Regret
983 Words
Alex stood motionless in the middle of the penthouse suite, staring at the scattered sheets where she had been.
The morning light shone through the half-closed curtains. His head still pounding from whatever cocktail of drugs had been slipped into his drink the night before, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the sick twist in his gut.
He noticed it then,the faint smear of blood on the white linen, small but visible. His breath caught. She had been a virgin.He hadn't just taken advantage of a frightened woman,he had taken something she could never get back.
"God damn it," he whispered, voice cracking for the first time in years.
He turned away from the bed and walked into the marble bathroom, the cold floor biting at his bare feet. The mirror reflected a stranger dark circles under his blue eyes,he looked like a man who had lost control and he had.
He turned on the shower, letting the water scald his skin. Steam filled the room as he stood under the spray, scrubbing at his body as if he could wash away the memory of her tears, her pleas, the way her hands had pushed weakly against his chest before going limp. "I'll take responsibility," he'd kept saying, the words coming out like they meant something real.
He slammed his fist against the tiled wall, knuckles splitting. Blood mixed with the water. For the first time in his life, Alexander Voss felt truly dirty not from wealth or power, but from what he'd done.
He shut off the water, dried off mechanically, and dressed in fresh clothes from the closet. Black shirt, black pants, black soul.
His phone buzzed,it was his head of security.
"Sir, Elena Reyes left the hotel around 2 a.m. last night. Security footage shows her walking out in the rain. No cab. She lives in the east district, low-income apartments on Maple Street. Apartment 4B. She's scheduled for another shift tonight."
Alexander's jaw clenched. "Don't approach her. Just... keep tabs. I need to think."
He ended the call and stared out at the city. Somewhere out there, a young woman was carrying the weight of his mistake. He had to find her. Not to fix it but to face it and to apologize, even if she spat in his face. To make sure she was... safe.
He grabbed his coat and keys. Responsibility wasn't just words anymore. It had to be action.
****
Across the city, in a odd apartment building that smelled faintly of mildew and yesterday's takeout, Elena Reyes sat curled on the edge of her narrow bed. The single room was all she could afford, bed against one wall, a tiny desk piled with textbooks and notes for her business classes, a small kitchen that barely fit one person.
She hadn't slept. Her body ached in places she hadn't known could hurt. Between her legs was a dull, painful ,throb, a reminder every time she shifted. But worse was the ache inside her chest, sharp and relentless.
She hugged her knees to her chest and let the tears fall freely now. They came in waves,quiet at first, then harder, until her shoulders shook. She pressed her face into her thighs, muffling the sobs.
"I'm sorry, Mom," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."
Her mother had died three years ago.she was diagnosed with breast cancer that came fast and cruel. On her deathbed, she'd taken Elena's hand and made her promise.
"Promise me, mija. No babies outside of marriage. No man who won't stand by you. You deserve better than I had. Finish school. Build something solid. Don't let a man steal your future."
Elena had cried then too, nodding over and over. "I promise, Mom. I swear."
She'd kept that promise through every date that never went too far, every boy who pushed and then sulked when she said no. She'd guarded her virginity like a shield, proof that she was different, that she could rise above the mistakes her mother had warned her about.
And last night... one night. One stranger. One moment of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She touched her stomach, flat for now, but terror clawed at her. What if? What if that one night had already changed everything?
She hadn't even thought about protection. In the chaos, the fear, the violation,she'd forgotten the morning-after pill completely.
Her hands shook as she grabbed her phone and searched: "emergency contraception near me." A pharmacy three blocks away opened at 8 a.m. It was 7:42 now.
She threw on an oversized hoodie to hide the bruises blooming on her arms, pulled her hair into a messy bun, and slipped on sneakers. No makeup. No pretense. Just survival.
The rain had slowed to a drizzle. She walked fast, head down, avoiding eye contact with anyone on the sidewalk. Inside the pharmacy, the fluorescent lights felt too bright. She went straight to the family planning aisle, heart pounding, next to it, pregnancy tests. She stared at the boxes, a new fear rising. What if it was already too late for the pill? What if...?
She grabbed both. The cashier,a middle aged woman with kind eyes didn't comment, just rang her up quietly. Elena paid with trembling fingers and hurried back into the rain.
Back in her apartment, she locked the door, leaned against it, and slid to the floor. The pregnancy test box felt heavy in her hand. She wasn't ready to face the result yet. Not yet.
But she knew she couldn't wait forever.
She pressed her forehead to her knees and whispered again, "I'm sorry, Mom. I broke my promise."
The tears came harder this time, soaking the hoodie sleeves.
Outside, the city moved on cars honking, people rushing to work. Inside Elena's tiny world, time had stopped. Everything hung on what might already be growing inside her.
- Writer
