Chapter 4: One Line. Then Two.
One month.
That's how long it had been since the night she swore she would never speak of again.
Aria Lode had deleted the hotel photos. Tossed the birthday sash. Ignored Lila's endless questions about why she left so suddenly. She buried everything—deep, deeper than memory should allow. She even began to believe she was doing okay.
Until her body betrayed her.
It started with the fatigue. She chalked it up to stress. Then the nausea—brushed off as food poisoning. But when her period didn't come, panic crept into the corners of her mind.
By the fifth day of silence from her cycle, she couldn't lie to herself anymore.
Now, she sat on the closed toilet lid of her bathroom, her knees pulled up to her chest, and a pregnancy test resting on the sink.
One minute left.
She stared at the pink plastic stick like it was a bomb.
Because it might as well have been.
Her hands trembled as she tried to keep breathing.
This can't be happening.
She had taken precautions her whole life. She was careful. She never slipped.
Except once.
One night.
One mistake.
Kade Val.
Her stomach twisted just thinking his name.
He was the last person she ever wanted to be connected to again.
And now—God, if that stick changed—she might be tied to him forever.
The timer on her phone vibrated.
Aria froze.
Her heart slammed in her chest. Her fingers went cold. For a long second, she couldn't move.
Then, like someone else had taken control of her body, she stood and leaned over the sink.
She picked up the test.
One line.
Her lungs expanded, relief flooding her.
But then…
A second line began to appear. Faint. Slow. Like a shadow creeping in.
Her breath hitched.
"No," she whispered.
The second line deepened.
Her hands dropped to her sides.
She stared. And stared. And stared.
Two lines.
Pregnant.
Aria dropped the stick as if it burned.
The room spun around her.
"No," she said again, her voice cracking. "No, no, no—this can't be right."
She dug through the drawer and yanked out another test.
Then another.
She didn't stop until she had taken four in total, hands shaking the entire time.
Fifteen agonizing minutes later, she stood in a bathroom surrounded by evidence she couldn't deny.
Every test said the same thing.
Positive.
A choked sob slipped from her throat, and she sank to the bathroom floor, curling in on herself.
She was pregnant.
At twenty.
Alone.
With Kade Val's baby.
The tears didn't come right away. Just numbness. Cold, sharp numbness. Like her body was trying to freeze the truth before it fully reached her heart.
But the truth came anyway.
He'll never believe me.
He'll say I trapped him.
He'll tell me I'm still just a stupid kid.
Her chest ached at the memory of his voice, of the way he once made her feel like nothing. And now, her future was tied to him in the cruelest twist of fate.
She didn't even know how to feel.
Angry?
Terrified?
Devastated?
All of it at once?
She sat there, silent and still, until her phone buzzed.
It was Lila.
"Brunch? I'm starving."
Aria stared at the message for a long moment before tossing her phone aside. She couldn't pretend today. Not like this. She couldn't even put on clothes without feeling like her body wasn't her own anymore.
She dragged herself off the floor and walked to the mirror, placing a shaky hand over her stomach.
There was no bump. Nothing visible. Nothing to prove what was happening inside her. But the idea that something was inside her… something growing… it was overwhelming.
A life.
A baby.
Kade's baby.
She hadn't seen or heard from him in a month. They had gone their separate ways like strangers after that awful morning.
And now?
Now she had to decide whether to tell him.
She paced the bathroom like it might help her think.
She wasn't ready to be a mother.
She didn't even have a stable job yet. Her part-time assistant gig barely covered her bills. She was still trying to figure her life out—how could she be responsible for someone else's?
And Kade?
Would he step up?
Would he even care?
Or would he laugh in her face and call it another childish mistake?
Aria sank onto the edge of her bed, mind spiraling.
Could she raise this child on her own?
Would she even keep it?
The thought sent a wave of guilt crashing over her. She wasn't heartless. She wasn't cold. She just didn't know what to do. No guidebook. No support system. Just a pink test and a lifetime of consequences.
She hugged a pillow to her chest, rocking slightly as her mind raced.
A month ago, all she wanted was to forget Kade Val forever.
Now… she would never be able to.
She glanced at the tests on the counter again. At the soft second lines, glowing like truth.
Her phone buzzed once more.
This time, it was a different name on the screen.
Unknown Number:
"Aria. We need to talk."
Her heart stopped.
She knew that voice, even just written.
Kade.
And he had somehow found her.