed to happen?
"Ethan...god, my Ethan, he doesn't deserve this, doesn't deserve my careless mistake shattering his heart like this. What have I done? What have I done?! Fresh horror and shame cascaded over her at the thought of the devastation she would cause him."
"Is it better to confess everything? Or should I just...disappear and let him move on unburdened by the truth?" She agonized over the impossible decision, mind swirling and stomach heaving again.
Only one thought repeated itself over and over as bitter tears streamed down her face: What have I done? What am I going to tell Ethan? Ethan must not get to know about this.
But could she really keep this from him? Lie to the man she loved more than anything and pretend this sordid transgression never occurred? She doubled over, retching into the filthy alley as waves of crippling shame and self-loathing consumed her.
The acrid taste of bile lingered on her tongue as she straightened up and hailed an approaching taxi, hand trembling violently. She had to lock away her harrowing emotions if she was going to make it through this and somehow make things right.
As the cab pulled away into traffic, Sophia stared vacantly out the window, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill over once more. She drew a shaky breath, her mind made up.
"Ethan can never know about this," she stated out loud, more to convince herself than the oblivious cab driver sitting in front of her. "I'll do whatever it takes to make sure he's never hurt by my stupid, stupid mistake."
"Miss are you talking to me?" the driver asked.
"Oh, no. I am sorry I just have a lot going through my mind right now," she stated. She almost forgot someone was in the car.
Sophia felt like a fundamental piece of her bright, joyful spirit had been irreparably tarnished. A dark, shameful stain now marred her soul, one she could never allow Ethan to see.
No matter how excruciating or psychologically damaging, she would find a way to bury this sin and weather the emotional fallout entirely on her own. For Ethan's sake, for preserving his love and their future together, she had to endure no matter the cost to herself.
Yet even as she steeled her resolve, she couldn't escape the icy grip of dread and desolation weighing on her.
Hours later, the taxi pulled up in front of her apartment building just as the sun began to dip below the horizon. Sophia stared up at her home, a conflicting sense of relief at being somewhere safe again clashing with the pit of dread over what awaited her inside.
As she walked closer to her apartment she saw Ethan from afar standing in front of her apartment, her heart began beating every fast as started thinking of different story to tell him.
"Where are you coming from?" Ethan asked as she get closer to him.