Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Consequence of One Night

Bianca's point of view 

Sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting golden streaks across the expensive silk sheets. The warmth of the bed, the faint scent of Louis lingering in the air,it should have been comforting.

Instead, it was suffocating.

I blinked, my body aching from the aftermath of last night. My bare skin brushed against the sheets, and the weight of what had happened crashed down on me like a tidal wave.

No.

My heart pounded as I sat up, clutching the blanket to my chest. The events of the night before played in my mind like a cruel movie,the heat, the desperation, the way his hands had claimed me as if I still belonged to him.

What the hell have I done?

I glanced around. The room was empty. Louis was gone.

Of course, he was.

There was no note, no lingering scent of his cologne near the pillows,just an empty space where he should have been.

A sharp pain twisted in my chest, but I pushed it down. This was a mistake. A mistake I will never repeat.

I needed to leave before anyone saw me. Before—

The bedroom door creaked open.

My breath hitched as I turned toward the entrance.

Vivienne.

She stood there in a blush-pink dress, perfectly polished, perfectly composed,except for the sharp glint in her emerald eyes.

For a moment, silence stretched between us.

I could see the moment realization struck her. Her gaze flickered from the messy sheets to the robe barely covering my body.

A slow, knowing smile curled at her lips.

“Well, well,” Vivienne said, stepping inside, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor. “Imagine my surprise.”

I forced a breath, gripping the sheets tighter. “It’s not what you think.”

She tilted her head. “Oh? Because it looks exactly like what I think.” Her eyes darkened, scanning me with barely veiled disgust. “You were always desperate, Bianca, but I didn’t even think you would be this pathetic.”

Anger flared inside me, but I swallowed it down. Don’t react. Just get out of here.

I stood, yanking the robe around myself, forcing my voice to stay calm. “I was drunk. It was a mistake. One I’ll never make again.”

Vivienne studied me for a long moment, then smirked. “I suppose it doesn’t matter.” She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Because at the end of the day, he still chose me.”

The words were a slap to the face.

She turned sharply, heading toward the door. “I’d get dressed if I were you. Wouldn’t want anyone to think you were here on purpose.”

The moment she left, I exhaled shakily, pressing a hand to my chest.

I needed to get the hell out of here.

I slipped out of the room, heart racing as I hurried through the hallway. I just had to reach the exit. I could disappear, pretend none of this ever happened—

A hand wrapped around my wrist, yanking me to a stop.

I gasped, spinning around.

Louis.

His grip was firm, his dark eyes unreadable as they locked onto mine.

My chest tightened. “Let me go.”

He didn’t. Instead, he studied me, his expression colder than I had ever seen it. “You were just going to leave?”

I clenched my jaw. “What else am I supposed to do? Stay here and watch you marry her?”

His lips pressed into a thin line. “What happened last night…” His voice was emotionless, each word cutting deeper. “It changes nothing.”

I flinched.

I hated how much those words still had the power to break me.

My throat burned as I forced myself to nod. “I know.”

I yanked my arm from his grip and walked away.

And this time, he let me go.

---

I should have felt better.

I had thrown myself into work, ignored every whisper of the Monte family in the news, and avoided every place Louis could possibly be.

But no matter how much distance I tried to create, my body refused to cooperate.

The nausea had started days ago. The dizzy spells, the exhaustion, the way certain smells made my stomach churn,it was all too familiar.

Too terrifying.

I sat in the cold, sterile examination room, fingers gripping the edges of the paper gown.

The doctor studied my chart before setting it down with a soft sigh. “Bianca, the test results confirm what we suspected.” She met my eyes. “You’re pregnant.”

The room spun.

I barely felt my own breath as I pressed a hand to my stomach. Pregnant.

With Louis’s baby.

I stumbled out of the clinic, barely feeling my feet against the pavement.

This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening.

Louis was marrying Vivienne. He had already made his choice.

And now… now I was carrying his child.

I thought of the Monte family,their ruthless world, their cold, calculated decisions. My child would never be anything more than a pawn to them.

A mistake.

Tears burned my eyes as I pressed a hand over my stomach.

No.

I refused to let my baby grow up in a world where love was just a transaction.

I had spent my whole life being tossed aside, treated like I was disposable.

I would not let that happen to my child.

There was only one choice left.

I had to run.

I had to disappear before Louis ever found out.

Because if he did…

He would never let me go.

I reached for my phone with trembling fingers and dialed the only person I knew could help me.

The line clicked.

A voice on the other end answered. “Bianca?”

I swallowed hard. “I need to leave the country. Tonight.”

A pau

se. Then, “Are you in trouble?”

I placed a protective hand over my stomach, inhaling sharply.

“Yes.”

And this time, there was no turning back.