"I can’t do this right now."

My voice comes out thin and barely steady.

I grip the edge of the counter tightly because suddenly I feel dizzy all over again.

Thomas wisely says absolutely nothing behind us. Actually, I don’t even look at him, I physically cannot deal with another human being seeing my face right now.

I stare hard at the sink instead while panic claws violently through my chest.

I’m pregnant With Zane’s baby.

Holy shit.

"El," Ivy says quietly again.

I finally look at her and immediately see the worry written all over her face. That almost breaks me.

I force out a shaky breath quickly before I completely lose it in the middle of a supermarket bathroom.

"I’m okay."

The lie sounds terrible and Ivy clearly knows it too.

"You do not look okay."

"I just..." I swallow hard. "I need to think."

She hesitates.

"You want me to come home with you?"

Immediately panic flashes through me.

"No."

Too fast.

I soften slightly.

"I mean... no. Not yet."

Because if anybody stays near me right now, I genuinely think I might start spiraling out loud.

And I can’t. Not until I figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do.

I quickly grab Ivy’s hands tightly.

"Thank you for coming with me."

"Elaine....."

"I mean it."

Emotion burns painfully in my throat.

"I would’ve completely lost my mind alone."

Her face softens immediately.

"You’re not alone."

That almost makes me cry.

I squeeze her hands once more before letting go carefully.

"We’ll talk later okay?"

She still looks unsure, very unsur but finally she nods slowly.

"Call me immediately if you start panicking."

"I’m already panicking."

"You know what I mean."

Despite everything, I huff out the tiniest laugh.

Then Ivy glances once toward Thomas standing stiffly near the entrance before lowering her voice.

"Are you going to tell him?"

My stomach drops instantly.

Zane.

Oh God.

"I don’t know yet."

That answer terrifies me more than anything else. Because usually when it comes to him, I know, even when things are messy between us, even when emotions are complicated.

I know. But this? This changes everything.

Ivy hugs me tightly before finally leaving the bathroom and I stand there frozen for another few seconds afterward.

Then slowly turn toward Thomas. He politely looks at literally anything except me.

Bless him for that honestly.

"Ready to leave, ma’am?" he asks carefully.

I nod weakly.

——

The drive home is torture. Absolute torture.

The convoy moves smoothly through traffic while I sit curled into the corner of the backseat clutching my bag tightly against my stomach.

Pregnant.

Every time the word enters my head, panic follows immediately after.

I stare out the tinted window watching buildings blur past while my thoughts spiral harder and harder.

How do I tell Zane? Do I even tell him now?

What if he doesn’t want this? What if he regrets us entirely afterward? What if this ruins everything?

My throat tightens painfully.

And underneath all the fear...There’s something else too.

Something quieter and softer. A feeling I don’t even want to acknowledge yet because it scares me too much.

I rest a shaky hand unconsciously against my stomach. There could actually be a baby there.

A tiny human.

Mine.....my child and Zane’s.

The thought hits so hard emotionally I quickly pull my hand away again like I burned myself.

No.

Don’t think about that yet

I squeeze my eyes shut briefly.

Outside, security vehicles continue escorting us through the city completely unaware that my entire life just changed inside a supermarket bathroom.

The rest of the drive passes in suffocating silence.

I sit curled against the leather seat staring blankly out the window while my thoughts continue spiraling completely out of control.

The convoy slows briefly at a traffic light, sunlight flashing across the tinted windows before fading again.

Up front, Thomas shifts slightly in the passenger seat. I barely notice at first, but he looks visibly uncomfortable so I ask.

"What is it Thomas."

He hesitates for a moment then quietly:

"Ma’am."

I blink slowly.

"What?"

His eyes meet mine briefly through the rearview mirror before returning to the road.

"There’s something I think you should consider."

Immediately my stomach tightens.

The serious tone in his voice makes anxiety crawl sharply up my spine.

"What?"

He hesitates. And suddenly I don’t like this conversation already.

"Wih all due respect..." he says carefully. "You should question how this happened."

I stare at the back of his head.

"What do you mean?"

Another pause.

Then....

