Chapter 5: Two lines
1207 Words
The first thing Amelia noticed was the smell of antiseptic. The second was the steady beeping nearby.
She opened her eyes to a white ceiling and an ache behind her temples. Then Nora’s pale face appeared beside the bed.
“Oh, thank God,” Nora breathed. “You scared me half to death.”
Amelia tried to sit up, but the room tilted.
“Easy. The nurse said you need to lie still.”
“Where am I?”
“Westbridge Urgent Care. You fainted at the studio.”
The memory returned: Richard Halden’s bored expression, the overdue payment email, nausea, and the floor rushing toward her.
“The Blake meeting,” Amelia murmured.
“I handled it.”
“I need to call them.”
“You need to breathe. They were worried, not offended. I moved the meeting to next week.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I can speak to clients without you hovering behind me.”
A weak laugh escaped Amelia.
The door opened, and a nurse entered with a clipboard and water. She had kind brown eyes and a calm manner that made Amelia nervous.
“How are you feeling, Ms. Vale?”
“Embarrassed.”
“You collapsed because your body needed you to stop. There’s nothing embarrassing about that.”
“I collapsed in front of clients.”
Amelia accepted the water. “Did you run tests?”
“We did.”
The nurse glanced at Nora. “I need to speak privately with Ms. Vale.”
Nora’s relief vanished. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing urgent.”
Amelia nodded. “It’s okay.”
“I’ll be right outside,” Nora said before leaving.
The nurse pulled a chair closer. “Your blood pressure was low. You’re also dehydrated and likely under a great deal of stress.”
“That sounds accurate.”
“Stress can worsen symptoms like dizziness and nausea.” She paused. “Your pregnancy test was positive.”
For a moment, Amelia heard nothing.
Positive.
Pregnancy.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I think you’ve made a mistake.”
“The test was repeated.”
“No. I can’t be pregnant.”
“When was your last period?”
Amelia opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
She thought back through the past month, the gala, late nights at the studio, unpaid invoices, and calls from suppliers.
Then she remembered.
She was late. She had blamed stress and lack of sleep. She had explained the fatigue and nausea the same way.
Her fingers tightened around the paper cup.
“I was with someone,” she whispered.
“Then it’s possible.”
Lucas.
She saw his gray eyes beneath the terrace lights, heard him asking if she was sure, and remembered the warmth of his apartment.
Then came the empty bed and the velvet box on the pillow.
He had left without a word.
“I need another test.”
“We can arrange a blood test and an ultrasound with your physician,” the nurse said. “But the test here is clear.”
“I mean another test now.”
The nurse studied her, then nodded. “Of course.”
When she left, Amelia stared at the clipboard as her thoughts raced.
A baby.
Her baby.
Lucas Hart’s baby.
Beneath the shock, something softer rose. Not happiness. Not yet. But an aching awareness of a small, innocent life inside her.
She placed a hand against her stomach. Her body looked the same, and the world outside the room continued as if nothing had happened.
But everything was different.
How could she afford this?
Vale Studio was barely surviving. The rent was overdue, the Haldens might leave, and the Mercer contract was gone. Her savings had almost disappeared after her father’s medical bills, the studio repairs, and the struggle to keep the business alive after his death.
She could not guarantee the office lights would stay on.
Now she was responsible for a child.
The door opened, and Nora slipped inside. One look at Amelia’s face stopped her.
“What happened?”
Amelia could barely force out the words. “I’m pregnant.”
Nora’s eyes widened. She carefully sat beside the bed.
“Oh.”
“That’s exactly how I feel.”
“Are you sure?”
“The nurse is.” Amelia gave a breathless laugh. “I asked her to repeat the test.”
Nora’s expression softened. “Who is the father?”
Amelia looked at her.
Nora’s face changed. “No. Not—”
“Lucas Hart.”
Nora closed her eyes. “You went to one gala.”
“I know.”
“You had one conversation.”
“I know.”
“You came back the next morning looking like you’d won the lottery or made the worst decision of your life.”
Amelia stared at the blanket. “I think it may have been both.”
Nora took her hand. “Does he know?”
“No.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
Amelia thought of Lucas’s apartment and the necklace hidden in her desk. He had not called, sent a message, or left a note explaining why he had gone.
She had been one night to him. Perhaps a meaningful one, but he had still left.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to decide today.”
“I do.” Panic rose inside Amelia. “I have to decide everything. The studio, rent, appointments, whether I can keep working, whether I tell him, whether he thinks I planned this.”
“Amelia, stop.”
“I didn’t trap him.”
“I know.”
“But he barely knows me. What if he thinks I want something from him?”
“Then he isn’t worth having in your life.”
Amelia wished it were that simple.
She still remembered his grief when he spoke about his mother and his gentleness when he asked for consent. She remembered the necklace.
Why had he given it to her?
Why had he disappeared?
The nurse returned with another test. Amelia took it with trembling hands and waited through every unbearable second.
When the nurse came back, her expression gave Amelia the answer.
Positive.
Again.
Amelia looked at the two thin lines.
They were so small, yet they had changed the shape of her future.
The nurse gave her information about prenatal care and asked whether someone could take her home. Nora promised to stay with her all day, even when Amelia insisted she had work to do.
By the time Amelia was discharged, gray rain covered the city. Nora went to bring the car around while Amelia waited at reception, clutching the clinic folder against her chest.
The receptionist glanced at her screen.
“Ms. Vale?”
“Yes?”
“There’s something else.” The woman hesitated. “A man called several times asking if you were here.”
Amelia’s pulse skipped. “What man?”
“He said he was an assistant.” The receptionist lowered her voice. “He called from Hartwell Group.”
Amelia went still.
“He said Lucas Hart’s office has been trying to locate you.”
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