Fred stood at the edge of the hospital suite, arms crossed over his chest, his jaw tight, Ana's familiar scent was everywhere, soft, faintly floral, the same scent that had haunted his dreams.
His voice cut through the silence like a blade.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
Ana, sitting up on the hospital bed, stiffened. Her arms wrapped around her growing belly as if shielding it, from him, shielding it from the world.
"I don't know," she said again, firmer this time, her tone became neutral, emotion buried deep beneath the surface.
Fred narrowed his eyes. "You're carrying a child, Ana. You don't just not know who the father is."
Her throat tightened. She didn't want to look at him, but she could feel his gaze digging into her skin like needles. She turned her face away, blinking back the tears that burned behind her eyes. No, she wouldn't let him see her cry.
"Can you think of anything?" she asked quietly. "Do I sleep around? That I'm careless?"
Fred flinched slightly, the accusation hitting him unexpectedly. "I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to." Her voice was low, almost a whisper, but every word struck with sharp precision.
He walked closer, slowly, the floor quiet beneath his polished shoes. "Then tell me the truth. I deserve that much."
Ana bit her lower lip, trying to steady herself. She had come here weeks ago, determined to confront him, to tell him the truth, to ask if he even remembered what happened between them. But then she saw him… with Tiana. They were laughing, smiling. He was holding her like she was everything.
He didn't remember. He didn't remember the night nor her nor the moment that changed her life forever.
She swallowed hard. "You're engaged, Sir"
His brows furrowed. "This isn't about Tiana."
"Yes, it is!" she snapped. "I don't want to lose everything. My job. My safety. My dignity." Her hand dropped instinctively to her belly. "My baby."
Fred sat on the edge of the chair across from her, his voice softer now. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you."
Ana gave a small, bitter laugh. "You say that now."
"Ana," he said her name again, slower this time, like it hurt to say. "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"
She met his eyes finally. "Would it have made a difference?"
"Who's the father, Ana?" he asked, voice low and quiet, but laced with suspicion, almost pain. "I want the truth."
Ana looked up at him with wide, haunted eyes and said nothing.
The room suddenly fell into silence. A heavy, eerie silence that wrapped itself around the four walls like a thick blanket. One could hear a pin drop.
Fred sat close to Ana's hospital bed. His hands were folded across his chest, brows furrowed, eyes locked on her pale face. She looked so peaceful, too peaceful, like nothing had just happened. But inside him, a storm was raising questions, doubts, flashes of a night he had tried so hard to forget.
He kept thinking. Is she the girl? The same girl?
He clenched his jaw. That night had been foggy, blurry from too many drinks, from too much anger but there were pieces of it that were coming back. Her soft voice. The trembling in her touch. The tears.
And now she was pregnant.
Even though she refused to admit it, something deep inside him told him the truth. He knew. She was the girl he'd disvirgined that night… and now, she was carrying a child.
But was it his?
A soft knock pulled him out of his thoughts. The doctor stepped inside quietly, clipboard in hand, glasses hanging low on the bridge of his nose. He cleared his throat gently.
"Mr. Fred," the doctor said, voice firm but kind. "I think it would be best if you stepped outside for a while. Ana needs space to rest and the nurses have to run a few more checks."
Fred nodded slowly, standing to his feet. "Of course," he muttered.
He gave Ana one last glance before walking out of the room.
Outside, the hallway was cold and bright under harsh hospital lights. Fred stood near the transparent glass that allowed a clear view into Ana's suite. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, pacing quietly from one end of the corridor to the other, trying to make sense of everything.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rushed footsteps.
"Fred," a familiar voice called out.
He turned to see Noah hurrying toward him, slightly out of breath, his eyes filled with concern.
"How's Ana?" Noah asked hesitantly. "I rushed here as soon as I heard what happened."
Fred didn't respond right away. He simply stared at Ana through the glass window, his expression unreadable.
"She's pregnant," he said finally.
Noah blinked. "Pregnant?"
"Yes," Fred said again, firmer this time. "Ana's pregnant."
Noah frowned, clearly caught off guard. "Wait… Are you saying you're the father?"
Fred turned to him slowly, his voice low and troubled. "I don't know for sure. She won't say. But… I feel it. There's this connection I can't explain. I've felt it from the moment I saw her again. And now… now it makes sense."
Noah stepped back, shaking his head. "Fred, not again. Come on."
Fred's eyes narrowed. "Not again?"
"You always do this," Noah said, frustration creeping into his voice. "You get these ideas in your head and let your emotions blind you. You barely know this woman."
"I know enough," Fred replied sharply. "I know that night meant something. I might've been drunk, but I remember bits of it now. Her scent, the way she cried, the way she held onto me… Noah, it was her."
"You're being delusional," Noah snapped. "There's no proof the baby is yours. You're just assuming. For all you know, she could be lying. Protecting someone else."
Fred clenched his fists. "She's not a liar."
"You don't know that!" Noah argued.
Fred stared at him, disappointed. "You've doubted me from the start."
"I'm trying to protect you, Fred."
"Well, I don't need your protection," Fred said coldly.
He turned away and began to walk off, every step heavier than the last. Noah didn't follow.
Just around the corner, hidden behind a wall, Tiana stood frozen. Her heart pounded against her chest like a drum. She had followed Fred the moment he left Ana's room, suspicion already bubbling in her chest like acid.
Now she knows. She had heard everything.
Ana was pregnant. Fred believed he was the father. That strange connection between them…
Her eyes narrowed as she clenched her purse tighter in her hands. So this was the secret he had been keeping. This was what he wouldn't tell her.
So, there really was another woman.
Tiana stepped back slowly, careful not to make a sound. But her mind was already racing.
If Fred thought he could play her for a fool, he had another thing coming. She wasn't going to just stand back and watch her perfect life fall apart because of some random girl with a child.
No. She was going to dig. She was going to find out everything.
And when she did, Ana wouldn't know what hit her.