Lena woke with a pounding headache and the strange feeling that something was terribly wrong.

She stared at the unfamiliar ceiling.

For a few seconds, she couldn't remember where she was.

Then she felt the soreness in her body.

Her stomach dropped.

Slowly, she turned her head.

A man was sleeping beside her.

Lena froze.

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

"No..."

She pulled the blanket closer to herself and stared at the stranger.

He was shirtless, his dark hair slightly messy, his face calm despite the panic currently consuming her.

What had she done?

Lena squeezed her eyes shut, desperately searching her memory.

The wedding reception.

The music.

Her best friend Maya forcing another drink into her hand.

Then walking through the hotel corridor.

She remembered laughing.

She remembered feeling dizzy.

She remembered opening a door.

After that...

Nothing.

"Oh God."

Her hands trembled.

She had never planned for her first time to happen like this.

Not with a stranger.

Not after drinking.

And definitely not in a hotel room she didn't recognize.

She carefully moved toward the edge of the bed.

I need to leave.

Before he wakes up.

She grabbed her dress from the floor and hurried into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she emerged fully dressed, her shoes in one hand and her handbag in the other.

She reached for the door.

"Where are you going?"

Lena froze.

The man's voice was low and dangerously calm.

She turned around.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed now, watching her.

His expression hardened.

"Who sent you?"

Lena stared at him in disbelief.

"What?"

"Who sent you here?"

Anger immediately replaced her fear.

"You seriously think someone sent me?"

His eyes narrowed.

"You expect me to believe you just happened to end up in my room?"

"Your room?"

Lena laughed bitterly.

"That's interesting because I thought this was my room."

"It isn't."

"It is."

He stood.

The difference in their height made Lena instinctively take a step backward.

"Then let's settle this."

He pointed toward the telephone.

"Call reception."

Lena grabbed it immediately.

"Gladly."

She dialed the front desk.

A woman's voice answered.

"Good morning. How may I help you?"

"Hi. I'm Lena Carter. I need to confirm my room number."

"One moment, Miss Carter."

Lena waited.

Her eyes remained fixed on the stranger.

"Miss Carter, your assigned room is 8803."

Lena's shoulders relaxed.

"See?"

The man reached for the key card lying on the bedside table.

He turned it around and held it up.

"Look at the number."

Lena's smile disappeared.

8808.

She stared at the card.

Then at him.

"No."

Her voice came out barely above a whisper.

"I..."

She had entered the wrong room.

Humiliation burned across her face.

The man crossed his arms.

"You walked into the wrong room."

Lena wanted to disappear.

But another thought immediately surfaced.

"If I walked into the wrong room, how did I end up..."

She stopped.

She couldn't finish.

His expression became unreadable.

Neither of them spoke.

Finally, Lena looked away.

"This never happened."

She reached for the door again.

"Wait."

She turned.

He picked up a small packet from the table and held it out.

"Take this."

Her eyes narrowed.

"What is it?"

"Emergency contraception."

Lena's face heated.

"I can take care of myself."

"I didn't say you couldn't."

He pulled a black business card from his wallet.

"If you need anything, call the number on the card. My secretary will handle it."

She looked at the card.

Then at him.

"I don't need your money."

"It's not an offer."

"Then keep it."

She turned to leave.

"Lena."

She stopped.

Her eyes widened.

"How do you know my name?"

He pointed toward her handbag.

Her identification card was sticking halfway out.

She quickly grabbed it.

Of course.

She had completely lost her mind.

Without another word, she walked out.

The door slammed behind her.

The man's jaw tightened.

He stared at the closed door.

Something about the woman bothered him.

She hadn't behaved like someone who had deliberately targeted him.

She had been genuinely confused.

He picked up his phone.

"James."

"Yes, sir?"

"I need you at the hotel."

"Is everything alright?"

"No."

His gaze moved toward the bed.

"And I need a background check."

"On whom?"

"Lena Carter."

There was a pause.

"Who is she?"

"I don't know yet."

His voice hardened.

"That's why I'm asking you to find out."

Lena barely remembered the journey home.

The moment she entered the apartment, she dropped her handbag onto the couch and collapsed beside it.

Maya rushed out of the kitchen.

"Lena!"

Lena groaned.

"Where have you been? I've called you so many times."

"I'm fine."

"You disappeared from the reception."

"I went back to the hotel."

Maya frowned.

"Why?"

Lena opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

How could she possibly explain that she had accidentally walked into a stranger's hotel room and woken up beside him?

"I'm just tired."

Maya studied her face.

"You look terrible."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Despite herself, Lena laughed weakly.

Maya pointed toward the kitchen.

"There's food in the fridge."

Lena immediately stood.

"You're my favorite person."

"Thought so."

For the rest of the day, Lena tried to convince herself that the incident meant nothing.

She would never see him again.

She would forget his face.

Forget his voice.

Forget that night.

And move on.

Four Weeks Later

Lena stared at the pregnancy test in her trembling hand.

Two lines.

She blinked.

Then checked again.

Two lines.

"No."

Her heart began racing.

The nausea.

The dizziness.

The exhaustion.

It all suddenly made sense.

She grabbed her handbag and rushed out of the apartment.

At the hospital, she sat nervously in the waiting area until a nurse called her name.

"Lena Carter?"

She stood.

"Yes."

"You can come in now."

Inside the doctor's office, Lena sat across from the doctor.

"I've been feeling nauseous for days," she explained. "I've also been dizzy, and I've had headaches."

"Have you taken a pregnancy test?"

"Yes."

"And?"

Lena swallowed.

"It was positive."

The doctor nodded and reviewed the test results.

After a moment, he looked up.

"Miss Carter, congratulations."

Her heart stopped.

"Congratulations?"

"You're pregnant."

The words seemed to echo around the room.

Pregnant.

Lena couldn't breathe.

Her hand instinctively moved to her stomach.

She hadn't even known the man.

She didn't know his name.

She didn't know where he lived.

She didn't know anything about him.

Except one thing.

He was the father of her baby.

And suddenly, the night she'd tried so desperately to forget was no longer in the past.

It had just changed the rest of her life.