"We need to get out of here." Antonela crouched low, grabbing Dominique's hand and pulling her toward the emergency stairwell.

"Whoa, what are you doing?" Dominique dug in her heels, pulling her to a stop and staring into her friend's frightened eyes. "You have a job interview."

"I can't work here," she said. Her heart hammered against her ribs, threatening to burst. She stumbled back, leaning against the cool wall before sliding down to sit on the steps. "I know my father will kill me when he finds out I skipped the interview, but I can't work for Benjamin. The man who left me at the altar and then, pretending not to know me, took me to bed."

"You're not exactly innocent in all this, Antonela." Dominique crouched beside her, her voice softening at the sight of her friend's despair. "But come on, he's practically a Greek god. Who could resist that?"

Antonela's gaze narrowed, a silent reproach for Dominique's comment. She knew that deep down, Dominique was only trying to help. But in this situation, there was nothing anyone could do.

Had Benjamin done it on purpose?

Antonela didn't doubt it for a second, but she refused to humiliate herself by chasing him down for an explanation.

She pushed herself back to her feet, a fragile calm settling over her nerves. It was time to leave. She hurried down the stairs. She had to disappear from this place before she accidentally ran into him.

"I could go up there and demand an explanation," Dominique offered, her words stopping Antonela dead in her tracks. "He's going to have to explain exactly why he left you at the altar."

Antonela had no doubt she was capable of doing it.

"Forget it, Dominique." She grabbed her friend's shoulders, her voice pleading. "Let's just get out of here and pretend none of this ever happened."

"And what are you going to tell Henrico? He won't accept any excuses, Antonela. You'll just end up starting another war with your father."

"Better a war with him than facing that green-eyed devil. Besides, I'm sick of following Henrico's orders."

"Well, at least he's the most handsome green-eyed devil I've ever seen."

The remark earned a weary eye-roll from Antonela as she pushed through the exit. Silently, she climbed into the car, the weight of Dominique's words settling on her.

Henrico wouldn't accept her excuses, no matter what they were. She urgently needed a job—to appease her father's fury, to gain her independence, and to finally leave that house.

"It's not like there's only one job opening in this entire city," she grumbled. "I can find something better, somewhere I don't have to face the man who deceived me."

"You're right," Dominique said, already driving toward Antonela's house. "But that job was the best one you were going to get."

"Why do I get the feeling you're trying to pressure me?"

Dominique shot her an offended look. "I want what's best for you," she said, her eyes fixed on the road. "And if the best is working for Benjamin, then so be it."

But Antonela wouldn't be swayed. She asked Dominique to change course, and they stopped at a small café downtown.

While picking at her breakfast, she scrolled through online job listings.

A knot of frustration tightened in her stomach. For the second time that day, she had to admit Dominique was right. She wasn't going to find a better job than the one she'd just run from.

Despair was beginning to set in when her phone rang. Her blood ran cold when she saw the caller ID: Henrico.

Her heart leaped into her throat. Her face paled as she answered, and Henrico's furious voice immediately assaulted her ear.

"Where are you, Antonela? Oscar just called me. He said you never showed up for the interview."

She swallowed against a dry, painful lump in her throat. She hadn't imagined the news would reach her father so quickly.

"I don't want to work there, Dad," she said, forcing bravery into her voice. She heard him snarl on the other end of the line. "I'm asking you, just this once, let me choose where I work."

"And you think you're going to find a better job than that one?" His voice was so loud she thought her eardrum would burst. "What are you going to do for work, Antonela? A waitress? Is that it? Because with your education, that's the best you can hope for."

His words landed like another slap across her face. She swallowed the sting of his cruelty. "I'm looking," she said, and he grumbled again. "Don't expect me for lunch. I'll be home late tonight."

She ended the call before he could reply, knowing it would infuriate him. She closed her eyes tightly as Dominique placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Although Dominique didn't agree with her decision, she was clearly willing to support her to the bitter end.

Antonela spent the entire day away from home. By the time she returned, her parents were already asleep.

The next day, she did the same. She left early and came back late, doing anything to avoid a confrontation with her father.

A month passed. She still hadn't found a job, not even as a waitress.

Henrico's demands were becoming unbearable, and Antonela began to consider the unthinkable: going back and humiliating herself by accepting the job with Benjamin.

When she met Dominique that morning, she asked her to drive her back to the company. She had already arranged a second interview with her uncle, Oscar, but something happened on the way that changed everything.

The moment Dominique parked, Antonela scrambled out of the car, doubled over, and retched, the morning's breakfast spilling onto the pavement.

She hadn't told anyone, but for the past week, she'd been fighting constant waves of nausea and an intense, bone-deep exhaustion.

"I don't like this. This is a terrible sign." Dominique's eyes widened. She closed them for a second, as if processing a dreadful thought. "How long have you been feeling nauseous?"

Antonela wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked up, startled by the look on her best friend's face.

"What are you trying to say?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Just answer the question, Antonela," Dominique said, her tone impatient.

"A few days," she replied. "But I know what you're thinking, and there's no chance. Not the slightest."

"Are you sure you used protection when you slept with Benjamin? Because if I remember correctly, you don't really remember what happened that night at all."

Antonela fell silent as a cold, creeping dread washed over her.

The second Dominique saw the realization dawn on her face, she grabbed her arm and dragged her toward a nearby pharmacy. They bought a pregnancy test, and Dominique pushed her into the store's public restroom.

"Do we really have to do this now?" she asked, staring uneasily at the white test strip soaking in the small plastic cup. "I'm going to miss the interview for the second time. Henrico will never forgive me."

"Imagine what he'll do when he finds out you're pregnant." Dominique pulled the test from the cup and held it up for Antonela to see. "Positive."

The world tilted on its axis.

This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be pregnant with her ex-fiancé's child.