Ellen believed she had survived. At the very least, she didn't have to embarrass herself at work. Even though her body condition asked her to rest, Ellen couldn't do it. She needs to work because of her family's needs, especially her father. The longer she stayed at home and appeared weak, the more she was troubled by the possibility that she was pregnant. Ellen convinced herself that she was not pregnant. Impossible. Furthermore, she was pregnant with the child of a man she despised. 

Speaking of pregnancy denials, Ellen already has a pregnancy test kit and plans to use it after her shift at the fast food restaurant ends. Ellen tried her best to do her job well today, despite the fact that her body was so difficult to work with because she tired so quickly. 

"Hey, Ellena, are you okay you look so exhausted?" one of his friends asked.

"Hmm, yeah yeah ,don't worry Jem, a little bit tired but rest assured I'm fine ."

Jemarie looked worriedly at his coworker. "Why are you so pale? Do you have a fever?"

"Don't worry about me," Ellen said, shaking her head. "We better do a good job so we don't get rebuked for talking too much, Jem."

Ellen's words were true, and Jemarie never asked her to focus on work again.

Fortunately, Ellen survived the long day of working and quickly used the empty bathroom, which she did nervously. How could Ellen be okay if her sister's words were true? What if Ellise discovered she had guessed correctly? Wouldn't Ellen be even more despised by her own sister?

"Please, please, please! Don't let the outcome be something I didn't expect!" Ellen prayed for a negative  result and tried to  calm herself in the toilet.

Luckily, the toilet was empty, so no one could hear her words, and Ellen only needed to calm down in order to see the results of her pregnancy test kit.

Ellen didn't know what to do when she discovered the unfavorable outcome and stiffened her body; she could only be silent with her fingers still gripping the style, and she was certain her body was frozen in shock for a moment .

"No… Ellen began to cry uncontrollably, and she had to cover her mouth so that her cries did not make a sound and confuse the others who came. Ellen wanted to throw it away carelessly, but she was still concerned that it could be found by someone else and cause a lot of speculation at work, so she decided to put it in her bag and get ready to go home before going to work at the nightclub tonight.

Ellen would think of a way out to get rid of the fetus in her stomach. She couldn't decide right now because she was too shocked. Everything will be related to money. If Ellen decides to abort her pregnancy, the only way is to exhaust herself and the fetus will drop.

Ellen walked out after making sure the toilet was clean. With a pale face, Ellen greeted her friends who would be taking short shifts. She hurriedly walked because she didn't want to be asked by many people. Knowing the results of the pregnancy test made Ellen so scared that someone else would find out.

***

Ellen found her sister sitting on the carpet with the television on when she first opened the door; Ellise just glanced at Ellen without saying anything, her focus on the old television that was their poor family's only source of entertainment.

"Are you feeling better, Ellen?" inquired Rowena, who had entered from the kitchen.

Ellen forced a smile despite her weakened state: "I'm fine, Mother. I'm going to take a short break before returning to work tonight."

Rowena appeared depressed about her daughter's condition; Ellen was working too hard; and Rowena wanted her first daughter to be able to fully rest at home so that her condition would improve the next day.

"You're not going to listen to me, Ellen; I want you to rest, but look at you, you look so weak yet forcing your own body to work."

"Why is she always at home, Mother?  I'm confused as to how you can still love her despite her pregnancy symptoms. She is not ill, mom. She's pregnant."

Rowena shook her head and told Ellen to stay in the room because listening to Ellise's words would only make them fuss over the same thing they were fussing about this morning.

Ellen went into her room and lay down for a moment because she was tired of all the fast-paced things in her life lately. Her heavy head made Ellen sleepy, and she forgot to tidy up the bag with the pregnancy test in it.

***

"I told you already, Mother! I've said it before about what happened to Ellen's body. I'm not a young and naive girl who doesn't understand what she's doing out there! "

Rowena was speechless of what she saw. The elderly lady inadvertently entered Ellen's room, intending to check on her first daughter's condition. Rowena, used to doing something, cleaned Ellen's room and the bag her daughter had used for work. When Rowena attempted to retrieve Ellen's dirty clothes from the bag, she had no idea she would come across something. Rowena was not oblivious to what she had discovered in her daughter's bag. Her gaze was drawn to Ellen, who was fast asleep. 

Rowena was now in Ellise's room, which she couldn't believe at first. Rowena couldn't bear to disturb Ellen, who was still in deep sleep. Rowena wouldn't make Ellen talk about her pregnancy, even though this was shocking news.

"Mother, speak up .  Why are you so quiet, Mother? " Ellise stated.

"I'm at a loss for words, Ellise."

Ellise rubbed her irritated face against her mother's shoulders. "Mom, ask Ellen about this.  Ask her what she's going to do or ask who is the man responsible for this condition."

Rowena looked at her second child's face still in shock of what she witness, and tears streamed down her cheeks. "I don't want you to be in such a pitiful state, but what have you done? I can't take care of you. I'm sorry, mother."

Ellise hugged her mother back tightly. The girl was becoming increasingly irritated with Ellen; at this point, Lilith blamed herself rather than Ellen.

***

Chase had no idea why he had returned to the nightclub where Liam had first taken him. There were no Liam and Aidan this time. Chase went there alone, like an idiot, and had no idea why his eyes kept searching for someone.

"What are you doing here, Chase?" he asked himself.

Chase had no idea why he was there and kept moving his eyes to find someone he didn't like. Yes, Chase admitted to himself that Ellen was not his type. So, why did he keep craning his neck to look for her in a crowd of people having a good time?