"You said you were taking precautions right? Well I uhmmm overheard you and Ivy."

Coldness spreads slowly through my chest.

"I was."

"Yes."

Something about the way he says it makes my pulse spike. I straighten slowly in my seat.

"Thomas."

He exhales quietly.

"I’m only saying this because I’ve worked around men like Mr. Zane for years."

Confusion flashes through me first. Then irritation.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

He grips the steering wheel tighter.

"That perhaps..." He chooses his next words very carefully. "This wasn’t entirely accidental."

For a second I genuinely don’t understand him. Then realization hits and rage follows immediately after.

"What?"

My voice comes out dangerously sharp. Thomas glances at me briefly again.

"I’m not accusing him directly, ma’am."

"It sure sounds like you are."

"I’m saying wealthy powerful men sometimes take matters into their own hands when they want something."

My entire body goes rigid.

"No."

The word leaves instantly. Thomas continues carefully anyway.

"You should at least ask yourself how someone gets pregnant while consistently taking birth control."

I stare at him in complete disbelief. Actually disbelief, anger burning hot and immediate inside my chest.

"You think Zane tampered with my pills? Or did something.?"

"I didn’t say that specifically."

"But that’s what you’re implying."

Silence.

My breathing sharpens.

"That’s insane."

"Maybe," Thomas says quietly. "But not impossible."

"No."

I shake my head harder now.

"No."

Because absolutely not.

Not Zane. Not him. Yes, sure he’s controlling sometimes, protective to the point of insanity and possessive

But this? No. There’s a line and Zane would never.....Would he?

The horrible thought sneaks in before I can stop it. Immediately afterward comes another memor, him kissing my stomach this morning absentmindedly. The way he stared at me after I got sick at the funeral that strange unreadable look on his face.

My chest tightens painfully.

No.

I shove the thought away instantly.

"You’re wrong," I say sharply.

Thomas nods once.

"I hope I am."

That somehow makes me even angrier.

"I’ve been with him every single day," I snap. "You think I wouldn’t notice something like that?"

"I think people notice what they expect to notice."

I stare at him.

Fury crackles hotter through me now because suddenly I hate that his words planted doubt at all.

I hate it. I hate him for saying it and worst of all? J hate the tiny ugly voice in the back of my head whispering what if.

"No," I repeat more quietly now. "Zane wouldn’t do that to me."

Thomas says nothing else after that but the damage is already done. The rest of the drive home becomes even worse somehow.

Because now alongside fear and panic...Doubt slithers silently into the spaces between my thoughts.

"Why are you telling me this?."

"Because I see you as my sister....a sister I need to protect."

We don’t say anything else after that.

The second the car stops, I’m out before Thomas can even open the dot properly.

"Ma’am....."

I ignore him completely.

My heart is pounding violently now, anger burning so hot through me that I can barely think straight. The front doors swing open before I even reach them. One of the guards says something to me but I don’t hear a word.

I storm through the house so fast my heels slam hard against the marble floors. Straight toward Zane’s office.

I don’t knock. I shove the door open so hard it bangs loudly against the wall.

Zane looks up immediately from where he’s seated behind his desk.

He’s on a call.

"...I said move the shipment by Tuesda...."

The second he sees my face, he stops, hs brows pull together instantly.

"I’ll call you back."

He ends the call without another word and slowly rises to his feet. Concern replaces the focus on his face immediately.

"Elaine?"

I slam the office door shut behind me so hard the sound echoes.

His expression sharpens now.

"What’s wrong?"

I’m breathing hardand My emotions are everywhere all at once.

Anger....So much anger.

I march toward him until I’m standing directly in front of his desk.

"What did you do?"

He blinks once.

"What?"

"What did you do!?" I repeat louder.

confusion flashes across his face now.

"Elaine, what are you talking about?"

That somehow makes me angrier, because he looks genuinely confused Or maybe he’s pretending.

I don’t know anymore.

"Don’t do that," I snap.

"Do what?"

"That!"

His jaw tightens slightly.

"Talk to me properly."

My chest rises and falls sharply.

"Did you get me fucking pregnant?!"