The Butterfly Dance

4

"I'll pick you up tonight at 8" she lowered her eyebrows, read the message on her phone again and turned in amazement, looking at Jason, who was going through documents with an expressionless face. There was definitely something wrong with this man. After that charity dinner he had used sex to punish her, leaving her unconscious, Elena had woken up bathed and in one of his shirts, which was big enough for her to use as a nightgown, she had found on the bed was a bag of clothes in her size, and in the kitchen there was breakfast waiting for her and a note 'Take a day off' addressed to her.

Elena of course hadn't listened to him and despite the pain tearing through her body with every step, she had turned up for work, resulting in Jason forcing her out of the office and then sitting silently on her couch all day, assuring that she is resting. The next morning, Jason was gone, but there was a huge bouquet of flowers on her nightstand. He didn't try to touch her, he didn't press her, he just made small gifts and gestures that confused her.

The other thing she noticed was that his fiancee didn't show up at the office anymore. In the two years since she'd worked for him, Elena hadn't known this man. He still looked annoyingly stony, but he seemed to notice more details, as if he was reading her mind, making sure he met her every need. And it didn't just confuse her, she didn't know how to deal with this new side of him and the open showing of attention to her.

She was afraid to even think about what his new behavior meant, but her guesses ranged from completely insane to terminally ill. Jason seemed to sense her gaze, lifted his head, leaned back and held it. No reaction, just the two of them looking at each other. Her head throbbed even more and the nausea rose again, Elena swallowed and looked away. Wondering what he thought he was going to achieve with his behavior, Elena opened her desk drawer and pulled out a blister pack of anti-vomiting pills.

She hadn't been feeling well for the past few days, and thinking it was a stomach virus, she had filled her desk cabinet with various pills. But they only seemed to help for a short time, because the nausea returned every time she smelled food. Suddenly her head jerked up and Elena unlocked her phone, whispering a prayer under her breath, she opened the calendar and began to count, her chest tightening with terror as each day passed.

Three weeks, but it wasn't possible, was it? She locked her phone and stared blankly at its screen, trying to take in what was happening. She had not missed a gynecological examination, her birth control ring was in place, it was impossible for her to be pregnant. But she was three weeks late on her period, and through everything with Jason, she hadn't even noticed. Panic crept into every cell and her eyes watered. Impossible, she can't be pregnant!

Giving in to her suffocating feeling, Elena took out her bag and ran to the elevator. Pressing the button almost hysterically, she began stomping in place, clutching her bag to her chest as if that would change the likelihood that she was pregnant with Jason Hex's child. "Faster you bitch!" Elena hissed at the elevator door, glancing back nervously. Her mind kept going over dates, as if she was going to change something, but she desperately needed proof that she was wrong.

"But I have a ring, how..." Elena had asked for an urgent appointment and examination by her gynecologist. "It's moved, and if it's not in place and properly placed, it's of no use," replied Dr. Davis, and Elena tearfully looked up at the monitor. "There it is" the doctor pointed to a small dot on the monitor and Elena squinted, straining to make out anything. "Six weeks, everything seems normal" she bit her lip and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

Six weeks? What a twisted joke on her luck? After almost two years without a relationship, with a misplaced birth control ring, she had hit on the perfect night to sleep with Jason and conceive his child. Now what? She couldn't tell Jason, he was engaged, that would cause a scandal that could hurt him immensely. Not to mention if Bianca found out that Elena was pregnant by her future husband, how would she react? Still, Elena could lie to Bianca, but how could she lie to Jason if she decided to keep the child, and she would.