The next morning, Alva woke up late, feeling a strange emptiness. She reached across the bed instinctively, only to find Cody wasn't there. Panic gripped her. "Is he mad at me?" she whispered aloud.
No response.
She sighed, dragging herself out of bed and heading to the living room, but it was empty. She didn't bother calling out his name—something about the quiet made her uneasy.
Alva took a long, slow shower, hoping he might appear by the time she finished. But as she turned off the water, the silence remained. Alone. Again.
She got dressed, her mood sinking with every movement. When she went to pack her things, she noticed the bottle of medicine still sitting on the shelf. She ignored it. Moving to her designated room—Cody had given it to her when she moved in—she found a note on the table: "Take your medicine."
Fury flared in her chest. She crumpled the note and tossed it aside. Searching for her lipstick in frustration, she found another small pack of medicine instead. Tears welled up. In a sudden burst of emotion, Alva threw her bag across the room and stormed out.
She wandered aimlessly until she ended up walking along a quiet side street, near a subway entrance. A black car pulled up beside her. The tinted window rolled down to reveal Cody sitting inside, his expression unreadable. He didn't even look at her.
"Hop in," the driver said.
Her hand twitched, tempted to open the door. But something in her resisted. She shook her head, stepped back, and flagged down a passing cab instead.
As the taxi sped away, Alva leaned against the window, hiding her face from the driver. Her body trembled with sobs. When did I become such a crybaby? she wondered, frustrated with herself and her emotions.
---
Later that afternoon, Alva sat slumped in a chair in the break room at work. Her head was resting on the table, and she looked completely worn out.
"Alva, can you deliver this lunch to the boss's office?" a coworker asked gently.
She got up slowly, her body moving as if it weighed a ton. She grabbed the food container and headed to the top floor.
Without knocking, she opened the office door, dropped the food on the desk, and turned to leave.
The man sitting in the chair turned slowly, a warm smile spreading across his wrinkled face. It was the boss's grandfather—an older man with a kind, twinkling gaze and skin lined with time.
He looked over the food, clearly pleased. Just then, the door opened again. Cody walked in.
"Hey, Grandpa," Cody greeted, a bit stiffly.
The old man smirked. "You know, you and I look alike. Your secretary mistook me for you." He chuckled.
Cody didn't respond, his expression unreadable.
The grandfather raised an eyebrow. "Why was she so upset when she dropped off the food? Did you yell at her? Or did you knock her up?"
Cody blinked.
"C'mon now," the old man pushed. "You two dating? Fighting? Got her pregnant, maybe?"
"Grandpa," Cody said, voice firm, "that's enough."
The old man didn't stop. "So it's true? I mean, you should get married soon. I want great-grandkids. Tell her to bring the kids to visit me."
Cody sighed and called toward the door, "Security."
Two guards appeared. "Please escort my grandfather out."
The old man frowned. "You're kicking me out? Just because I want grandkids?"
As he was led away, Cody slumped into his chair, rubbing his temples. Does she look pregnant? he thought. But we didn't sleep together… unless… No, that's not possible. Can someone even get pregnant without...
The thought nagged at him. He picked up his phone and searched, How to know if your girlfriend is pregnant.
Across the office floor, Alva stumbled toward the coffee machine. She poured herself a cup, not noticing the overflow until a coworker called out, "Alva! It's spilling!"
She blinked, looking down as hot coffee dripped onto the floor.
From the upper level, Cody watched. He mentally ticked off the symptoms from his phone: mood swings? Check. Loss of appetite? Check. Morning sickness?
Alva took a sip of the coffee and immediately spat it out. Cody raised a brow. Check.
"She's definitely showing signs," he thought to himself. "Maybe… just maybe. But there's still one sign left. The hardest one to confirm…"