Chase was unsure whether to continue or to take a step back and follow his sanity. Chase, on the other hand, kept walking in until he sat in one of the chairs directly in front of the bartender, who glanced at him.

"What would you like to order, sir?" the bartender inquired.

"Does the woman whose service I requested from your manager at the time still work here?"

Chasr knew it had been a long time. He knew, however, that the bartender who asked him for an order knew who he was.

"She didn't stop, but she doesn't appear to be coming tonight."

Chase was perplexed as to why Ellen was not working tonight. Chase did not request that Ellen be fired from the nightclub, but why did she not show up for work? In fact, as far as Chase was concerned, the woman desperately needed a job. Ellen would not squander the opportunity to continue working at this nightclub.

"Do you want me to recommend another waitress?" Many waitresses are better than Miss Fuentes. The other waitress will not abandon you in disgrace and shame."

Chase shook his head immediately. "No, no! I'm not looking for another here."

"So you're only interested in Miss Fuentes."

"I'm not saying I like her; I just want to know if she's still working here or not, and when you say she's not, I'm relieved."

Chase was like an idiot who couldn't cover up his own lies. How could he deny himself in front of a bartender with so much experience? But he didn't like Ellen at all! Chase despised her so much that watching her suffer was his only solace.

"You might be able to wait. She could have just been late, or if she didn't show up, the boss could have fired her from here."

Chase was uneasy about the possibility. He had lost the desire to stay any longer. Chase walked out of the club without further ado.

Chase was perplexed as he walked to his car and sat behind the wheel. He cursed his own perplexing demeanor. Why did he feel compelled to seek out Ellen? If he didn't like her, why was he so concerned with her whereabouts?

"You've gone insane, Chase!" he exclaimed to himself. He'd gone insane thinking about the woman who had left him drunk alone in the morning to become a spectacle for the club staff. Fortunately, Thomas was able to keep the workers' mouths shut; otherwise, Chase would have been very embarrassed to find a photo of himself that the club may have taken to sell to the media.

Chase reflected on what he should do tonight. His intention was to find Ellen and work on her did not come to fruition. Perhaps he should rest without doing anything tonight.

***

Ellen opened her eyes when she realized her room's lights had been turned off. She remembered not turning off the light while sleeping.  After all, her intention had been to simply sleep for a few hours, but she appeared to have missed work hours. Ellen immediately looked for her cell phone, which should have been in her bag, when her old phone did not ring.

"Can you find my bag?"

Ellen couldn't figure out why the bag she remembered being on the floor wasn't there. The woman rushed to the light switch and turned it on, filling the room with light once more.

Ellen looked around her room and discovered that everything had returned to normal. It was obvious that it was her mother's job. Ellen, who wasn't fully awake at first, immediately widened her eyes when she remembered she still had a pregnancy test kit in her bag.

"Not at all! I can't see it!" Ellen was panicking looking for her bag where it could be.

Ellen forgot her phone had run out of power now that her focus was on the pregnancy test kit. Ellen had guessed that her mother must have found her first because Ellen's dirty clothes were no longer in the bag either. Ellen, on the other hand, was perplexed by the house's still calm atmosphere. If Rowena had found the pregnancy test, she would have woken Ellen and asked her questions until she gave an answer. 

So, why was Ellen left in bed and not even woken up for work? "Oh, God. Did my mother know and choose to be silent? What exactly happened?"

Ellen was so terrified that she looked at the time. Ellen had to go out to check the time because the clock on the wall was in the living room. Ellen slapped her forehead; she had been sleeping for what seemed like an eternity. She'd be in big trouble if she went back to work at the nightclub at this rate.

"What are you doing with such careful steps, Ellen?" Rowena suddenly came out and talked.

Ellen's body froze, her desire to return to the room ceased, and Rowena stood waiting for Ellen to turn around.

"Mother?"

"Do you want something to walk slowly like that?" Rowena inquired once more.

"W-what exactly do you mean, mom?" I walk slowly so that my footsteps do not disturb anyone. I just looked at the wall clock—"

"Did you really mean to tell me about your pregnancy?  You were still trying to hide it until this morning?"

This is the moment. Ellen had to face it all, telling the truth to her angry mother.

"Mother... I'll explain—"

"You must explain, but extensive explanations will not solve our problem, for God sake Ellen.  Tell me if what Ellise said is correct. You're selling your body on the internet? Ellen, you said it worked well, but you sold your body. Is that what you do?"

Ellen's head shook. "No, Mother. Not like that. I'm not doing it for any man; there is only one."

"So you did it with your boyfriend?  What is his name? How come you never told Mom?"

"No, Mother, he is not my lover.  He …."

Ellen was about to tell the truth when she remembered what Aidan and Chase had said about not telling anyone if Ellen wanted her family to be safe.

If Ellen had told Rowena, the old woman might have gone looking for Chase's whereabouts, spreading the problem all over the place. Chase's side could claim Rowena's demands were mere words. But it would be disastrous for Ellen's family. Their family could be hurt at any time because they had impregnated Ellen.

"Ellen, please tell me who is the father of that baby in your womb that you're bearing!".

"I… I don't know who is the father of this child, Mom!"Ellen lied and decided to hide the truth for the sake of her family's safety

Rowena looked at her daughter, stunned. "What?"

"I can't reveal the identity of the man who impregnated me because I don't know him."

Ellen could sense Rowena's escalating rage. Rowena yelled, "Get out of my house right now, Ellen!  Go ahead and ask that man whoever he is  to look after both of you. I'm so disappointed in you Ellen. I'm not going to deal with your problems if you're not going to tell the truth with me. Leave my house right now!"