Two months later...

"COME on, Claire. Let's go out."
It was Friday. I had just come back from a meeting outside when Marcus barged into my office.
He went straight to the vacant chair in front of me. "I was invited to a bar opening by a college friend," he said, flexing his a black business card in front of me.
I pursed my lips as I turned off my laptop and started clearing my desk. "I'm sorry. I can't tonight."
Marcus frowned. "What? I thought you won't go back to your old life? But then here you are. Being workaholic again."
I shook my head. "Oh, shut up. I can't go with you tonight because I have a date."
"Really?" His mouth parted a bit. "So… who is it?"
"Stop being nosy, Marcus." I rolled my eyes as I picked up a compact mirror from my bag and checked my face. "And please get out of my office now. I need to prepare."
"Fine." He said, standing up and fixing his coat. He gave me a lopsided smile before he turned his back. "Enjoy your date, Claire. I'm happy you're no longer tied to your work." But just before he left my office, he cocked his head at me. "Just don't forget to use a condom, couz." He winked before leaving me speechless.
Well, I haven't had sex after my escapade with Adam two months ago. But I might tonight. After my second date with Mike.
"You can go home now, Jenna." I told my secretary as I left my office. She looked at me with slightly opened lips. "Uh… I still haven't finished the meeting for this afternoon's board meeting."
I pursed my lips. "You can just finish that at home, Jenna."
"Oh… okay, Ma'am." She hastily nodded at me as she turned off her laptop. I gave her a small smile as I walked to the elevator.
After all the crazy stuff that happened to me two months ago (me being misdiagnosed with cancer thinking my life would already be over in half a year) I had finally decided to change the way I live. I managed to stop myself from being such a workaholic ass and tried to have a social life. And that's why I got into dating.
"Hi." Mark stood up from his seat the moment he saw me. I met the guy in a business conference that I attended in Singapore last month. He's a marketing chief of a textile industry. He's nice and very easy to talk to. Aside from having great looks, of course.
"Hey." I smiled at him as he pulled out a chair for me. "Thank you." We decided to meet up in an Italian restaurant for dinner tonight.
I looked at him as I settled on my seat. He was wearing a black tuxedo over his white dress shirt. His hair was neatly brushed up, his face cleanly shaven.
"So, how's your trip to Thailand?" I asked him after the waiter took our order. Our second date was supposed to be scheduled last week, but then he got a business trip in Thailand.
"Same as the others. Boring." He replied with a shrug. "By the way, I bought something there for you." He handed me a paper bag.
"Oh. Thanks, Mark." I smiled at him. He really was thoughtful. And a gentleman. He didn't even kiss me during our first date. Well… he did kiss me, on the cheeks, and that wasn't what I was expecting.
I suddenly remembered Adam and all the things we did on that island. Damn, the man opened up something in me that I didn't even know existed.
Now, whenever I stared at Mark's lips, all I could think about is sex. Shit, it was really Adam's fault. He turned me into a sex-starved.
Shut it, Claire. Stop thinking about the guy.
"Claire…everything okay?" Mark eyed me with concern.
"Yeah." I cleared my throat as I smiled at him. A moment later, the waiter came back with our appetizer.
"Claire, is there something wrong with your order?" Mark asked me when he noticed I was looking at my risotto with a frown on my face.
My eyes drifted at him. "Nothing. It's just that…I suddenly don't feel good." I felt nauseous to be specific. I don't feel like eating the food in front of me. Weird. Considering I used to eat risotto a lot.
"Excuse me. I'll just go to the restroom." I immediately stood up from my seat and excused myself from Mark. With my hand on my nose, I walked my way to the bathroom.
What was happening to me? I asked myself after I finished throwing up in the sink. I rested my palm on the marble counter and stared at my face in the mirror. I looked pale. I couldn't understand why I ended up throwing up after seeing my favorite Italian dish. What the hell's wrong with me?
Shit. My eyes widened when I realized something. I couldn't remember the last time I had my period.
Could it be…
"Fuck."

"WHAT are you doing here?" I arched my brow at Marcus as he entered my office.
"I wanted to ask you about the Saavedra file, Claire," he said, walking to the floor to ceiling glass wall of my office. He stared at the view in front of him.
"I already asked Jenna to send it to you," I told him. "Now, get out of my office."
His eyes drifted to me. "So, how was your date yesterday?
I put down the pen I was holding and frowned at him. "Why don't you just focus and stop bugging me? It's office hours, Marcus!"
"Sheez! Why are you so grumpy?" He asked, giving me a curious look.
I heaved a sigh and shook my head. "Nothing. Just… can you leave me alone now, Marcus? I don't like seeing your face right now."
And now, he looked heavily offended. "You're acting weird, Claire. But fine… I'll see you later at dinner." He said, before heading to the door.
"Dinner?"
"Yes. Aunt Carmela would announce her candidacy tonight, right?"
Damn. I even forgot that there would be a party at our mansion tonight. My mind had been preoccupied with something after finding out I was pregnant.
"Shit! What do I do, Ciarra?" I asked my best friend from the other end of the line. I clutched the pregnancy test with two clear lines.
She's the first one I called after I got home. After leaving Mark, I went straight to the pharmacy to buy a couple of pregnancy test kits.
"Calm down, Claire," Ciarra's soft voice filled my room. I saw some posters of her favorite band in her background.
"How can I calm down, Ciarra? I got pregnant by a man I didn't even know."
Finding out I was pregnant was already enough to get me panic, how much more that I got pregnant with a man I had a one night stand with?
Oh, it was a three night stand, Claire.
"Well, you told me his name's Adam, right?"
"That's the only thing I know about him." I winced in frustration. "I couldn't tell my parents about this."
I heard my best friend sigh. "Well…first thing first. Do you want to keep the baby, Claire?"
My lips parted as Ciarra's question resonated with me. I wasn't ready to be a mother. Heck, I didn't even know if someone like me was fit to be a mother. But never did it cross my mind to get rid of this thing growing in my belly. I couldn't do that.
"I wanted to keep it, Ciarra," I answered after a moment of silence. "I just don't know how to tell my parents about this."
"Just tell them you broke up with the father and now you're going to raise that child on your own." Ciarra shrugged as I saw her sip on his iced coffee. "Being a single mother is already a trend nowadays."
I shook my head. "You know my parents, Ciarra. They won't take this lightly."
Ciarra frowned at me. "Until now, you're still scared to disappoint your parents."
I chewed on my lower lip. "It's not just about that. Dad's health is already deteriorating. I don't want to upset him." I let out another sigh. "Besides, my family couldn't afford a scandal right now. Mom's running for another term in the congress." Given my influential family name, getting pregnant out of wedlock would be a freaking scandal.
"Then I guess your solution is to find Adam and ask the man to take the responsibility for knocking you up."
"That's the problem… I don't know how to find him."
Ciarra's rolled her eyes at me. "Come on, Claire. Use your family's money. Or better yet, get help from Marcus. That cousin of yours was good at hiring private investigators, anyway."
"Marcus?" My forehead creased at my friend.
"Yeah. Ask him for help."
"Claire, you're spacing out."
I snapped out of my reverie when I heard Marcus' voice. He was looking at me with a concerned expression on his face.
"Everything okay?"
I looked at him. Marcus was my closest cousin. I knew I could trust him…but…
"Nothing." I forced a smile. "See you later."