The city became too fast for her heart to keep pace.
Three weeks went by after the wedding that never happened. Nadia managed to fit the rest of her belongings into two bags and go back to her small place across town, so different from the home she once shared with Dexter.
She hoped focusing on work would help her not think about it. Help her cope, that numbers, emails, and due dates would stop her from remembering his betrayal. But even the normal pace of her job couldn't quiet the memories.
Her coworkers at Veloria Enterprises stared at her with obvious curiosity, Everyone had seen the stories, the trending videos, the embarrassment. They tried not to talk about it, but rumors always had a way of reaching her, it was almost inevitable.
"That's her," she heard someone say in the break room. "The one whose fiancé showed up with another woman."
She acted like she couldn't hear what was being said, she kept her eyes glued to her coffee cup, her hands kept shaking.
By the end of the first week back, Nadia felt like a ghost. Her desk was covered with unfinished papers, and her emaill filled with harsh reminders.
One morning, her boss, Mrs. Langford, a woman who never seemed friendly, showed up next to her workspace.
"Miss Medina," she said sharply, holding a notepad. "Can I talk to you?" she asked.
Nadia stood up fast, fixing her shirt. "Yes, you can."
Mrs. Langford's lips made a straight line. "Your work lately has been…a bit worrying. You've missed deadlines, made lots of mistakes in calculations, and yesterday, you didn't send the quarterly report."
Nadia struggled to speak. "I'm sorry. I've just been,"
"I know what you've been going through," the older woman said, her voice neither kind nor mean. "But personal problems can't get in the way of work duties. The company needs people to be reliable, people they can count on."
"I get it."
"You'll be moved to office help for now. Offering your assistance and help in less impactful ways, Fewer hours, less pay. It's just for now, until you get better?."
The words hurt her like a quiet hit. less pay. Less worth.
"Yes" she whispered.
Mrs. Langford nodded once and left, leaving Nadia standing in the middle of the room with a sad feeling in her chest.
When she sat back down, she looked at her computer screen but didn't see anything. Her eyes got blurry. All around her, the office was busy, phones ringing, keyboards clicking, laughter far away, but she didn't notice any of it, she felt defeated.
She had thought she could start over. That work would give her an escape, something to do. Instead, it just reminded her of how much she lost.
Days turned into weeks.
Nadia came in early, stayed late, she tried hard to show that she could do well again. But no matter how hard she tried, she always felt tired.
Her mornings started with feeling sick. She lacked appetite for food. Some days she threw up breakfast, other days she felt weak before noon.
At first, she thought it was because of stress, the increased work hours, not eating regularly, and the emotional weight of everything she hadn't dealt with yet.
But one afternoon, while she went through her bills, the room seemed to suddenly move.
The papers fell out of her hands. A loud ringing sound was in her ears, and the next thing she knew, she was falling towards the ground.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying on the floor, her coworkers, pacing around her, worried.
"Someone call for help!" a coworker yelled.
Her body felt heavy, and she couldn't see clearly. "No… I'm okay," she tried to say, but she could barely speak.
Medical workers there a few minutes later, saying she needed to go to the closest clinic. Nadia couldn't say no. She was too tired to fight it.
seated on the exam table, twisting the edge of her gown with her fingers. Anxiously waiting for the doctor to address the situation.
A young doctor came in, looking professional but also kind. "Miss Medina? I'm Dr. Carrow. You passed out because of low blood pressure and being tired, but I want to ask you some questions before we continue, if that's fine?"
She nodded "Of course."
He went through the usual questions about her diet, sleep, and present concerns, and then he stopped. "When did you have your last period?" he asked.
Nadia paused. "I… I don't know. I've been really stressed."
"Okay," he said calmly. "We'll do some quick tests to be sure about everything, Okay."
An hour went by. She sat in the quiet room, looking at the floor tiles, trying not to overthink. The sound of a heart monitor ticked in the background, steady and gradually, making her tense.
When the doctor came back, he had a file in his hand and a small smile on his face.
"Miss Medina," he said gently, "you're not sick."
She felt relief for a brief moment,releasing a calm sigh… until he kept talking.
"You're pregnant."
The words dropped into the room like rocks falling through water.
Nadia blinked, sure she had heard wrongly. "I'm… I'm…what?"
"Pregnant," he repeated softly. "About six weeks right now."
She looked at him, her mind trying to grasp what she had just heard. Six weeks. The wedding had been, She closed her eyes. The night she'd tried to forget. The stranger.
Her heartbeat started to race.
"There must be some mistake," she whispered. "This can't be true."
Dr. Carrow's voice remained calm. "I understand this may not be what you expected. But the tests are clear. I suggest you take it easy and start getting prenatal care as soon as possible."
He gave her a small folder of information, with pamphlets about diets, safety, and support programs. She could not see anything in that moment, the words looked blurry to her.
Pregnant.
The word followed her like a distant echo, hitting different corners of her mind until she couldn't stand it anymore.
She walked without a fixed direction,her body moving while her thoughts raced.
Pregnant…
Her chest felt tight, she could hardly breathe. What could she possibly do?
That same evening, Nadia sat near her apartment's window, wrapped in a warm blanket. The city lights bright.
She placed her shaking hand on her stomach, hoping that the movement would somehow explain everything.
A baby. Her baby.
A tear rolled down her face before she was able to stop it.
She was unsure if she felt scared or surprised, maybe even both feelings.
She had been abandoned during her wedding, robbed of what she had always wanted. but now, in this moment, holding a small part of something different inside her. Something not expected, delicate, but definitely part of her.
Her was about to change again, silently and permanently.
And even though she was not aware of it yet, that one night that brief meeting with someone unknown would soon bring her into a place she could not have pictured.