Chapter 36: Could She Tell Him?

E.S Clinic, Examination room.

The room was quiet, and smelled strictly sterile. Sunlight slanted through a half-closed blind, striping the polished floor.

Celine looked stylish but pale as she sat on the edge of a padded examination table, her fingers twisting the strap of her handbag.

Dr. Yolanda Sharif, a woman with a kind face, re-entered with a thin file. She offered a gentle smile that made Celine’s stomach tighten.

“Your results are back, Miss Roberts.”

Celine nodded, unable to speak as Dr. Sharif opened the file. She tried not to let her anxiety show all over her face but she couldn’t keep her fingers from tightening even more around the strap of her purse.

Rushing to the hospital today was her wanting to confirm what she found out yesterday…

DR. Sharif continued, “The blood test confirms it.You’re pregnant. Based on your last cycle, I’d estimate you’re about three to four weeks along.”

The words hung in the air for a moment. Celine heard them, but they didn’t land. She’d seen the double pink lines on the cheap plastic stick she had quickly grabbed at the pharmacy for an emergency testing yesterday, alone in her bathroom. But this… hearing it directly from a medical personal made it official.

And it was frightening.

She hadn’t been able to believe it yesterday because she had taken those pills, the contraceptives the morning after.

“There…there must be a mistake. I took a pill. The morning after.” Celine muttered unable to understand how she could have still ended up pregnant when she had taken a pill to prevent it.

Dr. Sharif’s expression softened with understanding. She sat on the rolling stool, her voice calm and educational as she explained.

“Emergency contraception isn’t 100% effective. Its efficacy depends heavily on timing, It becomes less reliable with every passing hour. You said it was the next morning, but even a delay of a few hours can impact it.

You see, contraceptives works primarily by delaying ovulation. If ovulation has already occurred… it can’t interrupt that process, and when intimacy occurs during your fertile period naturally the body begins on the process of fertilization. It’s a common misconception that it stops implantation, but it doesn’t. It only prevents pregnancy from starting if taken at the right time.”

A hollow laugh escaped Celine’s throat.

So it really was true, she was pregnant.

DR. Sharif handed Celine a packet of prenatal information and a referral. With lightly trembling hands, Celine took them, the paper crisp and foreign in her hands.

Celine left the hospital clutching the test report in her hands. The afternoon sun was suddenly too bright, the city sounds too loud. She walked slowly to her car, the folder clutched to her chest like a secret.

She was dressed in a simple white shirt paired with jeans, with a face mask on so as not to risk being recognized by people, that would end up creating another fuss to her name. As for her interaction at the hospital, E.S Clinic had a strict anonymity contract with her where whatever medical condition she is diagnosed with under any circumstances would never be revealed to a third party or organization.

Though the at home pregnancy test kit she had used last night showed positive, she had still wanted to confirm, which was why she came to the hospital. But the results had still ended up the same.

She was pregnant and the father was undoubtedly… Tristan Grayson.

The Tristan Grayson, an incredibly successful multi billionaire who was said to not care about anyone or anything till date. How on earth was she going to have a child with someone like that? She was sure he didn’t even want children.

The image of that suite on that night back at Crown hotels, all dark glass and dizzying city views retuned to her mind. The scent of his cologne, wood and something smoky with hints of whiskey all a memory she had shoved off to a hidden part of her mind. Tristan Grayson, he had made her feel so comfortable that night in a way that no one had made her feel before.

Though Celine wanted to believe in the impression she had of him on that night after everything they had shared together, but after finding out that he was Tristan Grayson, she couldn’t help but begin to think that she had been nothing but a temporary play thing to him that night. There was no way he would want to acknowledge having a child with her.

And just last night, while this discovery of being pregnant had just begun to sink into her, she had received a call from Elise.

“Celine, great news! Divine Media And Co just reached out to me, they want you!” Elise had said excitedly.

At the time, Celine didn’t have it in her to say anything, she had merely just listened.

