“Ah...”

Startled awake,Alessia cautiously got up, her head throbbing, and her body aching as if she had been in a wrestling match.

Looking at the scattered underwear and pants, she couldn't help but recall the intense sex last night.

Last night, after the grand bonfire event organised by the charming hunk, Brayden Scott, Alessia had finally crossed the line into intimacy.

Brayden had been planning to confess his feelings to her, and her older sister, Connie, had congratulated them both with a knowing grin.

Alessia had downed a drink Connie handed her and then blissfully drifted into slumber.

But in her dreams, she had taken the initiative with Brayden.

The transformation from an innocent girl to a passionate woman had been a rollercoaster of sensations.

He was an absolute beast in bed, in the best way possible.

Suddeny, she heard Connie’s voice with panic outside—

‘I don’t know—Brayden, I honestly didn’t mean for this to happen.’

‘Shh! Lower your voice, Connie. We can’t let Alessia hear this,’ Brayden’s voice sounded urgent.

Curiosity piqued, Alessia got up and, throwing on some clothes, stepped out to investigate.

Her heart sank when she saw Brayden in a dishevelled state, storming out of an adjacent tent—Connie’s tent, with no shirt on and faint scratches on his muscular back.

‘Brayden, what are you doing there?’ Alessia asked as she approached him.

But the words got stuck in her throat when she saw through a gap in the tent’s flaps, her sister Connie, also in a state of undress, bearing certain marks that could only mean one thing: she and Brayden had been intimate.

Alessia stood there, dumbstruck.

‘I was drunk and thought it was you, but—’ Brayden began to explain, but the guilt was evident in his eyes.

‘So, you two slept together...last night?’ Alessia’s voice trembled. ‘You and my…sister?’

Brayden looked ashamed, and Connie was quick to defend herself, ‘Alessia, it was an accident, I swear!’

Alessia’s mind raced.

If Brayden and Connie slept together, then who had she been with?

Fear and confusion clouded her thoughts, and she rushed back to her own tent.

There, she found a wad of cash beside her sleeping bag and a bloodstained note on top of it: ‘If the money isn’t enough, you can find me at the Whispering Pines Estates.’

There was no signature, just a phone number, scrawled in a man’s bold, assertive handwriting—handwriting she’d never seen before.

Clutching the money tightly, Alessia couldn’t believe what had happened.

Did she somehow end up selling herself?

It was beyond mortifying.

When Alessia emerged from the tent on shaky legs, Brayden and Connie were waiting for her.

Connie approached, grabbing her hand apologetically, ‘Lexy, I’m so, so sorry. I never meant for this to happen.’

Still dazed, Alessia stood there in disbelief.

Connie’s eyes fell on the hickeys on Alessia’s neck, and she gasped. ‘Lexy! These marks on your neck...’

Alessia stiffened, her dark eyes meeting her sister’s shocked gaze.

Brayden rushed forward, his eyes wide, examining Alessia’s neck as if searching for confirmation.

In an instant, his hands grabbed her shoulders with agitation. ‘Tell me, who were you with last night? What happened?’

Alessia wanted to say, ‘I thought it was you.’

But now, what good would an explanation do?

She said nothing.

Unable to bear her silence, Brayden growled, ‘Tell me, who was it?’

‘Does it really matter now?’ Alessia replied nonchalantly, though her voice quivered. ‘Brayden, we can’t go back now. Not after you and my sister…Let’s just forget it.’

She forced a smile. ‘I wish you both happiness.’

***

Fifty days later.

Alessia couldn’t help but notice the wedding dress Connie held in her hands.

It was a pristine gown—a masterpiece crafted by renowned designer Le Blanc, hailing all the way from the fashion capital of Venmont.

Connie and Brayden were getting married.

A pang of pain pierced through Alessia’s heart at the thought.

Taking a deep breath, she mustered a smile and addressed Connie. ‘Hey, sis. That wedding dress looks stunning.’

Connie faltered, her expression somewhat strained. ‘Um, thank you.’

She wrung her hands. ‘Listen, I’m…I’m sorry, Alessia. I didn’t expect things to turn out this way.’

‘It’s all right.’ Alessia shrugged. ‘Honestly, I didn’t feel that strongly about Brayden anyway. You two make a…good match. Don’t beat yourself up.’

Connie pursed her lips, unable to find further words.

‘I’ll head upstairs,’ Alessia declared, making her way to the second floor.

She needed to find that bloodstained note, to find the man who had left an indelible mark on her life.

Upon reaching her room, she found it meticulously arranged, everything in perfect order.

However, the piece of paper she sought, stained with traces of blood, was nowhere to be found.

Frustrated, Alessia hurried out of her room and shouted down into the living room. ‘Connie, what happened to the note on my nightstand? The one that had blood on it?’

‘Oh, that dirty piece of paper?’ Connie looked up. ‘I tossed it while cleaning today. It was too filthy.’

‘You threw it away?’ Alessia stood frozen in disbelief.

‘Yeah. Um, I’m sorry.’ Connie’s face filled with remorse. ‘Did I do something wrong?’

Alessia stared at her.

‘I—’

She had just opened her mouth when she was interrupted by a phone call from Dr Grant.

She bit her lips and picked up the phone.

‘Congratulations, Miss Jansen. The results of your last physical are in. You’re pregnant—with twins. ’

‘What?’ Alessia’s initial disbelief quickly transformed into a daunting reality.

She couldn’t help but question herself—getting the news that she’s pregnant with babies whose father remained a mystery, on her ex-boyfriend and her sister’s wedding day.

What irony.

‘What’s the matter, Alessia? You don’t look well. ’ Connie asked. But Alessia said nothing because Brayden came in dressed as a groom,holding Connie’s hand. Upon seeing Lexy, the three of them fell into a sort of awkward silence.

‘Lexy—’Brayden tried to say something when Alessia jerked her head up.

‘Nothing. I’m good. Wish you two a happy wedding—’

At Brayden and Connie's complicated looks, she quickly left the room that was suffocating her.

In the fierce sun, her hand subconsciously moved to her stomach, where her unborn twins were growing.

Thoughts of her diagnosis and the uncertainty that had consumed her mind flooded back, but now a newfound determination replaced the anxiety.

Brayden and Connie will be have a happy life.

Then why can’t she be, with her twin babies?

Her babies will grow up, even in a single-parent family, she promised.

She herself grew up in one, and she turned out just fine, didn’t she?