Chapter 3 The Turning Point

Three weeks after the Grandview Hotel, I learned that expensive sheets leave invisible marks.

Not on my skin, but I could still feel Alex's hands like fire in my memory. Everything else felt different. My thin dorm blanket seemed rough. The bright cafeteria lights felt too sharp. Even my scholarship felt shaky, like it could vanish if I made one mistake.

Life went on the same,classes, tutoring, long hours at the restaurant. But it all felt empty, like I was only acting as Maya Collins. The real me was still on that hotel balcony, wearing a stranger's jacket, believing for one short night that I truly mattered.

Alex Stone . I had searched his name once before forcing myself to stop. Heir to a fortune. Engaged. Out of reach. The papers called him New York's most eligible bachelor. It made me laugh bitterly eligible for everyone except poor scholarship girls.

"You're vibrating," Zoe said, watching me stack my textbooks in order again and again. "Like, literally shaking. When's the last time you actually slept?"

"I sleep."

"Falling asleep because you're too tired doesn't count," she said, giving me that serious look she always does. "And you've been eating only plain crackers for a week. That's not real food."

My stomach turned at the word "food." Lately, everything made me feel sick,the cafeteria smell, Zoe's vanilla perfume, even the coffee I usually lived on.

"Maya." Zoe's tone changed. "Look at me."

I forced myself to meet her eyes.

"When was your last period?"

The question hit like a punch. My mouth opened, but no words came. When was it? Before the party, yes. But when exactly?

I grabbed my phone, scrolling through my calendar in panic. I tracked everything,deadlines, shifts, Mom's appointments. But my period tracker had a gap.

"Maya?" Zoe asked softly.

"I... I don't know." The words felt wrong in my mouth. I always knew. I planned around it. I couldn't afford surprises.

Zoe stayed quiet, then asked carefully, "That night at the hotel. Did you use protection?"

Heat rose to my face. "Well...it happened so fast. And then..." I remembered Alex struggling with his wallet, his hands unsteady, both of us desperate. "Maybe? I think so? God, I don't remember."

That was the worst part. I remembered his laugh, the way he listened, how he made me feel beautiful instead of a burden. But the most important detail was lost in the blur of wine and desire.

"Okay." Zoe grabbed her purse. "We're going to the pharmacy."

"Zoe, I can't afford"

"My treat. Consider it an investment in my sanity."

The pregnancy test aisle felt like it was judging me. The boxes promised answers in two minutes. I took the digital one that spelled out words instead of lines. Even with my perfect GPA, I didn't trust myself to read lines correctly.

Back in the dorm bathroom, I stared at the stick like it could explode.

"Want me to stay?" Zoe asked.

"No. I need to do this alone."

The two minutes dragged like hours. I sat on the floor, back against the door, thinking about the impossible. A baby. Alex's baby. Our baby growing inside me while he planned a wedding with someone else.

My phone buzzed,a reminder about tomorrow's economics exam, worth thirty percent of my grade. My scholarship suddenly felt as fragile as glass.

The timer beeped.

I looked.

PREGNANT.

The word glowed on the screen, clear and final. No guessing, no doubts. Just truth.

My knees hit the floor. The bathroom tiles were freezing, but all I felt was the earthquake inside me.

A baby. Twenty-two years old, broke, exhausted, and about to raise a child alone. The father was engaged to another woman. My mother was dying. My brother needed me. My scholarship was at risk.

And yet... underneath the fear, something else stirred. A fierce, protective feeling. My hand pressed to my stomach.

"Hey there, little one," I whispered.

Tears poured out. I cried for the future I'd lost, for the dreams I'd built, for the innocence I'd left in silk sheets and champagne. But most of all, I cried for the life inside me.one that would never know its father, that would grow up the way I had: poor, uncertain, but loved.

"Maya?" Zoe's voice came through the door. "Whatever it says, we'll figure it out."

I wiped my face and opened the door. Zoe looked at me once, then sat heavily on her bed.

"Oh, honey."

