17. ADELE
17
ADELE
L ater that day, I stared out the window, daydreaming about seeing Ted that evening. The sun cast a warm glow over the cityscape, painting the sky with soft hues of orange and pink. The distant hum of traffic clashed with the usual cacophony of the newsroom, making my head throb. But then butterflies erupted in my stomach at the memory of Ted’s smile. I tried my best to look unhappy, to maintain the facade that nothing extraordinary had happened. But the truth was, everything had changed.
An email pinged up on my screen, the dreaded [email protected] telling me another scoop must’ve come in. I sighed, grabbing my trusty notepad and pen before striding to her office. Nothing could burst my bubble today, not even that miserable witch.
Evelyn pouted when I walked in, scrutinising me with her hawk-like gaze. I didn’t care about my creased shirt—I spent half an hour in bed with Ted instead of ironing. Evelyn glared her disapproval at me before clearing her throat. To her right sat a young girl; she must’ve been around eighteen, and already, she had lip fillers and a boob job. Her jet-black hair was styled in loose curls, her eyes were heavily lined with kohl, and her lashes were so long they cast shadows on her cheeks. She was dressed in a tight-fitting top that left little to the imagination, and her skirt was so short it barely covered her thighs. She looked like a doll, plastic and perfectly manufactured.
“Tell her what you told me. Record this, Adele, put your bloody pad away!” Evelyn snapped, waving her hand in the air.
I reached for my tape recorder, clicking the record button as the girl nodded, pursing her plump lips together. They were so full they looked like they might burst, shiny and slick with gloss.
“So, Elena is pregnant.”
I waited, but nothing else left the rubbery lips that pulled into a weird smile, almost like she wanted a round of applause.
“Elena, who?” I forced a smile, holding the tape recorder out in front of me.
The girl scoffed, flicking her jet-black hair over her shoulder. It was so shiny it looked like it had been dipped in oil, reflecting the fluorescent lights of Evelyn’s office.
“Elena Dalton, who else?”
My stomach dropped, and my happy bubble punctured, disappearing like a popped balloon. The air rushed out of me, leaving me deflated and hollow.
“How do you know?” I whispered as the girl leaned forward with a glint in her eye.
“My cousin works as a maid in the hotel she’s staying in. She threw the test in the bin after squealing uncontrollably in the bathroom. My cousin said, and you can quote me on this, that Elena told her friend on the phone that her life is made because she’s marrying Edward Hart, but she’s not telling him until she’s too far gone to go back, if you know what I mean.” She wiggled her eyebrows knowingly.
Hot tears pricked at my eyes as I nodded, the girl continuing to spill secrets like a tap that wouldn’t turn off. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard, grating and irritating. I could feel the bile rising in my throat, the acidic taste of betrayal burning my tongue.
“My cousin recorded the conversation, so I’ve sent the file over via email. It’s legit.”
The girl leaned back in her chair, a triumphant grin on her face. She looked like the cat that got the cream, smug and satisfied.
“Excellent, Joanna. Paypal or bank transfer?” Evelyn purred, pushing a blank piece of paper to Joanna. “Write your details there, and I’ll get Carey to send the money today.”
The tape recorder clicked off, and I jumped, staring down at it guiltily. It felt like a betrayal, a dirty secret that I was now a part of.
Joanna scribbled some details on the paper before handing it back, leaving a cloud of perfume behind her as she left. It was sickly sweet, like rotting flowers, and it made my stomach churn.
“So.” Evelyn picked up the paper, folding it crisply in half, her nail dragging along the edge like a knife. “You and Edward know one another. Allow him to break the news with us, or we break it without him.”
“What?” I gasped, staring at Evelyn. Her eyes were like chips of ice, cold and hard. “You want to spill the pregnancy?”
“No, you ridiculous woman,” Evelyn snapped. Her voice was like a whip, sharp and stinging. “We will spill that regardless, but you’re going to give the chap a chance to make some money.”
Evelyn clacked away at her laptop, an evil grin spreading over her face. Her fingers danced over the keys, her nails clicking like a clock ticking, counting down to my doom. “Listen.”
Elena Dalton’s voice filled the room, and my heart sank when she gleefully declared that she was pregnant and her life was made. Her voice was like a blade, twisting in my gut, carving out my hopes and dreams and leaving them to bleed out on the floor.
This couldn’t be happening.
“I’ll speak to Te—Edward.” I rose to my feet, my legs trembling beneath me like they might give way at any moment. My chest felt tight like someone had wrapped a band around it and was slowly squeezing the life out of me.
“Tell him it’s better that the world only hears about the pregnancy, not the gloating of his pregnant fiancée having a moneymaker in the oven.” Evelyn huffed, waving me away.
Elena was pregnant?
Somehow, I made it back to my desk, tears blurring my vision as I reached for my phone. My throat felt tight, like there was a lump lodged in it, making it hard to swallow. The salty tears stung my eyes, blurring my surroundings as they rolled down my cheeks. The familiar weight of my phone in my hand was the only grounding sensation, but my fingers shook as I dialled Ted’s number. The muffled sound of chatter and typing from my colleagues was distant, drowned out by the pounding of my heart in my ears. I could smell the faint scent of my floral perfume, a stark contrast to the heaviness in my chest. All I wanted was to hear Ted’s voice and find comfort in his words, but as he answered, cheerful and sexy, the reality of the situation crashed over me like a tidal wave.
My heart ached in my chest when he answered, “Hey, beautiful.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. The words were stuck in my throat, choking me, threatening to suffocate me.
“Adele?” Ted said, his voice filled with concern. “What’s wrong?”
Hot, stinging tears streamed down my cheeks, the salty liquid burning my skin. I gasped for air, my lungs constricting as the overwhelming grief consumed me. The world around me blurred, the sounds of the bustling office muffled as the pounding in my head cancelled out everything. I was drowning in a sea of despair, the weight of my heartbreak threatening to pull me under.
“I—I...need to tell you...something?—”
“Adele, calm down. I’m just walking into?—”
“Hey, baby!” Elena squealed in the background, and my stomach dropped. The excitement in her voice told me she was most definitely pregnant. “Aww, I missed you.”
“Ted, if you can hear me...Elena is?—”
“Is what?” Ted asked softly, and I choked up.
“Call me after.”
I hung up, the sensation of not being able to breathe taking over me.
Fuck this.
I dashed for the emergency exit, biting my lip as tears streamed down my cheeks, praying this was a bad dream.
The stairs below me blurred together as I sobbed, the sound of my footsteps echoing through the empty stairwell. I clung to the handrail, the metal cold beneath my fingers, grounding me in the present moment even as my heart yearned for the past.
It was almost as though the universe was against us.
The day Ted goes to end it all with Elena, and I find out she’s pregnant?
Eventually, I exited the building, alarms sounding as I peeled across the car park, heading for the taxi rank. The streets were relatively quiet, almost mocking me with their serenity. The sun still shone, casting a golden glow over the city, a cruel contrast to the darkness cloaking my heart.
My chest felt like it was going to explode, the damn lump in my throat refusing to budge as nausea taunted my stomach.
You’ve lost him again.
I tried to calm my thoughts, reminding myself that a baby wasn’t the worst thing in the world in the grand scheme of things. I mean, sure, Ted would always have to have something to do with Elena, but a child could never be a bad thing, right? Maybe they’d be civil, agree to co-parent, or share custody.
Who am I kidding?
Ted wouldn’t leave Elena now. It was me who’d lost out again. This time, there was nothing I could do about it.
The weight of my heartbreak was a physical pain, a crushing sensation that made it hard to breathe. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes again, hot and stinging, threatening to spill over. I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms, vowing to hold it together, pretending this wasn’t happening.
But it was happening, and I could do nothing to stop it.