Chapter Three

Joyce's POV

“What the hell?!” I cursed out loud and woke up feeling very disoriented. My head felt like it was slammed by a ceramic baseball bat continuously and my entire body ached. 

Blinking my eyes, my vision cleared a bit and I saw the white paint of the room I had woken up in.

“My room is not painted white,” I muttered to myself, feeling confused and trying my best to remember how I got here, but my mind was a foggy mess.  

“What the hell?” I realized  I was naked as I moved to sit up.  I never fell asleep naked so what the hell was happening? I felt a sharp pain in between my legs and suddenly fragments of memories from last night resurfaced.

Gabriel and Natalia’s betrayal, the casino, the endless booze, and then the hazy image of a handsome man in an expensive three-piece suit came to mind. He was tall and lean with wild blonde hair and stormy gray eyes. 

“Adrian,” I whispered, remembering his name when he introduced himself to me at the bar. My cheeks burned in embarrassment as I remembered the hot, passionate sex we had last night. 

“Great, I had sex with a stranger, no protection and I enjoyed it.” I slapped myself on the forehead. “Not your best next Joyce.” Despite how bad it looked, I couldn't deny that it was probably the best sex I had in years. Even better than when Gabriel…..

“Gabriel.” The painful reality of my situation came crashing down hard.  I was supposed to be happily married in a few days to my dream man yet all my hopes and dreams were shattered in a single night. 

Tears threatened to cloud my vision once again but I furiously cleaned my eyes. I wasn't going to cry because of this again. I had shed enough tears last night, it was time to face my new reality and rebuild. 

I reached for my phone, the screen was filled with notifications of missed calls from friends who were probably worried about my safety.  I should have called back but I honestly wasn't in the mood. 

Scrolling through the list, I half expected to see at least one missed call from Gabriel, but there was nothing. No texts, no missed calls. 

I chucked in self-mockery. I was still pinning for a man that had already forgotten about me.

With a sigh, I blocked and deleted both Gabriel's and Natalia's contacts. 

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up to go take a bath when something on the table caught my eye. It was a neatly folded note and a huge stack of cash. Curious, I walked over, picked up the note, and unfolded it.

“I’m sorry for what you're going through. I hope this helps - Adrian.”

I dropped the note and picked up the cash. It was a huge stack and I quickly counted it: 200,000 euros. 

My blood slowed down significantly. Who did I run into that would give a stranger this much cash? Part of me wanted to reject the money as it felt like he was paying for the sex. I was not a whore.

But still, another part recognized my need for the money. With another deep sigh, I silently thanked him, dropped the money back on the table, and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower.

*****

Three weeks later, I found myself in the cramped bathroom of my apartment, hunched over the toilet seat and vomiting like a college student at a frat house on a Sunday morning.  This was the third time I was vomiting today and I was already getting sick of it.

“This can't go on,” I muttered to myself and flushed the toilet. “I need to see a doctor.”

I grabbed my phone and keys, throwing on a jacket before heading out. I hailed a cab and directed the driver to the nearest hospital.

Once I arrived, I checked in with the receptionist and sat in the waiting area. A nurse called my name, and I followed her to an examination room. She took my vitals and asked some questions.

“Have you been experiencing any symptoms besides nausea?” she asked as she jotted down some notes on her clipboard.

“Fatigue mostly and a little bit of dizziness,” I replied.

“Alright, we'll run some tests to determine the cause. Please wait here, and the doctor will be with you shortly.”

I nodded and waited patiently. After a few minutes, the doctor entered the room.

“Good afternoon, Joyce. I'm Dr Martinez. I understand  you've been feeling unwell?” 

“Yes, this is the third time I've vomited today. I don't know what's wrong with me.”

“I see. Let's run some tests to get to the bottom of this, shall we?” He rose from his seat and motioned for me to follow him. 

We went to the lab where a nurse drew blood and collected a urine sample. A quick ultrasound was also performed for good measure and I was directed back to the waiting room.

While waiting for the results. My thoughts flashed back to a particularly handsome stud I found myself yearning for these past few days. Adrian. Our meeting was just so….wait a second.

My blood went cold as a wave of realization hit me. After the night we had sex, I never took the morning-after pills. My mind connected the dots and my gut clenched as I earnestly prayed to God. I prayed the test results wouldn't be what I was thinking because if it was, I wouldn't know what to do.

“Alright, deep breaths.” I tried to calm myself down but the memory of Adrian's touch, his scent, and the passionate sex we had kept resurfacing.

“Joyce, the tests have come back and I have some news for you.” He began with a gentle tone.

I held my breath and braced myself, muttering silent prayers to whatever celestial being who cared to listen.

“Congratulations, you're three weeks pregnant.”

The words hit me like a speeding bullet train. Pregnant? My worst fears had come true. My mind went blank, the room started to spin and before I knew it, I passed out and collapsed into the chair.