Chapter 2: Pregnant

Tatiana quickly lay on the bed, pretending to be asleep. Her heart beating fast, threatening to jump out of its ribcage.

"What are you talking about?" The man’s deep, rich voice sounded, and Tatiana felt a chill run down her spine. Oh heavens, what is she going to do?

She peeked at him just to see how he looked but only saw his back view. A tall, imposing figure, definitely not old or crippled, but incredibly hot. He was speaking with someone on the phone.

"I thought you promised to send someone. What the fuck am I supposed to tell her when she wakes?" he asked the person on the other side.

Tatiana frowned. He had been expecting someone to sleep with last night. He was probably one of those rich men who paid to sleep with women. She clenched her jaw.

‘I’m not a whore,’ she thought to herself.

He ended the call, and Tatiana shut her eyes again. She heard his footsteps fading and the door shutting. He had entered his dressing room.

Tatiana sprang up from the bed, put on her clothes, and stormed out. She took her phone and found many missed calls from Jolene. She called back.

"Tatie? Oh my God, are you alright? Where are you?" Jolene asked hastily.

"At the hotel," Tatiana responded.

"Hotel? I came to check on you, but you weren’t there. I thought Mr. Wallington got you," Jolene sounded worried.

"My father?"

"Yes, a maid called from the mansion twenty minutes ago. Mr. Wallington has sent his men, and they are all over searching for you, but I’ve got this under control. Fortunately, last night, I had prepared a flight for you."

"Good, let’s meet at the hotel parking lot," Tatiana ordered.

Upon reaching the parking lot, she found Jolene and entered the car.

"So where were you?" Jolene asked, raising a brow.

"Complicated, annoying, and I don’t want to talk about it," Tatiana stated. She wanted to tell Jolene to head to the pharmacy, but there was no time. She knew how fast her father would get her if she did.

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[EUROPE]

Tatiana smiled when her middle-aged aunt dropped a cup of black coffee before her.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cat," Tatiana appreciated.

Catelyn, her father’s younger sister, was smart, lovely, and close to Tatiana. After her tragic wedding day, this was the only place she could find solace.

"I’ve spoken with your father. He’s so upset because of the humiliation he received at the wedding…"

“Did he disown me?” Tatiana asked, staring down at her coffee with a blank look. Catelyn stayed silent for a while before responding.

“Something like that. But you don’t need to worry. My brother deserved what happened to him. He was trying to control your life, and I'm glad you didn't let him. This is your home now. I’ll be so happy to have a lovely daughter living with me.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Cat.”

Two months passed quickly as Tatiana found a job to keep herself busy. Catelyn had suggested she go into acting, a dream she had given up a long time ago, but she refused.

She saw Nathan’s social media and saw how he flirted famously online with his girlfriend, Paisley.

Her chest tightened, and she dropped her phone. Her mind suddenly drifted to the man she had spent a night with, and she sighed.

She winced when her head throbbed. Recently, she had felt sick and tired and never mentioned it to Catelyn to avoid worrying her.

The door opened, and Catelyn walked in with groceries.

"I'm home," she announced.

Tatiana stood to help, but her head throbbed harder. As she made her first step, her sight got blurry, and in the next moment, she found herself falling to the floor.

“Tatie!!” That was the last thing she heard before drifting into darkness.

"You're pregnant, ma'am," the nurse announced, and Tatiana and Catelyn's eyes widened with shock.

“The doctor will attend to you soon.”

Immediately after the nurse left, Catelyn faced Tatiana with wide eyes.

"Please tell me this baby isn’t Nathan’s."

"It’s not. Nathan and I haven’t slept together for two years," Tatiana responded, and Catelyn frowned harder. She then explained how she ended up in another man’s bed the night she was betrayed.

"I'm stupid, I know. Not only did my marriage not work, now I’m pregnant by a man I know nothing about. I'm sure you probably think I’m a whore…" Tatiana croaked as tears streamed down her face.

"Shh... sweetie, don’t say that. I do not think of you like that. Everything happens for a reason. Everyone makes mistakes, and some mistakes can change one’s life forever," Catelyn assured her, and Tatiana gauged her expression; she didn’t seem mad at her.

"Do you wish to find the father?"

"No, that would be too embarrassing. I don’t want to inconvenience him because of my mistakes," Tatiana replied, and Catelyn nodded in agreement.

"I guess I’m becoming a grandmother soon," Catelyn said, and they both chuckled.

"Jolene will be so mad at me."

"No, I think she’ll be happy."

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~Six years later~

Tatiana stepped into the apartment looking tired from the intense work of the day. She found her five-year-old son sitting on the couch in the living room, swinging his legs.

He was watching a movie while stuffing some popcorn into his mouth. He seemed to have heard her return and snapped his head towards her.

"Mother!" His tiny voice filled the room, and Tatiana smiled brightly. She pulled him into a warm hug, finding solace.

"How was school, Dylan?" she asked, and Dylan broke the hug.

"I'm no longer going to that school. It has no privacy," Dylan complained as Tatiana crouched before him.

"What? Did someone hurt you?" Tatiana’s face turned cold.

Dylan is her priority, and she is very protective of him. The last time a man said something about her son, Tatiana had broken the man's nose with a punch.

"No. I can't get hurt; I'm a knight, remember? I can protect myself," Dylan showed off his tiny arm, and Tatiana chuckled.

"Then what is wrong?"

"Girls at school won't stop staring at me. It's so uncomfortable; I can't even focus well in class. My teacher called me cute several times, and I feel like she is crushing on me."

Tatiana tried to hold her laughter.

"That's not funny, mom. They are distractions, cute but distractions. I need to focus on my studies and make you proud," Dylan said, and Tatiana pecked his round cheek.

Dylan, her five-year-old kid, can steal anyone's heart with just his looks and words.

He is cute and adorable, and Tatiana had long gotten used to the charm that her son carries. Especially those blue eyes of his, which he definitely didn't get from her.

"You're back," Catelyn emerged from the kitchen.

Soon, they all settled down to have dinner.

Catelyn liked Dylan very much, and Dylan considered her his second mother.

"So, mom, am I changing schools?"

"No."

Dylan made a sad face. "Maybe I'll choose one of them as my girlfriend."

Tatiana almost choked. "Where did you get that side of yours? Eat."

Catelyn let out a secret smile, and they continued eating silently.

"So, mother," Dylan broke the silence again. Both women looked up at him, but his next question made their faces pale.

"When am I going to meet my father?"