Chapter 4

"You don't actually think he kept it quiet just to protect your reputation, do you?" Elyse said, raising an eyebrow.

She saw right through my naive assumptions. I felt like a total fool, completely exposed in front of her.

I just wanted to ask Jamir, 'If you had no idea I was pregnant and you don't care about me at all, then why did you propose? Why did you want to go through with the wedding?'

I scrolled to the top of my contact list and hit call.

After two seconds, it started ringing on his end.

Elyse gave her phone a little shake.

"We've been together these past few days, just a man and a woman, all alone..." she said, her voice trailing off.

She lowered her eyes, looking all shy and coy.

Then she explained, "He was in such a rush this morning that he grabbed the wrong phone."

She hung up, propping her chin on her hand as she talked to herself.

"You want to talk to him? Perfect timing. It's about to rain anyway, so I'll have him give me a ride," she said.

After a few rings, the call connected.

"Elyse, what's up?" Jamir's voice came through.

I gritted my teeth, holding back tears.

Elyse said, "Come get me at the café. Marie's here too."

After a short silence, he agreed.

Elyse scrolled through her phone and let out an exaggerated sigh.

"He's put you on mute," she said.

I used to bug Jamir to pin me at the top of his contact info, and he did it right away.

But now, I watched as Elyse kept scrolling through her chats forever before she finally found mine.

And when it came to Instagram, he'd even set it so my posts wouldn't show up for him.

I used to think he was just as thrilled as I was about having this baby, and that he was really looking forward to our life together after the wedding.

But in reality, he never even bothered to pay attention to anything about me.

I'd been hesitating, unsure if I should go through with the abortion.

But now, my mind was made up.

This baby and I just weren't meant to be.

When Jamir showed up, it was pouring outside.

He opened his mouth, and it was the same old line I'd heard a thousand times.

"Marie, Boby's trashed the house. You need to go home and clean up," he said.

But when I looked into his eyes, I felt this weird calm wash over me, like everything had finally settled.

"Jamir, let's get a divorce," I said.

But I suddenly realized that we never even got the marriage certificate, so what divorce was I talking about?

Maybe my voice was all choked up, or maybe it was just the first time I ever told him I wanted out, his eyes paused on me, showing a flash of confusion and surprise.

But it was gone in an instant.

"Marie, stop making a scene," he said.

He went on, "After everything it took for us to get married, you're really just going to walk away?

"Seriously, do you really think you can make it on your own without me?"

I hate to let go.

But Jamir, I just couldn't let myself hope for anything with you anymore. I didn't even dare to.

"Just head home, okay? Boby's been acting up, so I had to put it in the cage. It can't stay locked up all day. Let it out once you've finished cleaning up," he said.

With that, he handed the phone back to Elyse.

He said, "It's coming down hard out there, so I'll take Elyse home first. Don't bother making dinner tonight. After I get back, I'll take you to that place you've been dying to try.

"And make it quick. My assistant's already booked the appointment, and I've got a contract to fix tonight, so don't make me wait."

The rain kept pouring, and the entrance was getting packed with people.

Jamir, worried Elyse might get jostled, reached out and pulled her protectively into his arms.

"Jamir, Marie and I ran into each other at the hospital. Don't you even care how she's doing?" Elyse said.

She was talking to Jamir, but her eyes were locked on me, full of challenge.

Jamir's brows knitted together, his voice full of concern.

"You went to the hospital? Are you feeling unwell?" he asked.

Elyse slipped her arm through his, shaking her head shyly.

"I'm fine. I just went with my sister to her prenatal checkup," she said.

Jamir let out a sigh of relief.

"Jamir, I came to the hospital because..." I hesitated, the words catching in my throat.

He was still the baby's father, after all. Even if we were splitting up, he deserved to know about the baby.

But then again, since I'd already decided not to keep it, did it even matter if he knew or not?

I blinked back tears and just accepted it.

"It's nothing. I just..." I tried to say, barely able to get the words out.

But Jamir cut me off, already fed up.

"Marie, what are you even doing at the hospital? The wedding was just a few days ago, and Mom and Dad are coming back from their trip tomorrow. Instead of getting their gifts ready, you're just out messing around all day?" he snapped.

He didn't even wait for my answer, and he was already leaving with his arm around Elyse.

I zoned out, staring at the rain pouring down, wondering if I should just make a dash for the bus stop across the street.

Been a few days since I last saw Boby. No clue how she's holding up.

Forget it, it was just some rain. I wasn't going to keep the baby anyway.

I let go of the hand I'd been protectively resting on my stomach and was about to dash out the door.

But before I could, a strong hand yanked me under an umbrella—and suddenly, I was staring into a pair of dark, mysterious eyes.