After One Night

Episode 5

~Sophie’s POV

The thought of confronting Damian was terrifying, but Caroline wouldn’t let it go. With her encouragement, and what I now realized was thinly veiled excitement, I finally agreed.

I looked Caroline dead in the eyes. “Promise me you won’t tell my mom.”

She hesitated for a second before nodding. “I won’t.”

I sighed in relief, rubbing my temples. My head was pounding from all the stress, and I wasn’t ready to deal with my mother’s wrath, not yet.

Caroline stood up and grabbed her bag. “So, we’re meeting Damian tomorrow,”

I swallowed hard and nodded. “Yeah.”

With that, she left.

I tossed and turned all night, my mind refusing to shut down. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Damian’s face, the shock I imagined he’d have when I told him.

‘ Would he believe me? Would he reject me?’

Morning came too soon. My body felt heavy, my eyes swollen from lack of sleep. I barely had the strength to get dressed when Caroline’s car honked outside.

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my bag and stepped out. Caroline eyed me as I got in. “You look awful.”

“No sleep,” I muttered.

“Let’s get this over with,” she sighed, driving off.

When I walked into the towering Blackwood Enterprises building, my heart was pounding.

The anxiety of confronting Damian Blackwood was suffocating. We were given access because Caroline had an appointment with him. As Caroline and I stepped out of the elevator on the top floor of Blackwood Enterprises, my hands felt clammy. I couldn’t believe I was about to face the man who unknowingly turned my life upside down.

“He has to take responsibility,” Caroline said for the hundredth time, her tone firm. “You’re doing the right thing.”

I nodded, though my stomach churned with doubt. As we reached the large double doors of his office, I could hear laughter from inside. Caroline knocked twice, but no one answered. She glanced at me, then pushed the door open.

What I saw made my heart stop.

Damian was sitting in his chair, his shirt partly unbuttoned, looking relaxed while a woman sat on his desk, way too close to him. The moment we walked in, she gasped and quickly covered her mouth. Damian’s smirk vanished as he sat up, looking annoyed.

“What the hell?” he snapped, his eyes moving between me and Caroline.

The woman slid off the desk in a hurry, pulling down her skirt and grabbing her purse. “I’ll call you later,” she muttered before rushing out, her heels clicking against the floor.

Caroline raised an eyebrow at me like she was enjoying the situation, but I felt my stomach twist.

Damian didn’t look the least bit guilty. If anything, he was irritated. “Who are you, and why are you in my office?”

His words hit me hard. He didn’t even remember me.

I swallowed and forced myself to speak. “Sophia Lane. We met a few weeks ago. At the bar.”

He frowned slightly but leaned back in his chair, looking bored. “And?”

My hands clenched into fists. “And we… spent the night together.”

Damian just stared at me for a moment, then let out a short laugh. “You’ll have to be more specific. I don’t exactly keep track.”

Caroline let out a low whistle beside me, clearly entertained. I ignored her.

I took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant.”

The room went silent

.

Damian didn’t react at first. Then, he slowly smiled, but it wasn’t a nice smile. It was mocking.

“Congratulations,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “What does that have to do with me?”

My heart pounded. “You’re the father.”

And then he laughed. A cold, empty laugh that made my blood run cold.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He shook his head. “Listen, sweetheart, whatever story you’ve made up in your head, let me remind you, I paid you. I don’t owe you anything.”

Paid me?

I felt my body shake with anger. “You think I’m here for money?” My voice was sharp. “I’m here because this is your child!”

His smile disappeared, and his expression turned hard. “I don’t care. Get rid of it.”

The air felt heavy. My legs felt weak, but I refused to fall apart in front of him. I turned to Caroline, hoping she would defend me.

But instead of standing by me, she walked over to Damian’s desk. She folded her arms and looked at me with an expression I couldn’t read.

“Sophia,” she said slowly, her voice too calm, “are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

“What?”

She tilted her head slightly. “You’ve been staying with a guy, right?” Her lips curved into a small, knowing smile. “How do you know for sure that Damian is the father?”

My breath caught in my throat. I stared at her, unable to believe what I had just heard.

“Caroline,” I whispered, my voice barely holding together. “What are you doing?”

She didn’t even look at me. Instead, she smiled at Damian like she had just solved a huge problem for him. “You don’t have to deal with this nonsense. She’s just trying to trap you.”

I gasped. “What?!”

But Caroline wasn’t done. She flipped her hair back and turned to Damian fully. “She’s a schemer. She’s always been this way. She even tried to seduce my father, her mother’s husband.”

My heart stopped. “You’re lying,” I choked out.

She ignored me. “She’s been desperate for a rich man to take care of her. She’s just using this baby to get to you.”

I felt like the ground had been ripped from under me. My hands trembled as I clenched them into fists. I opened my mouth to defend myself, but before I could, the door burst open.

An older man walked in, his face lighting up when he saw me. His smile was wide, his eyes warm with excitement.

“There she is!” he said cheerfully, walking straight toward me. Before I could react, he reached for my hands, gripping them tightly. “Thank you, my dear. Thank you for giving me a grandchild.”

I blinked at him in shock. What was happening?

Damian’s chair scraped against the floor as he stood up, his face twisting in anger. “What the hell are you doing here, dad?!”

‘Oh, this old man is his dad,’ I thought to myself.

“You don’t even know if the baby is mine!” Damian yelled out.

His father waved a hand dismissively. “That doesn’t matter right now. If there’s even a chance, we have to take responsibility.”

Then, he turned back to me and said firmly, “You and Damian will marry. Temporarily, of course. Until we confirm the paternity of the baby.”

My breath caught. “What?”

Damian slammed his hand on the desk. “Absolutely not!”