A Best Friend's Betrayal

CHAPTER THREE

Amelia's POV

“What the hell?!” I woke up feeling very confused and cursed aloud. My body hurt all over, and it felt like a ceramic baseball bat was slamming into my head nonstop.

With a quick blink, I was able to see the white paint in the room I was in.

I muttered to myself, "My room is not painted white," as I tried to clear my head and recall how I got here.

"How in the hell?" I started to sit up and realized I was naked. What the hell was going on? I had never fallen asleep while nude. A stab of pain shot through my legs, and all of a sudden, bits and pieces of last night's events came flooding back.

The betrayal of John and Mary, the restaurant, the never-ending alcohol, and then a foggy picture of a dapper man wearing a pricey three-piece suit flashed through my mind. With wild blonde hair and storm-gray eyes, he had a tall and slender build.

I muttered, "Ali," recalling his name from when he had introduced himself to me at the re. My cheeks burned in embarrassment as I remembered the hot, passionate s*x we had last night.

“Great, I had s*x with a stranger, no protection and I enjoyed it.” I slapped myself on the forehead. “Not your best next Amelia.” Despite how bad it looked, I couldn't deny that it was probably the best s*x I had in years. Even better than when John…..

“John.” The painful reality of my situation came crashing down hard. I was supposed to be happily married in a few days to my dream man yet all my hopes and dreams were shattered in a single night.

Tears threatened to cloud my vision once again but I furiously cleaned my eyes. I wasn't going to cry because of this again. I had shed enough tears last night, it was time to face my new reality and rebuild.

As soon as I reached for my phone, I saw that friends who were probably concerned about my safety had missed calls. I was not in the right mood, but I should have returned the call.

I half expected to see at least one missed call from John as I scrolled through the list, but nothing. No missed calls or texts.

I chucked in self-mockery. I was still pinning for a man that had already forgotten about me.

With a sigh, I blocked and deleted both John's and Mary's contacts.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up to go take a bath when something on the table caught my eye. It was a neatly folded note and a huge stack of cash. Curious, I walked over, picked up the note, and unfolded it.

“I’m sorry for what you're going through. I hope this helps - Ali.”

I dropped the note and picked up the cash. It was a huge stack and I quickly counted it: 200,000 euros.

My blood slowed down significantly. Who did I run into that would give a stranger this much cash? Part of me wanted to reject the money as it felt like he was paying for the s*x. I was not a w***e.

But still, another part recognized my need for the money. With another deep sigh, I silently thanked him, dropped the money back on the table, and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.

*****

Two weeks later, I was hunched over the toilet seat in my tiny apartment bathroom, vomiting like a Sunday-morning college student at a frat house. I was throwing up for the third time today, and I was growing tired of it.

I whispered to myself, "This can not go on," and flushed the toilet. “I need to see a doctor.”

I grabbed my phone and keys, throwing on a jacket before heading out. I hailed a cab and directed the driver to the nearest hospital.

Once I arrived, I checked in with the receptionist and sat in the waiting area. A nurse called my name, and I followed her to an examination room. She took my vitals and asked some questions.

“Have you been experiencing any symptoms besides nausea?” she asked as she jotted down some notes on her clipboard.

“Fatigue mostly and a little bit of dizziness,” I replied.

“Alright, we'll run some tests to determine the cause. Please wait here, and the doctor will be with you shortly.”

I nodded and waited patiently. After a few minutes, the doctor entered the room.

“Good afternoon, Amelia. I'm Dr Martinez. I understand you've been feeling unwell?”

“Yes, this is the third time I've vomited today. I don't know what's wrong with me.”

“I see. Let's run some tests to get to the bottom of this, shall we?” He rose from his seat and motioned for me to follow him.

We went to the lab where a nurse drew blood and collected a urine sample. A quick ultrasound was also performed for good measure and I was directed back to the waiting room.

While waiting for the results. My thoughts flashed back to a particularly handsome stud I found myself yearning for these past few days. Ali. Our meeting was just so….wait a second.

My blood went cold as a wave of realization hit me. After the night we had s*x, I never took the morning-after pills. My stomach knotted as I fervently prayed to God as my mind made the connections. I hoped that the test results would not confirm my suspicions because then I would not know what to do.

Take a few deep breaths now. I made an effort to relax, but thoughts of Ali's touch, his smell, and our intense s*x kept coming back.

"Amelia, I have some news for you based on the results of the tests." He spoke in a soft voice at first.

I braced myself and held my breath, whispering prayers to any celestial being that would listen.

"You are pregnant, two weeks along. Congratulations."

The words came at me like a freight train full of speed. Pregnant? My worst fears had come true. I lost consciousness, the room began to spin, and before I knew it, I was unconscious and slumped into the chair.