Page 34 of Lost Summer
“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 waslike 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 drowningin 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?—”
