Vanquished (The Encounter #3)(13)



Glancing towards her, I gave a small sigh, suddenly wanting to seek the comfort of my bedroom to sleep whatever this was away. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m just getting some form of cold or flu.”

She raised her brow. “That’s very likely … or you could also simply be pregnant,” she said pointedly without blinking.

“No,” I instantly denied her statement, knowing the chances were rather nil.

But it’s possible …

All breath left my body as I tried to recall the events of that fated night with the French man. Hugo didn’t finish … We hadn’t … because he couldn’t stand it … He pulled out right in the middle of it.

“It’s just not possible, but to put my mind at ease, I might have to go and get an over-the-counter test.”

Claire shook her head. “Don’t waste money on those. I have a stash in the medicine cabinet.”

It was my turn to frown, suspiciously eyeing her. “Who has a saved stash of pregnancy kits?”

“Duh”!” She rolled her eyes at me. “Women who are in a relationship and for those who have a high sex drive, of course, like yours truly.”

“I don’t want to know.” Knowing Claire, she probably had a tale or two to make me more nervous about taking the damn test. I knew there was nothing to worry about, but since I was already a pitiful wreck, the last thing I needed was to hear pregnancy scare stories.

Claire beamed at me then pulled me in for a comforting embrace. “It’s rather long of a story, but yes, it’s good to always have those along with the emergency pills. You can’t ever be too sure these days. Condoms break, and birth control isn’t one hundred percent fool proof, so I’m just covering all of my angles.”

“Good to know,” I whispered. “I’m going home, but you guys stay for dinner.” I held up my hand before she had the chance to protest. “Please, I know you’re starving, and besides, I need some privacy while I get to it … if that’s okay with you?”

After trying to reassure her that I was perfectly capable of walking a few blocks without getting sick, she and Noah finally agreed to let me go while they continued to dine.

The moment I was out of the restaurant, I was relieved by the fresh, cool air hitting my face, breaking my face into a smile. I had nothing to worry about. It was silly to even consider the possibility, but since Claire had imbedded the idea in my head, there was no way to try to squash it and put my mind at ease until I did the damn test.

The nausea had completely subsided the moment I reached home, much to my relief. Upon Claire’s instructions, I entered her bedroom and headed straight to her bathroom cabinet, scouring for one of the kits she had hidden in one of the linen basket organizers. The second my eyes found the pink box, my heart sped up as I tried to calmly breathe, convincing myself there was nothing to worry about. I couldn’t even let myself linger towards the other outcome because the consequences were chilling, too everything to fathom.

Bracing myself, I delved into the contents in the box, pulling out the instructions before reading them cautiously.

“I can do this,” I whispered to myself while I silently chanted a prayer.

Following through with the simple guidelines, I carefully placed the saturated stick on the counter, laying it flat, and waited for the longest three minutes of my life. But after passing merely a minute, I couldn’t stand the anticipation, so I decided to leave the bathroom to change into comfortable clothing.

Seeing the bed calling my name, I almost gave in, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest until I had this pregnancy test out of the way. Therefore, much to my dismay, I strolled back into the bathroom, held my breath, and then glanced down at the result.

The tiny oval screen stared back at me, taunting.

Pregnant 1–3 Weeks.

Bloody. Fuck.

“Oh, God,” I whimpered, gripping the ends of the counter, dumbfounded at the results. I mean, how could it be possible? I knew we hadn’t used protection, but we didn’t even finish because he was too furious to keep going. Sure, there was that miniscule chance of a pre-come, but … but…

“Oh, my f*cking God.” My head shook, as if in denial as I kept on staring at the oval screen while my eyes began to blur from the hot tears that formed from this whole fiasco.

What do I do? It couldn’t be helped; I was panicking as my mind zinged a million miles per hour.

This—no matter the outcome—was going to be chaotic. Hell, this was a disaster!

Fuck. God in Heaven Almighty. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. Hugo would probably suggest I get rid of it since I knew he had vowed never to have a child. And since my finances were entwined with his, he would eventually find out. So how did I go my way without him finding out?

There was only one person in this world who could help me carry out such deceit. Hopefully, he had meant it when he’d said he would be there for anything at all.





Chapter Eight





Claire asked me the moment she strode into the house. And, of course, knowing how tricky the situation was and how I was still reeling from the result, I had to commit a white lie just to shoo her away.

This revelation needed planning with a cool head and rationalized thinking. It might take me a few days or so until I could contact the very person who could possibly assist me in hiding this secret. And when I did find the courage to call him, I knew I had to fully listen to him and really figure this out, even if I had to do this on my own.

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