Raelynn sat on the couch in her living room, staring blankly at the television in front of her. It had been turned on when they got back from the hospital, but no one was watching. The news anchor was talking softly in the background, but everything they said just felt like a blur in her head.
Her hands rested comfortably in her lap, her fingers occasionally twitching as if they were unsure what to do. Her heart felt like it was in shock, still trying to wrap its head around the fact that she was pregnant.
Across the room, Zara paced back and forth, her shoes making a quiet shuffle on the worn carpet. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, and every so often, she would let out an exasperated sigh, as if trying to make sense of the situation.
"How did this happen?" Zara finally asked, her voice sharp with disbelief. She stopped pacing long enough to look at Raelynn. "Didn't you guys use protection?"
Raelynn blinked, snapping out of her daze for a moment. Her lips parted, but no words came out at first. She swallowed, trying to gather her thoughts, her mind foggy as she tried to remember that night at the hotel. "I… I don't know," she admitted softly. "I don't remember."
Zara threw her hands up in frustration. "You don't remember? Rae, how do you not remember something like that? We're talking about a baby here!"
Raelynn lowered her gaze, her fingers playing with the hem of her shirt, twisting the fabric nervously. "I remember… how good it was," she mumbled, almost as if she were confessing something she wasn't sure she should.
Zara's eyes widened in disbelief. "Rae!" She clapped her hands loudly in front of Raelynn's face, startling her. "Focus! This is not the time to be thinking about that! You're pregnant. We need to deal with this."
Raelynn flinched slightly but nodded, guilt creeping into her chest. She didn't mean to get lost in that memory, but it was the one thing from that night that stood out in the haze of confusion. She couldn't deny how good it felt being with him, but that didn't change the fact that she was now facing something much more serious.
Zara let out a big sigh and flopped down the couch next to her, the cushions sinking under her. She turned to look at Raelynn, her expression softening slightly. "Okay, what are you going to do now? What's the plan?"
Raelynn bit her lip and slowly brought her hand to her stomach, resting it gently over her still-flat abdomen. The warmth of her hand on her belly was oddly comforting, but it didn't ease the growing fear inside her. She shook her head. "I don't know, Zara. I'm confused. I don't know what to do…"
Zara watched her for a moment, her eyes filled with concern. "It's okay to be scared, Rae. This is a lot to process. But you need to think about your next step. Are you going to tell the father?"
Raelynn blinked at Zara, confusion clouding her features. "Tell him? Tell him what? That I kissed him first? That I'm the one who practically threw myself at him that night? And now that I'm pregnant, I want him to take full responsibility?"
Zara shook her head. "It's not about that. It's about letting him know. This is his baby too, Rae. He has a right to know."
Raelynn leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes. She knew Zara was right. Deep down, she knew that keeping this from him wasn't the right thing to do. But still, the idea of telling him—of facing him again after everything that happened—made her stomach twist with anxiety.
Zara tilted her head, watching Raelynn carefully. "Do you even know his name?"
Raelynn's eyes opened, and she stared blankly at the ceiling. "No," she admitted quietly. "I don't know his name. I don't remember much of anything."
Zara groaned and ran a hand through her hair. "Okay, okay… we can work with that. What about what he looked like? Maybe we could hire an artist to make a sketch or something. You've got to remember something about him."
Raelynn pressed her palms to her temples, trying to force her brain to focus, to pull up any clear memory from that night. But everything was hazy, like looking through a fogged-up window. "He was… handsome," she said slowly, trying to grasp at any detail. "Tall, broad shoulders… fair skin."
Zara sighed dramatically, falling back against the couch cushions. "Great, Rae. That's super helpful. Handsome, tall, broad shoulders—could be half the guys in this city. We need more than that."
Raelynn groaned in frustration, grabbing at her hair as if trying to pull the memories out by force. But it was no use. Everything from that night was a blur, and no matter how hard she tried to remember, the details were just out of grasp.
Her eyes drifted to the TV, which was still playing in the background. A business news segment flashed across the screen, showing footage of some high-profile executive giving a speech at a conference. Raelynn barely registered it at first, her mind too wrapped up in her own thoughts, but then something caught her attention.
Her heart skipped a beat as she leaned forward, her eyes narrowing on the figure on the screen. There was something familiar about the man speaking. His tall frame, the way he carried himself with confidence, the sharp cut of his jaw…
Suddenly, it all clicked.
Raelynn shot up from the couch, her eyes wide with shock as she pointed at the TV. "Him! It's him!" she shouted, her voice full of disbelief.
Zara, startled by Raelynn's outburst, looked up at the TV, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of the man on the screen. "Wait… him? Him?!" Zara's mouth hung open, and she turned to Raelynn, her expression one of pure shock.
Raelynn nodded frantically, her heart racing in her chest. "I slept with him," she whispered, as if saying it out loud made it all the more real. Her hand moved instinctively to her stomach again, her fingers trembling slightly.
Zara blinked rapidly, her gaze darting between Raelynn and the TV screen. "Rae, are you telling me you slept with Elion? The Elion Vaelorian? The richest, most powerful businessman in the country?"
Raelynn swallowed hard, her mind racing. Elion. Of course. It all clicked now—the luxury hotel and the way he acted like he owned the place. She had somehow slept with one of the most influential men in the country, and now she was carrying his child.
"I… I can't believe this," Raelynn whispered, her eyes still glued to the TV. It was like the ground was moving under her feet, as if everything in her world had just turned upside down.
Zara, still in shock, let out a low whistle. "Damn, Rae. You don't do anything halfway, do you?"
Raelynn didn't answer, her mind racing to make sense of everything. Elion. The father of her child was none other than him.
Zara shook her head, her expression softening. "Well, I guess there's no question now. You definitely need to talk to him. He has to know, Rae."
Raelynn nodded slowly, her hand resting protectively over her stomach. Zara was right. No matter how terrifying it felt, no matter how complicated things might get, Elion needed to know. He had a right to know about the baby. And Raelynn… she had to face him, whether she was ready or not.