Updated Dec 29, 2025 • ~8 min read
Tessa woke up with regret before she even opened her eyes.
The morning light filtered through unfamiliar curtains. The sheets smelled like Liam’s cologne. And her head was pounding from cheap vodka and terrible decisions.
Oh god. What had she done?
She sat up carefully, trying not to wake him. Liam was still asleep beside her, his face relaxed, dark hair messy against the pillow. He looked peaceful. Innocent.
Completely unaware that she was about to ghost him.
Tessa’s stomach twisted with guilt. She should wake him. Should explain. Should—should do literally anything except what she was about to do.
But she couldn’t face him. Couldn’t face what they’d done. Couldn’t face the inevitable moment when he’d realize last night was a mistake.
Better to disappear now. Before he woke up. Before she had to see the regret in his eyes.
She slid out of bed as quietly as possible. Found her dress crumpled on the floor. Her shoes by the door. Her phone on the nightstand with seventeen texts from Julian asking where she was.
Shit.
She typed back: Went home early. Wasn’t feeling great. Talk tomorrow.
Then she grabbed her purse and tiptoed toward the door.
“Leaving without saying goodbye?”
Liam’s voice made her freeze. She turned slowly.
He was awake. Watching her. His expression unreadable.
“I—I thought you were asleep,” she stammered.
“Clearly.” He sat up, the sheet falling to his waist. Tessa forced herself to look at his face. Only his face. “Were you really just going to leave?”
“I have class in the morning.”
“It’s Saturday.”
Damn it. “I meant—I have to work on a project. For my portfolio. It’s due Monday and I—”
“Tessa.” He said her name gently. “You don’t have to make excuses. If you regret last night, just say it.”
Did she regret it? Parts of it, definitely. The part where she’d betrayed Julian’s trust. The part where she’d complicated everything. The part where this would probably ruin their friendship.
But the actual being-with-Liam part? That part she didn’t regret at all. Which was somehow worse.
“It’s not about regret,” she said carefully. “It’s about—this was a mistake, Liam. We both know it. You’re Julian’s best friend. I’m his sister. This—whatever this was—it can’t happen again.”
“What if I want it to happen again?”
Her breath caught. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what? Don’t tell you I’ve wanted this for years? Don’t say that last night was the best night I’ve had in—”
“Stop.” She held up a hand. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be. We made a mistake. We were drunk. It didn’t mean anything. We move on.”
Liam flinched like she’d slapped him. “Didn’t mean anything?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Actually, I don’t. Because to me, last night meant—” He stopped. Took a breath. “Never mind. You’re right. Mistake. Got it.”
The hurt in his voice made her chest ache. But this was for the best. Better to end it now before—before what? Before she fell for him? Too late for that. Before Julian found out? That ship might’ve already sailed. Before everything got complicated?
Way, way too late.
“I should go,” she said quietly.
“Yeah. You should.”
Tessa turned toward the door, her hand on the knob, when Liam spoke again.
“For what it’s worth? You’re not a mistake to me, Tessa. And last night wasn’t nothing. But if that’s what you need to tell yourself to feel better about walking away, then fine. We never talk about it again.”
She wanted to turn around. Wanted to tell him he wasn’t a mistake either. Wanted to—to do something other than run.
But she didn’t. She walked out of that room and didn’t look back.
The Uber ride home was silent. Tessa stared out the window, watching the city wake up, and tried to process what she’d done.
She’d slept with Liam. Her brother’s best friend. The guy who’d been part of her life for years. The one person who was absolutely, completely off limits.
And it had been incredible. Which made everything so much worse.
Her phone buzzed. A text from Julian: You okay? You never bail on parties.
She typed back: Just tired. Headache. I’m fine.
Another text, this time from an unknown number: Get home safe. – L
Liam. He’d gotten her number from… somewhere. Probably Julian’s phone.
She should delete it. Should block him. Should do literally anything except what she did, which was save his contact and stare at the text for way too long.
I’m home. Thanks.
She hit send before she could stop herself.
Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.
We need to talk. Not about last night. Just… talk. Can I buy you coffee this week?
Tessa’s thumb hovered over the keyboard. She should say no. Should maintain distance. Should let last night be a one-time mistake that they both forgot about.
Can’t. Too busy with finals. Maybe after graduation.
Graduation was three weeks away. Plenty of time to figure out how to face him. How to pretend nothing had happened. How to—
Okay. After graduation. I’m holding you to that.
She didn’t respond. Just set her phone down and closed her eyes.
Three weeks. She had three weeks to get her shit together. Three weeks to build her walls back up. Three weeks to convince herself that sleeping with Liam Thorne was a mistake she’d never repeat.
Three weeks to figure out how to look him in the eye and feel nothing.
Easy.
It wasn’t easy.
For the next three weeks, Tessa avoided Liam like her life depended on it. Declined Julian’s invitations to hang out if Liam would be there. Made excuses when her brother tried to plan graduation celebrations. Buried herself in her final projects and told herself she was fine.
She wasn’t fine.
She thought about Liam constantly. Wondered if he was thinking about her. Replayed that night over and over, analyzing every word, every touch, every—
Stop. She had to stop.
But then, six weeks after that night, Tessa sat on her bathroom floor staring at a positive pregnancy test and realized that stopping was no longer an option.
She was pregnant. With Liam’s baby. And her entire life had just imploded.
Her hands shook as she stared at the two pink lines. This couldn’t be happening. They’d used protection. They’d been careful. This wasn’t—this couldn’t be—
But it was.
She was pregnant. With her brother’s best friend’s baby. After a one-night stand she’d spent weeks pretending never happened.
And she had absolutely no idea what to do.
Tell Liam? He deserved to know. But telling him meant admitting that night had consequences. Meant involving him in her life permanently. Meant—meant everything getting even more complicated.
Tell Julian? He’d lose his mind. Would probably never forgive her. Would definitely never forgive Liam. Their friendship would be over. All because she couldn’t keep her hands to herself at a stupid party.
Keep it secret? Disappear? Start over somewhere new where no one knew her history?
That option seemed impossible. Cruel. Wrong.
But so did all the others.
Tessa sat on that bathroom floor for two hours, the positive test clutched in her shaking hands, and tried to figure out how her life had derailed so spectacularly.
She’d made one mistake. One reckless choice. One night of weakness.
And now she was pregnant. Alone. Terrified.
And the father of her baby had no idea his entire world was about to change.
She didn’t tell him.
Couldn’t tell him. Not yet. Not when she barely understood it herself.
Instead, she did what she always did when life got overwhelming: she ran.
Graduation came and went. She skipped the ceremony, citing a family emergency. Packed up her apartment in secret. Took a job offer in a different state—one she’d been planning to decline.
She told Julian she needed a fresh start. Told him she’d visit soon. Told him she loved him.
She didn’t tell him about the baby. About Liam. About any of it.
And two weeks later, Tessa Brooks disappeared from her old life completely.
Leaving behind her twin brother, her mistakes, and a man who’d sent her seventeen unanswered texts asking if she was okay.
She wasn’t okay.
But she would be. Eventually. Somehow.
She had to be.
Because in seven months, she’d be a mother.
And nothing would ever be the same again.
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