Living Saint

Mila wasn't listening to Ashley; she was thinking. Thinking about her entire life and where it all went wrong. How? Why? When? She wanted to know, ask anyone who knew. She needed answers.

"Mila, can you hear me?" Ashley called, tapping the girl's shoulder.

Mila propped her fingers up, and in they went to her mouth. She was chewing on her fingers like they were her enemy in this battle called life.

How was she supposed to tell her family that she was pregnant with a stranger's child... a one-night affair? That was against her upbringing, her parents would be disappointed. This wasn't her... this wasn't supposed to be her story. She didn't deserve any of this. Nobody does!

"Mila, if you don't stop panicking, I'm going to have to slap you out of it," Ashley warned the first time, waiting for the girl to look up, but she didn't. "Mila?"

Mila rubbed her palm on her face. What would she do in a situation like—

Bam!

It was the slap Ashley promised earlier, and it landed on Mila's face hard enough to jolt her back to reality.

"You need to calm down right now," Ashley barked, staring at the girl fiercely. "You're pregnant, not diagnosed with a terminal illness. What's the worst that could happen? If you don't want a child, you get rid of it... or... or give it to a family that needs one. Don't go blank on me like that!"

Mila nodded, her hands now dropped to her side.

Ashley noticed her finger imprint on the girl's face that had turned red, and she pressed her lips. It wasn't her intention to slap her that hard.

"Anyway...who gave this shirt to you?" Ashley asked, raising the shirt for Mila to see.

Mila stared at the shirt for a moment, then nodded. "Him... um... the man..I found it on the floor and picked it... at the club."

"On the floor? What floor," Ashley exhaled sharply, feeling frustration creep in. "You need to help me!"

Mila's head bobbed up and down, she didn't want to be slapped again. "In the room, I dressed up. He said I needed a new dress and I...picked this one up."

"Was he the one that you fucked?" Ashley asked, not caring to censor her words at the very least.

Mila licked her charred shivering lips and nodded. "Y-yes..."

"Great!" Ashley snapped her fingers. "Now we know it wasn't a random drunk. This belongs to the Montclair family. I am very certain. It has their crest, and looking at the initials..."

The young woman raised the shirt, trying to show Mila the Z.C. crested on it, but Mila had zoned out again.

In her mind, if she was pregnant, that meant she couldn't go back to Ken. She was no better than the Stephanie she secretly despised, sleeping around with random men and being pregnant. So much for acting decent.

"Talking to you is a long process," Ashley sighed. "I'll have to talk to your sister." She turned to walk away, but her hand was grabbed quickly. The movement was as fast as a cat grabbing its favorite toy from the shelf.

Mila didn't let go even when Ashley tried to wriggle her hand free.

"Not Lacie! Don't tell my sister about this, please... please... tell me what I need to do, but don't tell my sister, please." Mila's grey eyes brimmed with tears as she held tightly to Ashley's sleeves.

"Oh... okay." Ashley cleared her throat. "I won't tell her, um... alright, so." She licked her lips and sighed. She was really curious why the girl didn't want her sister to know, but that wasn't important at the moment.

"You can let go of me now; I won't tell Lacie," Ashley said, pushing her hand away.

Mila dropped back to the ground with her hand on her chest. She was trying not to panic again, and with a deep breath, she regulated her heart rate.

"Do you want to get rid of the baby?" Ashley asked after a minute of silence. She noticed the look of confusion etched on Mila's face. "I mean, like, abort—"

"No!" Mila gasped. She'd never do that. "I can't... no."

Ashley blew raspberries and nodded. "It's okay, though there's every possibility you might have fucked your new boss, but... we could still be wrong."

Mila listened attentively. "I just want to hear from you what I'll do."

Ashley snapped her fingers. "Good, we've established that first fact. No abortion. Next is you'll have to tell the one responsible," Ashley replied, with her arm akimbo.

Mila stood up from the ground, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "What do you mean, the one responsible? I thought you said it's possible I might have slept with my boss?"

Ashley nodded. "I did say that." She reached for her bag and took out a pack of cigarettes.

"S-o... what if I tell him and get fired?" Mila asked, genuinely worried about her job.

Ashley had a stick of cigarette hanging on her lips as she stared at the girl in wonderment. "Wow..." she mused. Removing the cigarette, she broke it into half.

"You're worried about telling A Montclair that you're having his baby?" she asked to be sure stretching the name Montclair for emphasis.

Mila pressed her lips. "What if he's married or... or has a girlfriend? I don't want to break another woman's heart."

"Che cazzo!" Ashley cursed loudly. "Seriously, Mila, go run for state..." Ashley waved her fingers, clearly exasperated. "Actually, you should be crowned a living saint and buried alive in the catacombs."

Mila blinked. She could tell that Ashley was being sarcastic and annoyed, as her tone had dropped into a heavy accent.

"For fuck's sake! Girl, you're pregnant for a billionaire... generational wealth for your child, and you're worried about what? Another woman? Do you not have any ambitions in life? This is why a lot of people miss out even when they have the ball in their court!" Ashley groaned, raising her hands in the air tiredly. Then she turned to Mila.

"You shouldn't be Havertz... you should be Ivan fucking Krstanović! Make a clean goal out of every penalty. And who cares if he has a woman? He should have thought of that when he slid into you. The ball is in your stomach right now, and you're going to make a goal out of it. Okay?"

Mila nodded. Listening to Ashley reminded her of Lacie. They knew what they were talking about. Always so confident and optimistic about life.

"Good! Because heaven knows if I was the one with a Montclair blood in me right now? I'd be on my way to the journalists and then back to the Montclair penthouse."

Mila rubbed her palm on her dress; she was feeling a lot better. Ashley was bold, and her confidence was enough to calm raging waters.

Ashley stared at the shirt and hummed. "If it's Zyran, then you're lucky. He hasn't had a scandal since he broke off his engagement." The young woman paced back and forth inside the room, then came to a halt. She turned to look at Mila.

"You find your baby daddy, and you become Angel Gabriel," Ashley threw the shirt to Mila. "Announce the arrival of a fucking baby to him, mon chéri."