Adriel woke up in the middle of the night when she heard her phone ringing on the nightstand. Her body was aching all over, but she forced herself to sit up on the bed since she recognized the alarm tone as her mothers. She glanced at the man right next to her and let out a small smile. She may not remember everything that happened last night, but she still remembered how he took care of her after their intimate session. She regained consciousness in the middle of the night, and she was surprised to see the handsome man in front of her. She knew that she should have pushed him away, but deep inside, she couldn't deny the attraction that she felt for the man. In the end, she succumbed to the pleasure and to her inner feelings and let herself be dominated by Zeth. She was smiling foolishly while staring off into an empty space, and the ringtone of her mother suddenly turned into a sweet lullaby. She only snapped out of her trance when the ringtone ended. She shook her head and raked
Adriel ran through the hospital corridors to find for her father's room. "708, 708," she muttered under her breath, passing by every room. Once she found the room, she didn't even bother to knock and just entered without any hesitation. What greeted her was the sight of her father, hooked with tubes and surrounded by beeping equipment. She dropped all of her bags on the floor and ran to his side. "Adriel?" her father weakly whispered. "Dad?" she held onto his cold and clammy hand. "I'm here, dad," she smiled. "Are you alright?" He chuckled, causing him to burst into a coughing fit. Adriel's eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly got some warm water from the dispenser to give him. "Don't force yourself, dad," she said softly as she fixed his position on the bed. "I'm okay, I'm okay," he said in a weak voice. Adriel smiled, trying to her my sorrow. "Yes, you're alright, dad. You'll be alright." "What happened, dad?" she asked, fixing his hair. He was about to ans
"Congratulations, Miss Adriel Summers! You're pregnant. 3 weeks pregnant, to be exact," the doctor said with a bright smile on her face. Adriel's mouth went agape, and she wasn't able to come up with any words. She just sat there, shocked, her hands shaking from nervousness. "Is this your first baby?" the doctor asked. "Ye—yes," Adriel managed to squeeze out despite her racing mind. "Ooh, this is so exciting. I'm so happy for you!" Despite the doctor's excited voice, Adriel couldn't help but bite her lips in anxiousness. Pregnant? How could she be pregnant when she literally hasn't slept with anyone aside from— Her eyes widened in recognition when she finally realized who could it be. She held onto her aching head and leaned back on her seat. "Zeth?" she whispered under her breath. "Are you okay, Miss Adriel? Do you feel anything unusual?" the doctor asked with concern. Adriel shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'm fine," she said, although she wasn't fine. For a mom
A loud clang resonated around the room. Catalina had dropped the glass of water that she was drinking, the clear liquid carelessly dribbling down the table. Thomas' newspaper, on the other hand, had also escaped his grasp, merely becoming a make-shift paper towel that soaked up all the liquid on the table. Catalina closed her eyes for a moment, probably internalizing what Adriel had just said. "Was I hearing that right? Did I just hear that you're pregnant?" she asked in a gentle voice yet it somehow made her even more frightening than she already was. I bit my lips and looked down at the ground, nodding my head. "Mom, Dad, I'm pregnant," I repeated. Thomas started coughing, making Adriel worriedly go to him. "Are you alright, dad?" she asked in a gentle tone, patting his back, but Thomas just harshly slapped her hand away from him. She looked at him in disbelief, wondering how he suddenly gained that much strength in his body when during the past few days, he had become s
The two sat in awkward silence as they took a sip from their teas. It has been three weeks since they last saw each other, and up until now, Kayden still doesn't know the reason for Adriel's departure. Kayden looked at the woman sitting right in front of him and couldn't help but frown. Although her beauty can't be denied, he cannot help but notice how distressed she looked at the moment. Her skin and lips were paler, her hair wasn't styled like usual, and there was just a sad glint in her eyes. With that, Kayden couldn't help but ask. “Are you alright, Adriel?" Adriel was surprised to hear the sudden question. She placed a fake smile on her face and nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said, although she was far from okay. "It's been quite a while since we saw each other, huh?" he said. "Yeah," Adriel looked down on her lap. "I had to leave earlier because of...something," she trailed off. Kayden curiously looked at her. "Would you mind explaining what that "something" is?" Ad
7 months later "Are you sure, Adriel? I can take the day off so I can accompany throughout the day." Adriel sighed as she momentarily placed down the glass that she was washing. "It's alright, Daphne. Just go to your shift. My due date isn't until the next two weeks anyway." Daphne sighed as she watched Adriel continue the dishes. “How many times do I have to tell you to just leave the household chores be? Your due date is quite near so you shouldn't be tiring yourself too much." "It's not that tiring," Adriel reasoned out. "And besides, you're already kind enough to let me stay in your apartment. This is the least thing that I can do for you and Ian." "You don't have to feel indebted to us, Adriel. You've helped us quite a lot in the duration that we've been friends. You can just stay here comfortably." Adriel nodded her head, although she still disagrees. It has been instilled in her mind that she should try her best to repay her friends for their kindness with every little ge
4 years later "Are you really sure, Adriel?" Daphne asked as she hauled Adriel's last bag onto the rented car. Adriel chuckled as she closed the trunk. "How many times are you going to ask me that?" she asked, humor evident in her voice. "I've already paid the deposit for my new place." "But still," she pouted. "Why can't you just stay here with us?" "You know I can't do that, Daph," she said, gesturing to her bulging stomach. It has been four years since Adriel gave birth to her baby, and they've been staying at Daphne and Ian's place ever since. However, now that Daphne announced that she is pregnant with her first child, she decided to rent her own home. She was hesitant at first, but her resolve strengthened when she thought of Zenon's future. She knew that she couldn't continue living with her friends now that Zenon was growing up. "But, I'm going to miss my baby Zenon," Daphne pouted. "We'll make sure to visit often, Daph. And besides, you're going to have your own li
“I told you, I don't need a personal assistant," Zeth said to his secretary as he drowned himself in paperwork. Jo, his secretary, sighed as she opened the blinds of her boss' office. "You're seriously saying that when you didn't even have breakfast this morning?" “I didn't have time to grab some. We'll be having the big showcase next month. I don't have any time to spare." "Exactly," Jo deadpanned. "You don't even have fifteen minutes to go to a drive-through. You need a personal assistant," she insisted. Jo is a middle-aged woman in her forties. She was assigned by Mr. Earl Gray to look after Zeth because he knew that his grandson had some workaholic tendencies. Zeth smiled up at Jo. "That's why I have you, right? You'll help me fix up my schedule anyway." Jo let out a long sigh. "I know, Cupid. But there's only so much that I can do. I can assure you that I can help you with work-related occurrences, but I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to fix up your personal and unexpect