Scented Claudia

CLAUDIA'S POV:

China wasn't new to me.

Our family's business connections ran deep there.

I had contacts.

Suppliers who remembered me.

A partner who was more than happy to see me back and ready to pour all my focus into expanding the brand.

I worked like a machine.

Twelve-hour days.

Sometimes longer.

I memorized production schedules, freight timelines, customs regulations.

I learned enough Mandarin to argue with shippers about rates.

I inspected every bottle that went into a box.

Because if i stopped, even for a moment, I'd think of him.

And i couldn't afford that either.

But my body betrayed me before my mind did.

It started small.

A weird heaviness in my chest whenever i brushed my teeth.

A dizzy spell on the factory floor.

I thought it was stress.

It had to be.

I was exhausted.

I wasn't eating well.

I was skipping meals entirely some days.

No wonder i felt like shit.

But when the nausea wouldn't stop, I finally went to a clinic.

I didn't even explain properly.

I just waved a hand, embarrassed.

"I've been... sick. Dizzy. I throw up sometimes."

The doctor asked questions i half-listened to.

She ordered a test.

It was routine.

I sat in the cold, overly bright room, scrolling through supplier invoices on my phone, trying to ignore the ache behind my eyes.

She came back with the results.

Her expression was gentle, careful.

"Miss Araneta..."

I looked up.

My stomach dropped.

That tone.

Something was wrong.

"Congratulations," she said softly. "You're about two months pregnant."

My brain went silent.

I felt the world tilt.

For a moment i thought i might faint right there on the exam table.

Pregnant.

I'm pregnant.

I swallowed, my mouth so dry i could barely speak.

"That's not... possible," I whispered, but even as i said it, I knew it was a lie.

The timing.

It lined up.

It was him.

Of course it was him.

My hands trembled in my lap.

I pressed them together until my knuckles turned white.

The doctor kept talking.

About vitamins.

About follow-up visits.

About options.

I didn't hear any of it.

I walked out of the clinic in a daze.

The street was busy.

Cars honking.

People haggling at stalls.

Smells i couldn't detect but could imagine.

I turned in a slow circle, not even remembering where i was supposed to go next.

And i started crying.

Right there on the sidewalk.

Big, ugly sobs.

I covered my mouth to muffle them.

People stared.

I didn't care.

-

When i got back to my small apartment, I dropped everything at the door.

Kicked off my shoes.

Collapsed onto the narrow bed.

I curled up so tight my knees dug into my ribs.

I was shaking so badly my teeth chattered.

Pregnant.

With Raphael's child.

When he didn't even know where i was.

When i'd left him with divorce papers and no explanation.

God.

What had i done?

I pressed a hand to my belly.

Flat.

Ordinary.

You wouldn't even guess there was anything different about me yet.

But there it was.

A life.

Part of him.

Part of me.

My tears soaked the pillow.

I tried to justify it.

He was going to Oxford.

He needed that.

He deserved it.

He'd spent his whole life saving other people.

Didn't he deserve to save himself, too?

Expand his knowledge.

Become the surgeon he was meant to be.

If i'd stayed, he never would have gone.

He would have chosen me every single time.

He'd said as much.

"I can't be away from you."

So i left.

I gave him no choice.

I freed him.

But i never expected this.

I stayed there on the bed all night.

Didn't change.

Didn't shower.

Didn't eat.

I just cried until there were no tears left.

-

The next morning, I forced myself up.

Splashed cold water on my face.

Looked at my reflection.

Red eyes.

Pale skin.

Hair a mess.

I didn't even recognize myself.

But when i pressed a hand to my stomach again, something in me shifted.

I had to work.

I had to survive.

For me.

For him.

For this tiny life i hadn't planned on, but couldn't turn away from now.

-

I went to the office that day pretending nothing was wrong.

My partner greeted me with a grin.

"You look tired, boss. Big order from Singapore coming in today."

I nodded.

Didn't say a word about the hospital visit.

Didn't say a word about Raphael.

Or the divorce.

Or the baby.

I buried it all.

Because i had no choice.

I spent the next weeks the same way.

Meetings.

Logistics.

Inventory.

Design approvals.

Marketing plans for new scents I'd never even smell.

Sometimes, I'd find myself pressing a hand to my belly without thinking.

Just... grounding myself.

Reminding myself this was real.

At night it was worse.

I'd lie in bed, staring at the cracked ceiling.

I'd think about how Raphael used to sleep.

His arm slung heavy over my waist.

His even breathing in my ear.

The way he'd kiss my shoulder before getting up for early surgeries.

I could imagine what he'd say if he knew.

The heartbreak in his eyes.

The anger.

The betrayal.

I'd left him.

I'd taken this from him.

Our child.

Our chance.

But i couldn't regret it.

Because if he was in Oxford, he was learning things no one else back home could.

He was growing.

He was going to save lives.

Maybe hundreds.

Thousands.

And that mattered.

More than us.

More than me.

Even more than him knowing about this baby.

I didn't call my parents.

I didn't dare.

They'd hear it in my voice.

They'd come get me.

Drag me home.

Tell me to tell him.

Tell me to beg him to come back.

But i wouldn't.

Couldn't.

I'd made my choice.

And Raphael deserved better than to be tied down with me and a baby he never planned.

Especially when he had the whole world in front of him now.