“I don’t know what happened, it’s a miracle. I didn’t even reach out to them but they contacted me. They want to sign you as soon as possible, I need to start preparing all the paperwork. And about the scandal, they want you in a reality show for your first project, in this reality show, you’ll be able to show the world who you really are, the hate will still come at first but they believe in your talent. The CEO specifically told me that a scandal doesn’t break a mega star and you are a mega star Celine. Your acting career is back on, this is the best news I’ve received in so long.”

Listening to Elise, Celine knew that her getting an offer from Divine Media wasn’t a miracle, it was her own doing. A few days prior before discovering she was pregnant, Celine had reached out to the CEO of Divine Media herself.

There was a time where she had been the hot cake, the most wanted artist in the industry, several entertainment companies had reached out to her stealthily to be able to poach her, they had given her huge offers to rival Lightstar, in the end she remained steadfast on her loyalty to Lightstar, if she had been greedy and entered this career for benefits and huge offers, she would have abandoned Lightstar a long time ago.

Alas, that loyalty didn’t go both ways. When disaster befell her, Lightstar dropped her like a hot potato to save their own skin.

To be honest, she didn’t expect Divine Media to so quickly reach out to sign her when she had just sent the email a few days ago, but their offer came at a time where…

She was pregnant.

Celine thought again and a strange cold feeling ran the length of her spine.

Her life, her career that just received the opportunity to begin again…if news of her pregnancy got out, it would be disastrous for her career and it wouldn’t just be Lightstar, even Divine Media would no longer want to work with her.

What would she say? That she had gotten pregnant not by Ian, the man she had almost married, not by a man she was fully acquainted with, but by a stranger, a man whom she knew nothing about except his name.

So many thoughts raced through Celine’s mind as she drove around the city aimlessly for what seemed like hours without having a basic destination in mind. The city blurred past her window, people going about their days, a stream of anonymous lives.

Her own life was now irrevocably altered, it was now hurtling down a path with two terrifying decisions; one was silence, keeping the whole pregnancy thing to herself, or going to the man she had promised never to see again and hitting him with a revelation that could detonate his carefully ordered world of strict business and no commitments. A man who had wanted nothing from her but a single night.

Eventually she parked her car in frustration, she didn’t know what to do at this point.

On one hand, there was her career, her dreams…and on the other hand, there was a life growing inside her.

The thought of abortion crossed her mind for a moment but just as that thought lingered in her mind she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

Aborting such a little life that hadn’t taken shape or form yet… wouldn’t that be cruel?

Now, sitting in her parked car, she stared blankly at the steering wheel. The memory of Tristan’s face shifted, and for a moment, she saw an impossible future. A child with Tristan’s sharp, intelligent eyes.

Her heart hammered against her ribs.

Could she tell him?

He’d think it was a trap, a ploy she had deliberately created. He moved in a world where paternity was a weapon. He would see her as a gold-digger, someone coveting the prestige being Mrs. Grayson could offer, he might probably even try to resolve the issue with a discreet check and a stern confidentiality agreement, or worse order her to terminate the pregnancy.

With a long sigh, Celine lowered her head onto the steering wheel.

“What do I do?”

In her head there seemed to be a pendulum that swung one side then to the other. One side had her career and acting dreams, and the other side had this child growing inside her.

No matter how long and hard she thought about it, she couldn’t choose one over the other. In the end she gave up on thinking and decided to drive back home.

Some decisions take time to be made, she hadn’t responded to Divine Media yet, and she hadn’t decided to get an abortion yet.

But the minute she raised her head about to start the car, she caught sight of a familiar figure in the distance.

This person wore a long trench coat, he was tall and every step he took looked authoritative, like a monarch in the midst of commoners. He had dark sunglasses on and barely turned in her direction, but she instantly recognized that figure and distinctive aura.

“Tristan?”

He was surrounded by a few guards and seemed to have just come out of something official. Celine stared at him as he strode towards a line of cars parked around, he stopped and said something to the entourage of guards who were following him then one of them stepped forward to hand him something, after which he got into a black SUV and drove away while the guards stayed behind, their heads bowed until he was gone before they moved to get into the other cars and drove off in another direction.

Celine’s eyes were fixed on where Tristan’s car had driven to… without thinking too deep or making any rational decision, Celine ignited her car and drove after him.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep