Chapter 2- One night, One mistake
831 Words
The night Lily stopped being just Lily.
The music had been loud — too loud — pulsing through the walls like a heartbeat that wasn’t hers. Her head spun even now, hours later, as she sat cross-legged on the edge of a strange bed. The hotel room was quiet, dimly lit by the city glow filtering through half-drawn curtains.
Her dress was crumpled on the floor. Her lipstick had smudged across the corner of her mouth. A pair of unfamiliar boxers were tangled in the sheets beside her.
The man in the bed stirred slightly, one arm flung over a pillow as he shifted in his sleep. His breathing was even, deep, like he had no regrets. Like last night had meant absolutely nothing.
Lily wrapped her arms around herself, guilt crashing down like a wave she hadn’t seen coming. She hadn’t planned this. She wasn’t that kind of girl. But last night, standing alone outside that bar, her phone buzzing nonstop with calls from her father, she had broken.
A stranger’s smile was enough to pull her in.
It had started with a shot — whiskey, fire on her tongue. Then another. Then his hand on her waist as he leaned in close and whispered something stupid and sexy. She hadn’t even asked his name.
That makes it easier now. Not knowing meant not remembering. Not remembering meant she could pretend it never happened.
Except…
She glanced at him again — the curve of his jaw, the slight furrow in his brows even as he slept.
God, he was beautiful.
And she hated herself for noticing.
She stood quietly, careful not to wake him, and began gathering her things. Her phone, her purse, her shoes — no, wait. Where were her shoes? She looked under the bed. Nothing. Closet? Nope. They were probably still back at the bar.
She’d walked out of her life barefoot. How poetic.
Lily tiptoed to the door, her heart pounding. Her hand was on the knob when she heard his voice — rough, sleepy, and unexpectedly soft.
“You’re leaving?”
She froze.
Slowly, she turned.
He was awake now, sitting up, hair a mess, the blanket sliding down to reveal toned arms and a constellation of tattoos across his collarbone.
“You don’t have to sneak out,” he said, his voice hoarse.
“I wasn’t,” she lied.
He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “Right.”
She swallowed. “Thanks for… last night.”
He nodded once, the weight of something unspoken hanging in the air. “Are you okay?”
It was the last thing she expected him to ask. The kindness in his voice broke something inside her.
“I will be,” she said.
And then she left.
Two weeks later, Lily vomited for the third time that morning.
She sat slumped on the cold bathroom floor, forehead pressed onto the tile, trying not to cry. She was used to her life spinning out of control, but this — this was too much.
She hadn’t eaten in two days, couldn’t keep down crackers, and her favorite coffee now made her gag. Her mind did the math. Her fingers trembled as she reached for her calendar app.
Her period was late.
Three days.
No, five.
No—seven.
“No,” she whispered.
The drugstore was only two blocks away. She wore a hoodie and sunglasses, and avoided eye contact with the cashier as she handed over a pregnancy test. The walk back felt like forever. Her hands shook as she ripped open the box, almost dropped the stick, and sat in the restroom waiting with her heart in her throat.
Positive.
She blinked. Looked again. Then again.
Still positive.
Her hand clamped over her mouth to muffle the scream building in her throat. This wasn’t supposed to happen. One stupid night, one stranger, one decision — and now this?
“No. No. No.”
Tears blurred her vision as she sank to the floor, knees to chest. Her breath came out ragged.
She didn’t even know his name.
What was she supposed to do now?
Later that evening, Lily sat alone on the fire escape outside her apartment, the pregnancy test still on the table inside, the sun slipping behind the New York skyline. The city didn’t care about her heartbreak. Or her fear. Or the life now growing inside her.
Her phone buzzed beside her again — her father. For the sixth time today.
She ignored it.
She wouldn’t let him control this. She wouldn’t go back. She wouldn’t marry Aiden Blackwood to clean up his business messes. She wasn’t a pawn. She wasn’t a woman for rent.
“I don’t need anyone,” she whispered to herself. I don’t need him. Or anyone.”
But as the sky darkened and the world grew quiet, Lily pressed a hand to her stomach and whispered to the baby growing inside her.
“You’ve got me. That’s enough
- Writer
