AFTER ONE NIGHT

CHAPTER 5

• NEW LIFE •

"A room for the week," Ashley told the man at the counter, assuming he was the hotel manager.

"That will be four hundred dollars, ma'am," the slightly overweight man replied quickly, smirking as he looked up at her. She handed him her credit card without a word. After she filled out the visitor form, he gave her the key and her room number.

"Enjoy your stay, Miss Bricks," he called after her, but she didn't hear him, already moving to find her room. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have responded.

Finding her room was easy. When she reached the door, she put the key in the keyhole. Once inside with her luggage, she locked the door and glanced around. The room was clean and tidy, just as she expected. The bed had white linens, and a small TV hung on the wall opposite. She sighed with relief, drag her box to the corner, and walked to the other door. It led to a combined toilet and bathroom, which was also spotless. "This will do for the week," she told herself as she fell onto the soft mattress.

The hotel wasn’t fancy. While she could have afforded a five-star place, she wanted to be cautious with the money Elliott had sent to her bank account that morning. She had no idea what the future held. So, when she landed in Los Angeles, she told the cab driver to take her to a budget hotel.

During the ride, Ashley struggled to hold back tears. She thought about her life and how unlucky she had been with love—always ending up on the losing side.

The night before, she had walked out of Elliott's bedroom and into the guest room. Sleep was hard to find. "Maybe he didn't mean what he said. Maybe by morning, he'll realize and beg me not to go," she had reassured herself, hoping and praying for that outcome. But as dawn broke, reality hit. Elliott woke first, urging her to pack and leave. He had booked her flight and called a cab to the airport. At that moment, she understood there was no turning back. He had meant every word. There was no point in arguing; she quickly did as he asked and left his house for good. Eventually, this would have happened anyway. He had just sped up the process. All she had left was the money in her bank account until she found a decent job, yet she still felt empty and alone. A few tears slipped down her cheeks, but she wiped them away angrily, reminding herself that Elliott was simply not worth it. If only she truly believed that. She hated that she still loved him despite everything he had done.

She considered calling Maggie but quickly dismissed the idea. The call would only worry Maggie since she hadn’t told her about her sudden move. It was better to wait until she was settled and found a good job.

Exhausted from her three-hour flight, Ashley finally fell asleep.

On just her second day in the hotel, Ashley started searching online for job ads. It felt like she was a recent college graduate again, desperately looking for a job but lacking work experience. Most of the listings required at least a year of experience, which she didn’t have. She had promised herself to get back on her feet financially, but it started to feel daunting.

Frustrated after a long search with no results, she threw her phone onto the bed and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV for distraction. Sadly, nothing interesting was on any channel. After a while, she gave up and returned to bed.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit her, and she fell onto the bed. Her head throbbed. Annoyed, Ashley tried to sit up but felt the urgent need to vomit. She hurried to the bathroom just in time, emptying the bacon and eggs from breakfast while still bent over the toilet.

After a moment, she tried to stand straight but felt dizzy again. She leaned against the sink, splashing water on her face. Slowly, she raised her head and met her pale reflection in the mirror. The dark circles under her puffy eyes shocked her. "Oh no! I can’t afford to get sick now," she muttered.

This had been happening for five days—waking up dizzy, dealing with a pounding headache, then throwing up. She had assumed it was just allergies and didn’t want to bother Elliott since she felt fine during their last routine medical check-up, which he insisted on monthly.

"Wait... It's a new month!" She felt a jolt of realization.

It was two days into a new month, and her period was late—five days late. She had never experienced this before.

"Calm down, Ashley. Think!" She urged herself, placing a hand on her chest. Then she noticed something unusual—it felt like her breasts were sore and heavier, almost tingly. Sore breasts could be normal during ovulation, but this was different for her.

As the truth sank in, Ashley's worst fear began to materialize, and she shook her head in denial. "No... it can’t be. It was only once, right? Or maybe twice... right?"

But you didn’t take pills, a small voice reminded her. Her heart raced as panic set in, realizing the possibility of her worst fear.

Without hesitating, Ashley flushed the toilet, rushed from the bathroom, grabbed her purse, and hurried out of her room.

Forty-five minutes later, she returned with five pregnancy test kits, praying her fear wouldn’t come true. In seconds, she used all five. Then, she began pacing anxiously, waiting for the results.

When the tests were ready, Ashley counted to five, telling herself to calm down. But her hope shattered when she saw all five tests were positive. She felt numb for a moment before breaking down in tears.

How could she let this happen? How would she manage to care for another human? What about her dignity?

Nothing seemed to make sense. She couldn’t comprehend the bad luck that had befallen her, fearing she might end up like Maggie, alone with the child of a man who wanted nothing to do with her. This was the life she had always dreaded, now becoming her reality. Uncontrolled tears streamed down her face.

She had no one to blame but herself. It felt like Elliott had left her with a permanent scar. He ruined her life, but could she truly fault him when she had allowed it to happen? Wiping her tears, she stood, walked to the large mirror in the corner, and gazed at her sad reflection while touching her small belly.

"It's you and me now... forever," she whispered, looking down at her belly as fresh tears flowed down her cheeks.