Craved by the Wrong Volkov-Chapter 209: Genny’s secret part 3

Braelyn’s POV

Genny didn’t speak immediately after my jaw dropped.

The room felt quieter somehow, even with the television murmuring softly in the background and Alora crunching on her biscuits blissfully.

"It wasn’t love exactly," Genny finally said, her voice low. "It was one stupid reckless night."

I didn’t interrupt. Something told me if I did, she’d shut down again.

Genny leaned back against the couch, fingers wrapped tight around her mug like it was an anchor. Alora was still glued to the TV, giggling at the cartoon, completely oblivious to the bomb Genny had just dropped in my lap.

I stared at my best friend, jaw slack, trying to wrap my head around the fact that she’d hidden a whole child from me for five years.

"Okay," I said slowly. "Start from the beginning. And don’t skip anything." I said firmly, I was getting every drop of this tea that took 5 years to marinate.

Genny released a long, shaky exhalation, like something was weighing her down. "It was that night after the street race. You remember the racing club we used to go back then, the big one where half the campus showed up?"

I nodded. I’d been there, Genny wasn’t much of a racer, but I was pretty wild and reckless then. I won a couple of races back then. "You were obsessed with a lot of racers then. I suspected you attended most of those races just to simp." I laughed off.

"Yeah." She smiled softly but it didn’t reach her eyes. " He was a guest racer who came in for a race and won that night, big time. Everyone was screaming, throwing drinks, losing their minds. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. After the race, he was celebrating, wild and pretty drunk, surrounded by girls who wanted a piece of the winner. He was pretty much the life of the party."

She paused, staring into her hot chocolate like the memory was swimming in there.

"I stayed because... I don’t know. I liked him. More than I should’ve. I was watching him from the edge of the crowd. That’s when I saw it, one of the girls slipped something into his drink. Just a quick drop when he turned away. I didn’t think. Like hell I could think, I just moved and followed my instincts ."

Genny’s voice dropped lower.

"I pushed through everyone, grabbed his arm, and yelled that I was his girlfriend. Told the girls to back off before I made a scene. They were probably intimidated by my height and scattered. He was too drunk to argue. He hadn’t even taken the drink yet, so no harm done."

She took a sip, grimacing like it tasted bitter. "That’s what I thought," she slurred.

"I apologised and explained the situation" her voice trailed a bit. " He thanked me. Slurred something about owing me one. I told him he needed to leave before he got himself in more trouble. Called for an Uber, but it was late, the price was surging, and the car took forever to arrive. At that point...." her voice broke she took a sip of her chocolate. Mine was getting cold in my hand. I had barely taken a sip

Alora was laughing at her cartoon, completely unaware we were talking about her deadbeat father. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

" He could barely stand. So like a good Samaritan, I offered to drive him to his hotel. I wished I had walked away then, but I didn’t, and he agreed." I saw the regret in her eyes. She gulped.

Genny’s fingers tightened on the mug.

"The rest... It’s blurry. We got to the hotel. I helped him to his room. He was laughing, talking nonsense. I should’ve left. I didn’t. One thing led to another. We ended up in bed."

I swallowed and hesitantly asked. "Did he...."

She shook her head. "He didn’t use a condom. He didn’t use anything, and his pull-out game is pretty much crap. I was too caught up in the moment to care.," she cut in bitterly. "And that wasn’t the worst part."

My fingers curled into the fabric of the couch.

"I took the pills," she said quickly. "Right after. I did everything right." Her laugh was hollow.

"Turns out there’s a reason they say ninety-nine percent effective." My heart ached.

She looked up at me, eyes glassy.

"I woke up alone. He was gone. Left a note. I can still remember the line, ’Sorry, beautiful. Thanks for the save. Take care.’ No number. No name. Nothing. Just... gone."

My stomach twisted. "Like, can you imagine the jerk, but it was clear he didn’t want anything to do with me, so I swallowed the bitter pill," she said sarcastically, laughing bitterly. It was like she still had a lot of bottled-up pain from back then.

"I panicked. Ran to the pharmacy, got the morning-after pill. I took it right away. I thought that was the end of it."

She laughed, shaking her head like she just heard a bad joke.

I stared at her. "Two months later..."

"Yeah." She nodded. "I found out at a campus clinic. Freaked out. Booked an appointment to terminate. But when I showed up, they ran tests first. They said it was a high-risk pregnancy, along with some medical jargon I can’t get my head wrapped around." Genny’s voice cracked

"So yeah it messed up. I wanted to tell you but each time the words wouldn’t leave my mouth. I was scared." A sob left her lips. She took in a deep breath to gather her emotions.

"I was barely 20 and it was finals. I couldn’t afford messing up. I was so confused. Over spring break I went home to get my thoughts together. That was my biggest mistake because I forgot my phone at home. Like, who does that, but it showed how disorganised I was at the moment," she swore at me.

I felt ashamed for not noticing what was right before me.

" My mom found out when the clinic called to confirm the appointment. She’d picked up my phone. She showed up at my dorm that night, furious after a long drive. Dragged me home. Told me I was keeping it there was no way I was taking the risk to abort it. Said the family name couldn’t handle the scandal of an abortion, but a ’quiet’ pregnancy abroad was manageable."

She looked down at Alora, who was now humming along to the cartoon, completely unaware.

"I left right after finals. She arranged everything. Told everyone it was a trip to celebrate. I gave birth in a private clinic overseas. Mom handled the paperwork..fake dates, fake travel records. Alora was born, and I came back as if nothing had happened. She’s been with my mom most of the time. I visit when I can. But I never told anyone. Not even you."

I stared at her, chest tight.

"Genny..."

"I know," she whispered. "I should’ve told you. I was scared. Scared of judgment. Scared of losing her. Scared of what people would say. I thought... if I kept it a secret, I could protect her."

I reached over and squeezed her hand. "She’s beautiful. And she’s lucky to have you."

Genny’s eyes filled. "I don’t deserve her. But I’m trying."

Alora glanced over, waving a biscuit. "Mummy! Look! I made a smiley face!"

Genny laughed, wiping her eyes. "That’s amazing, baby. Eat up."

I looked at the little girl, my best friend’s secret daughter, and felt something crack open inside me.

"But I can tell you the jerk’s name so that you can beat his ass for me..." she laughed, her lips parted.

"His name is..." my eyes went wild never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined