Chapter 25 #2
I'm pregnant. With Dax's baby. While my career is imploding. While photos of us are plastered across the internet. While I'm suspended from my job and being called back to Chicago to face an ethics board.
I sit on my couch and stare at nothing. My phone rings constantly. Jane. Sarah. Numbers I don't recognize—probably press. I ignore all of it.
Four hours later there's a knock on my door.
I look through the peephole.
Dax.
I open the door, and he's there, still in his suit from traveling, concern etched across his face.
"Scarlett." He steps inside and pulls me into his arms.
I let him hold me for a moment, breathing in his scent, feeling the solid warmth of him.
Then I pull back.
"How are you?" he asks.
"I've been better."
He searches my face. "Have you eaten? You look pale."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine." He moves toward the kitchen.
"Let me make you something—"
"Dax, I need to go back to Chicago."
He stops. Turns. "What?"
"My boss wants me back. I have to meet with HR and the advisory board. Figure out what happens next."
"When?"
"I booked a flight for Thursday."
"That's two days from now."
"I know."
He walks back to me. "Scarlett, you don't have to go. We can handle this here. Together."
"I have to go. It's not optional."
"Then I'll come with you."
"No."
His jaw tightens. "Why not?"
"Because this is my mess to clean up. My career. My decisions."
"This isn't just your mess. Those photos are of both of us. This scandal affects me too."
"But you're not the one who got suspended. You're not the one facing an ethics board."
"Scarlett—"
"I need some space, Dax." The words come out harsher than I intended.
"Everything is happening so fast. The photos, the fallout, Miles—I can't think straight."
"So you're running away?"
"I'm not running away. I'm going home to deal with the consequences of my actions."
"Our actions," he corrects.
"We were both in that photo."
I look at him, standing there in my apartment, and I want to tell him. About the pregnancy. About the terror coursing through me. About the fact that everything is spiraling out of control.
But I can't–not when I don't even know what I'm going to do. Not when I don’t even know if he wants a future with me.
"I have to go," I say quietly.
"I'm sorry."
He stares at me for a long moment.
"This isn't over, Scarlett. Whatever you think you need to do in Chicago, we're not done talking about this."
"I know."
He reaches for me, cupping my face.
"I'm not letting you go that easily."
I close my eyes, leaning into his touch.
Then I step back. "I have to pack."
He leaves without another word, and I stand in my empty apartment, one hand on my stomach, tears streaming down my face.
***
The flight back to Chicago feels surreal. Like I'm moving through someone else's life. Jane and Sarah meet me at my apartment with takeout and wine—which I can't drink, but they don't know that yet.
"We're so glad you're home," Sarah says, pulling me into a hug.
"How bad is it?" Jane asks.
"Bad. I meet with Linda and the board tomorrow."
We eat. They fill me in on Chicago gossip, trying to keep things light. But eventually, the conversation turns serious.
"What are you going to do?" Sarah asks.
"About the job?"
"I don't know. They might fire me. I'll find out tomorrow."
"And Dax?"
I look down at my food.
"I don't know that either."
The next morning I put on my most professional suit and head to Whitman Communications' Chicago office. Linda is waiting in the conference room with two HR representatives and the advisory board chair.
The meeting is brutal. They go through everything. The photos. The timeline. The ethics violations.
"You were hired to manage a crisis," the board chair says.
"Not create one."
I have no defense. In the end, they give me two options: resign, or accept a demotion to a junior associate role handling low-level accounts.
I take the demotion. It's humiliating–a massive step backward. But it's better than being fired outright. When I leave the office, I feel hollowed out.
That night, Jane and Sarah come over again. We're sitting on my couch, and I know I can't keep the secret any longer.
"There's something I need to tell you guys," I say.
They both turn to me, concern on their faces.
"I'm pregnant."
Sarah's wine glass freezes halfway to her mouth.
"What?"
"I found out a few days ago. I'm about six weeks along."
Jane sets down her glass carefully.
"Does Dax know?"
"No."
"Scarlett—"
"He can't know. Not yet. Not with everything that's happening."
Sarah moves closer. "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know." My voice cracks.
"Everything is such a mess. The scandal, my job, Miles—and now this. I can't think straight."
Jane puts her arm around me.
"We're here for you. Whatever you decide. Whatever you need."
"You have to tell Dax eventually," Sarah says gently.
"I know. But not now. I need to figure this out first."
They stay with me until late, talking through options, offering support, being the friends I desperately need. When they leave, I'm alone again. Alone with a secret that's growing inside me. A secret that will change everything.