Went dark

Emily's POV

I sat on the cold bathroom floor, my head resting against the sink as I tried to catch my breath. My stomach churned, and my whole body felt like it was spinning out of control. The feeling was all too familiar. The nausea, the dizziness, the waves of exhaustion-it was overwhelming. I could hear Lila's voice faintly through the bathroom door, and then her footsteps, growing closer.

When she entered the room, her face was taut with concern, her brow furrowed as she knelt in front of me. I could feel her gaze on me before she even spoke, her presence steady and familiar, like a pillar I could lean on.

"Emily," Lila said, her voice soft yet demanding. "Let me check your pulse."

I groaned, brushing my hair from my face, trying to push myself up but failing to find the strength to do so. "Lila, stop asking me weird questions. I'm fine," I muttered, my words slurred as my mind struggled to focus.

But she was insistent. She always was. She took my wrist gently in her hands, her fingertips brushing against my skin as she felt for my pulse. Her eyes searched mine, almost too knowing.

"Emily, this isn't like you. Your pulse is erratic. Have you eaten? Drunk enough water? You've been acting… strange."

I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment, but there was no time to be self-conscious. I was still reeling from the waves of nausea crashing over me. I didn't want to answer her, but the truth-whatever it was-was bubbling up, demanding to be spoken.

"I think I might be pregnant," I blurted out, the words tumbling from my mouth before I could stop them. The confession hung heavy in the air, and I felt a sharp sting of heat creep up my neck as I avoided Lila's gaze. I couldn't bring myself to look at her, not when I felt so exposed, so vulnerable.

Her eyes widened, shock flashing across her face before it quickly melted into something softer, something understanding. Her voice softened, almost gentle as she asked, "Have you been seeing someone? Who is it, Emily? Why didn't you tell me?"

I shifted uncomfortably, my heart racing. I didn't want to tell her everything, not yet. My emotions were a jumbled mess, and I couldn't bear to deal with the implications of it all. Still, her question lingered, pressing against me like a weight I couldn't escape.

"I…" I hesitated, my words hanging in the air. "I didn't know how to say it, Lila. I've been… trying to figure it out myself. I haven't exactly… well, you know, shared it with anyone."

The silence between us felt heavy, as though we were both stuck in some limbo. I wanted to say more. I wanted to confess everything, tell her about the confusion, the uncertainty, and the panic that had been gnawing at me for weeks. But I couldn't. Not yet.

"You didn't even share it with me?" Lila's voice had dropped, almost a whisper, the concern in her eyes giving way to something deeper. I could see the hurt there, and it cut me deeper than I expected.

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, she leaned in closer, her voice becoming more insistent, "Is that why Reuben is so furious? Does he know?"

I couldn't answer her right away. The mention of Reuben sent a cold shiver through my body, and for a moment, I forgot all about my own troubles. The anger, the betrayal, the threats-it all felt so fresh.

"Reuben…" I trailed off, trying to focus. The very thought of him made my heart clench, but I pushed it aside. There was too much on my mind to dwell on him right now.

Lila, sensing my hesitation, dropped the subject for the time being, her hand gently rubbing my back. She was trying to comfort me, to steady me, but the weight of everything-everything I hadn't said, everything I hadn't figured out-was too much.

The door opened suddenly, and I looked up to see the men walking back into the room. They had returned. But it was too late. They had heard.

"Lila?" Ethan's voice was the first to cut through the tension, his voice softer than usual, almost hopeful. He looked from Lila to me, his eyes bright with an emotion I couldn't quite place.

Lila met his gaze, her lips parting slightly as she whispered the word. "I'm pregnant."

The silence that followed was deafening. No one moved, no one spoke. My heart raced, my pulse quickening as I watched the room hold its collective breath.

Ethan was the first to break the silence. His reaction caught me completely off guard. He practically exploded with excitement, his voice rising in a loud exclamation. "That's incredible!"

He was grinning, his eyes wide with a genuine, almost childlike joy that filled the room, even though I could sense the tension still clinging to the edges of the space. I couldn't help but stare at him. His enthusiasm was so unexpected, so out of place in this moment, that I almost felt like I was dreaming.

Everyone turned to look at him, their expressions a mixture of surprise and confusion. I couldn't help but frown at Ethan's reaction.

"Incredible?" Caden's voice was low and sharp, laced with disbelief. "This isn't the time for that, Ethan. Do you realize what we're facing right now?"

But Ethan, ever the optimist, didn't seem fazed. He shrugged and glanced at Caden, his grin still wide. "What? It's still good news, right? We can figure out the rest later."

The tension in the room shifted slightly, though it didn't entirely dissipate. Ethan's words, as misplaced as they may have been, broke through the cloud of dread hanging over us. I felt my stomach settle a little, though I still had no idea how to process everything.

Lila, on the other hand, seemed to soften, her shoulders relaxing a fraction. But I could see the unease still etched into her features, and it made my heart ache for her.

Caden's gaze softened as he looked at her, his expression changing to something far more tender than I had ever seen from him. He took a step toward her, reaching out to gently place a hand on her arm.

"You're going to be okay, Lila," he said, his voice steady but filled with reassurance. "We'll figure this out together."

The weight of his words lingered between us, and for a brief moment, I felt something shift in the room. It wasn't just about the news of Lila's pregnancy; it was about the unspoken bond we shared, the understanding that, no matter how complicated things got, we were in this together.

But as I looked around at the others-Ethan still looking too excited for the situation, Caden with his protective stance, and Ronan watching everything with quiet intensity-I couldn't shake the feeling that things were far from simple.

Lila turned to me then, her gaze lingering for a moment before she said softly, "You'll be okay, Emily. We'll all be okay."

Her words were meant to comfort me, I knew that. But in the back of my mind, I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that everything was about to get much more complicated than any of us were ready for.

I opened my mouth to speak, to tell them that I wasn't so sure about any of this, but before I could get the words out, a sharp pain shot through my stomach. I gasped, clutching my abdomen as the nausea returned with a vengeance. My head swam, and I felt the world tilt beneath me.

Lila's voice was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.