Chapter 1 1
One
She first saw a dollar bill lying by her pillow. Then her eyes caught the mirror across the room, where she saw the red marks along her neck.
“Oh my God, Blair… what have you done?” she whispered, clutching her head as everything came back in flashes.
The man with the snake tattoo. That face—too handsome for his own good. He’d stumbled in, drunk, and she’d been just as gone.
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to remember the way he had her pinned, his breath on her skin, his voice low and rough against her ear—
And oh God, she didn’t want to remember how someone like her, so independent, could let a stranger take over like that.
She forced herself to move. The room spun as she stood. Her clothes lay scattered across the floor, twisted and half-hidden under the sheets.
The mess was a cruel reminder of how far things had gone—the torn bra, the missing underwear.
Her mother and sister’s voices echoed in her head. They had called her a liar, said she’d betrayed her own blood.
And now here she was, proving them right in the worst possible way.
She packed her things and checked out of the hotel. Every step hurt; her legs ached, and she could barely walk.
“I’m going to apologize to Mom and Olivia ,” she muttered, ringing the doorbell.
Her mom opened it first, eyes cold as they swept over her.
“What are you doing here, you whore? I thought we threw you out.”
“Mom, it’s not what you think. I was wrongly accused,” Blair said, her voice breaking.
“Your sister is still upstairs crying because of you. You take everything she loves. Now get out of here.”
The door slammed shut before Blair could answer.
She wasn’t even surprised—just hollow. Being the sister they’d brought into the world so Olivia could survive cancer had always made her feel like an afterthought.
This wasn’t new; she’d been thrown out thirty-two times before.
But this time was different. This time, they said she’d slept with Lisa’s boyfriend.
Ethan—Olivia's so-called boyfriend—had always found ways to corner her. The night he was finally caught, he pinned it all on Blair.
Now, with nowhere to go, she stood in the middle of the road, cars passing, lights blurring around her. Then her phone rang.
“Am I speaking to Miss Blair Rivers?” a voice asked.
“Yes… this is Blair. The sales assistant,” she replied, voice low and tired.
“Sorry, Miss Blair. We’re no longer in need of your services,” the person said. A pause. “But you might have forgotten something at the suite. It seems valuable. We’d like you to come pick it up.”
The call ended before she could respond.
She got to the suite, and just looking at the door made her heart skip. Three of her coworkers stood by the counter, whispering behind their hands.
“Is that the shameless thief?” one whispered.
“Hmm. Just look at how innocent she tries to look,” another smirked.
Blair didn’t answer. She walked past them, head high, straight to the reception desk.
“Here,” the receptionist said, sliding a small card and a folded stack of cash across the counter. “You might have forgotten these.”
“But I did nothing to be sacked,” Blair said, her voice shaking with frustration.
One of the senior workers leaned closer, lowering his voice. “Blair… just go. The boss won’t like seeing you around. Someone paid to get you fired.”
She froze. “Paid?”
He gave a nervous glance toward the office door. “Just leave before it gets worse.”
Blair opened her mouth to argue but stopped herself. She took the items silently and turned to leave.
——
It had been two months since Blair lost her job at the hotel.
Two months since she’d walked out with a folded stack of cash and a stranger’s card burning a hole in her pocket.
Since then, she’d been living day to day—cleaning other people’s floors for half the pay she used to earn, sleeping on a friend’s couch.
Her body ached constantly, but today was worse. The dizziness had been creeping in all morning, blurring her vision until everything tilted.
And then she collapsed—right there, mop still in hand.
Blair woke up to the smell of antiseptic and the low hum of a ceiling fan.
Her head felt heavy, her mouth dry. She blinked at the white ceiling, disoriented.
She didn’t remember how she got there. The last thing she could recall was the mop slipping from her hand, the sound of something crashing before everything went black.
The door creaked open.
“Thank God—you’re awake,” the nurse said, relief softening her voice. “You scared everyone at work. They brought you here in a cab.”
Blair pushed herself up slowly. “Where… where is this?”
“Community clinic,” the nurse replied, checking the drip line beside her bed. “You’ve been out for almost two hours.”
Blair swallowed hard. “I just fainted, right? I haven’t eaten much lately.”
The nurse hesitated. “We ran a few quick tests, just to make sure it wasn’t your blood sugar. Your pressure’s a bit low, but…” She looked at Blair, uncertain.
“But what?”
The nurse sighed, shifting awkwardly. “You might want to see the doctor yourself, but—well—your test came back positive.”
Blair frowned. “Positive for what?”
The nurse’s voice softened. “Pregnancy.”
For a moment, Blair didn’t move. The word felt distant, like it belonged to someone else’s life.
Pregnant.
Her hands gripped the sheet. “That… that can’t be right. I—I haven’t—” She stopped, remembering the hotel room, the snake tattoo, the dollar bill.
The nurse handed her a small paper bag with folded test results. “The doctor will explain more, but you should rest. You’re dehydrated and underweight. It’s been a rough few weeks, hasn’t it?”
Blair nodded weakly, eyes fixed on the faint tremble in her hands. “Yeah… rough,” she murmured.
When the nurse left, Blair finally looked down at the paper. The clinic’s logo blurred through the tears she didn’t realize she was crying.
Two pink lines.
No mistake.