Final exams were finally over, and the next chapter of life was waiting. College.
I had earned two scholarships to two Ivy League schools. My parents were proud—so proud it almost hurt to look them in the eyes knowing the truth I carried. I was proud of myself too.
Except for the tiny mistake quietly growing inside me.
Rixa's future was already mapped out. After graduation she would return to China and enroll in one of the best business academies, preparing to take over her father's empire someday. Everything about her life seemed perfectly planned.
Unlike mine.
Hiding the pregnancy from my mom wasn't difficult. She trusted me completely. And if my calculations were right, I was only about two weeks pregnant. There was still time to make a decision.
I tried to pretend it wasn't there.
I went about my days normally, forcing myself to ignore every strange feeling in my body. Every wave of nausea. Every flicker of fear.
Everything was manageable… until I saw Josh.
He was sitting alone at my usual seat in the cafeteria.
No teasing smile. No playful attitude.
Just waiting.
The moment our eyes met, we both understood what this conversation was about.
The thing I had been trying so desperately to forget.
"How are you?" he asked, his voice unusually soft.
"I'm okay. Nothing out of the ordinary." I sat down across from him and placed my juice pack and a dry sandwich on the table.
Josh slid an apple toward me.
I raised an eyebrow. "What are you playing at?"
"Nothing," he said quietly. "I meant what I said before. I love you, Lani. I don't want to see you hurt… even if it doesn't matter anymore."
His words made my chest tighten.
"I don't need you pretending to care, Josh. I can take care of myself."
His jaw tightened slightly.
"Did you tell him?"
"No."
"Lani…" he sighed.
"I don't think it's wise," I replied, taking a small bite of my sandwich. "You were right. He doesn't care about me."
Josh leaned forward, lowering his voice.
"That's a baby, Lani. He has to know. He did this to you."
My stomach twisted, not from the pregnancy — from the word baby.
"It's none of your business," I snapped quietly. "Where is it?"
He knew exactly what I meant.
"The test?" he said. "It's taken care of. I threw it away far from here."
Then his eyes scanned the cafeteria before settling back on me.
"Does Rixa know you're pregnant?"
I nearly choked on my food.
"No!" I coughed, grabbing my juice quickly. "Why would she know?"
"I just thought you'd share, since she's your best friend."
"How very bright of you, Josh. Need I remind you that the baby belongs to her boyfriend?"
"Well, you should have thought of that before betraying her."
My mouth fell open. I couldn't believe he had just said that to me.
I swatted his arm hard.
"Are the two of you messing around?" Rixa's voice startled me from behind.
"No, they are not," Mason answered, sounding completely uninterested — which intrigued Josh.
"Why not? Is it so hard to believe we're secretly dating?" he said, clearly rage-baiting you-know-who.
Rixa gasped as she had just put one and two together.
"It's Josh!?" she exclaimed, taking a seat and gripping my hands. "Josh is the guy you're secretly seeing?"
No. No no no no.
I looked around, especially at Mason, and shook my head. Josh, however, seemed perfectly happy with the turn of events.
Mason looked pissed. How could he believe that about me? He knew I was only seeing him.
"Josh," I called. "We are not dating," I said.
"Then why are you guys always secretly talking and being so close?"
I couldn't defend myself, so I let it be. It didn't matter anyway. Mason didn't love me. It was just sex for him.
"I would love to stay and watch you two sweat over this, but I have to run. See you tonight at dinner."
That's right. Rixa's dinner was tonight.
"Lani," Josh called.
When I turned back to him, his lips found mine — quick and convincing — ruining any defense I had just made.
Oh, that smirk he had on.
Rixa yelped, and Mason clenched his fist.
I knew why Josh did it, and he was so wrong for this.
But he was already gone.
"Liar," Rixa said, taking a sip of my juice.
"Be right back, babe. I need to get something from my locker," Mason said.
I excused myself too, saying I needed to use the restroom.
But it was a decoy.
I knew he would find me.
Mason pulled me into an empty enclosure.
"Josh? You are fucking my best friend?" he said, furious.
That made me even angrier because I had just told him I loved him yesterday — and he turned me down.
"What does it matter anyway?" I challenged. "This is just sex, right? Well, I might as well be with someone who actually likes me."
"Are you doing this to hurt me? Because it's working. I thought we had an understanding," he said, wrapping his hands around my waist.
"I did too. But it turns out you only care about yourself, Mason."
"I care about you, baby. And look what you did to pay me back."
"You know what? I don't have time for this. I don't even know why I followed you out here."
I turned to leave, and somehow that seemed to piss him off even more.
"That's why I chose to be with Rixa and not you — because you're a cheap slut."
That did it.
He touched a nerve. He had never spoken to me like that before.
I slapped him hard. My palm stung.
"We are over," I gritted, my cheeks burning with anger.
"We were never a thing," he said, winning by leaving before I could respond.
Don't cry.
Don't cry.
Don't cry.
I straightened my uniform and paused for a minute before leaving.
I couldn't eat anymore, so I went to the library.
It was either that…
or cry.
And I wasn't crying over Mason anymore.
I had almost decided not to show up for the dinner.
My pride was still wounded.
Mason had broken things off—or maybe I had. Or maybe, worse, he had simply made it clear that there had never really been anything between us at all. Somehow that hurt more than the fact that I was pregnant with his child.
But during the quiet hours I spent in the library, pretending to study while my thoughts spiraled, something inside me shifted.
Josh was right.
Mason had to know what he had done.
I didn't create this situation alone. It took two people to make a baby, and yet I was the only one carrying the consequences. The only one lying awake at night thinking about the future that had suddenly become uncertain.
Why should he get to walk away untouched while my entire life has changed?
No.
I had made my decision.
Tonight, at that dinner, I was going to tell him.
I didn't care whose life it destroyed.
The thought made something inside me feel cold, almost calculating. I hated admitting it, but I knew the truth about my motivations.
This wasn't just about the baby.
It was about me.
Mason was the son of a billionaire. A child with him would tie me to that world forever. It would guarantee a future I had spent my entire life fighting to reach on my own.
And if the baby was a boy…
He could be Mason's heir.
The thought lingered in my mind longer than it should have.
Rixa would be hurt. Devastated, even. I knew that. She had been my best friend for years, the one person who had stood beside me when everyone else treated me like the scholarship girl who didn't belong.
But this was my future.
And in my heart, I told myself that I never meant to hurt her.
I loved her.
I truly did.