"I'm pregnant." Saying it out loud made it real. "I'm pregnant with Alexander Stone's baby."

Zoe's eyes widened. "Jesus. Okay... we'll handle this. There are options""

"No." The word came sharp. "I mean... I need to think. But no. Not that."

Zoe nodded slowly. "Then we'll find a way."

"How?" I laughed, a broken sound. "How do I tell my dying mother she'll be a grandmother? How do I finish school with a baby? How do I work enough hours to support three people when I can't even keep up with two?"

"I don't know. But you're the smartest person I know. You'll find a way."

"And if I can't?"

"Then you'll find another way."

Over the next two weeks, something remarkable happened. The same determination that had carried me through Dad's death and Mom's illness kicked into overdrive. I stopped seeing problems and started seeing puzzles to solve.

I researched everything,emergency financial aid for students with dependents, work-study programs that allowed flexible schedules, even apartment listings near campus that might be cheaper than dorm fees. I created spreadsheets, timelines, backup plans for my backup plans.

By day fourteen, I had a strategy. Defer graduation one semester, work maximum hours until I started showing, apply for every grant available to single mothers. I'd done impossible things before. This was just another mountain to climb.

"You're terrifying when you're determined," Zoe said, watching me organize prenatal vitamins alongside my regular supplements. "But also kind of inspiring."

I felt different. Stronger. Like discovering I was carrying Alex's child had awakened something primal in me,a fierceness I'd never known I possessed. I didn't need his money or his name or his acknowledgment. I had something more powerful: absolute certainty that I would protect this life no matter what it cost me.

I didn't look him up again. What was the point? I'd memorized every detail from that first devastating search-the engagement photos, the society pages, the wedding announcements. Alexander Stone belonged to a world I'd never be part of.

But I didn't need him. The realization hit me like lightning, sharp and clarifying. I'd been handling impossible things my entire adult life. This was just one more challenge to overcome.

My hand went to my stomach again. So small, and yet everything was already different.

"What are we going to do?" I whispered to the darkness.

The answer came not in words, but in the same quiet determination that had carried me through Dad's death, Mom's diagnosis, and three years of impossible choices. I would handle this the way I handled everything else alone, carefully, and without asking for help I'd never receive.

Alex Stone could keep his perfect life, his billion-dollar empire, his society wedding. I didn't need his money or his name. I'd raised Jake, supported Mom, and earned my scholarship without a safety net. I could do this too.

Over the next two weeks, something remarkable happened. The same determination that had carried me through Dad's death and Mom's illness kicked into overdrive. I stopped seeing problems and started seeing puzzles to solve.

I researched everything emergency financial aid for students with dependents, work-study programs that allowed flexible schedules, even apartment listings near campus that might be cheaper than dorm fees. I created spreadsheets, timelines, backup plans for my backup plans.

By the fourteenth day, I had a plan. Delay graduation for one semester, work as many hours as possible before my pregnancy started to show, and apply for every grant for single mothers. I had faced hard things before. This was just another challenge to overcome.

"You're terrifying when you're determined," Zoe said, watching me organize prenatal vitamins alongside my regular supplements. "But also kind of inspiring."

I felt different. Stronger. Finding out I was carrying Alex's child woke up something deep inside me a strength I never knew I had. I didn't need his money, his name, or even for him to notice me. What I had was stronger: the clear promise that I would protect this baby no matter what it took.

I didn't look him up again. What was the point? I'd memorized every detail from that first devastating search,the engagement photos, the society pages, the wedding announcements. Alexander Stone belonged to a world I'd never be part of.

But I didn't need him. The realization hit me like lightning, sharp and clarifying. I'd been handling impossible things my entire adult life. This was just one more challenge to overcome.

Outside my window, the city hummed with midnight traffic and glowing signs. Somewhere among those lights, Alexander Stone slept peacefully in his penthouse, completely unaware that his world had already changed forever.

He just didn't know it yet.

And maybe, if I was careful enough, smart enough, strong enough... he never would.

But some secrets, no matter how carefully guarded, have a way of refusing to stay buried.