Chapter 3

"W-What did you just say?" I stammered, struggling to speak.

Tiana turned her face away, not daring to look at me. "I just found out three days ago, and based on the timing, it's Wade's. I'm begging you, Zayne—please don't let him know about our past."

I finally understood everything. No wonder she had been so eager to end things with me. She wanted to build a family with another man.

I leaned against the wall, the cold tiles pressing against my back. I felt as if someone had drained every last bit of strength from me.

I instinctively looked toward her stomach—there had once been a child of mine inside her, too.

I found a positive pregnancy test in the bathroom three years ago. I took it to her, my hands trembling so badly I could barely hold on to it.

"A-Are you pregnant, Tiana?"

Tiana fixed her gaze on the research papers on the table, never once looking up. "I'm not planning to have this baby. I haven't graduated yet, so I don't have the time and energy to raise a baby right now, Zayne."

It was the first time I had ever gotten down on my knees to beg her. I told her I could work an extra job and take care of her and our baby, but she just furrowed her brow and shook her head, saying, "It's really not the right time. Let's wait until I've graduated before having a baby, alright, Zayne?"

I was told to wait again.

I had told her countless times in the past, "Let's get married and have a baby together—I just want a family of our own, Tiana."

I was capable of taking care of her and providing for our family, but every single time I brought it up, she would tell me to wait a little longer—wait until graduation, wait until she got a promotion, wait until she found a good job, and wait until her career was firmly established.

I ended up waiting for 11 years. I was 33 now, and all my friends had become fathers. In the end, my waiting only brought the news that Tiana was marrying Wade and carrying his baby.

That thought made me sick to my stomach. I bent over and retched, but nothing came out. It felt as though the resentment I had carried for 11 years was stuck in my throat, choking me until I could barely breathe.

Tiana reached out to support me, but her hand froze halfway.

Just then, the door to the private room at the end of the hallway opened, and Wade's voice drifted out. "Who on earth are you talking to, Tiana? The cake has started to melt—"

Wade stood at the doorway of the private room, arms crossed as he sized me up. Calvin nudged past him, his smile vanishing the moment our eyes met.

Wade's gaze shifted among the three of us. He realized something was off, and his smile gradually faltered. He turned his attention to me, his eyes taking on a guarded edge. "Do you guys know each other? Who is he?"

Calvin spoke up before I could even say anything. "He's my cousin!"

He turned to me with a smile, as if reminding me to go along with it. "Isn't that right?"

I stared at Calvin, then shifted my eyes to Tiana. She kept her eyes lowered, her lashes trembling slightly. She offered no objection, as if she was waiting for me to just go along with it.

Wade's guard dropped as he nodded. "Oh, I see! Why don't you come in and join us, then?"

He walked over, caught my arm, and dragged me into the private room. He warmly invited me to take a seat, and as he bent over, his collar opened slightly.

I instantly spotted the amulet hanging around his neck and recognized it—it was from Candlemere Chapel.

I was out of sorts for a while when Tiana aborted our baby three years ago. I often woke up in the middle of the night, thinking I could hear the baby crying.

I had heard that the amulets from Candlemere Chapel were really effective. I knew that our baby was gone but thought getting one would at least give me something to remember them by.

I had asked Tiana if we could go together and pray for our unborn baby, but she merely reprimanded me. "I don't believe all that superstitious garbage, so don't go wasting your time on this nonsense, Zayne."

Wade came back with beer and noticed me staring. He reached over and pulled the amulet out from inside his shirt collar. "I got really sick two years ago, so Tiana got this for me from Candlemere Chapel."

He sounded slightly proud as he continued, "She climbed all 3,000 steps up to the shrine on her knees, bowing and prostrating herself the whole way. She scraped her knees so badly that there are still visible scars on them. It drove me crazy seeing her like that."

Tiana snuggled against him. "It was all worth it for you."

In that instant, my heart sank to rock bottom.

Tiana dumped me out of nowhere three days ago and then vanished off the face of the earth. She blocked my number and wouldn't answer any of my messages.

I searched everywhere for her like a madman.

I had even poured my heart out to Calvin in tears. He reassured me back then, saying, "You shouldn't let your imagination run wild. You know what kind of woman Tiana is, right? She's probably just busy. You'll only annoy her if you keep pushing her, Zayne."

I truly believed I had exhausted her patience. I didn't eat or drink for those three days, locking myself in my room.

I replayed every single word, every text message, and every photo I had shared with her. I wanted to know which day, which sentence, or which incident had suddenly made her sick of me.

Only now did I realize that while I was losing my mind trying to salvage things and win her back, Tiana was cozied up in Wade's arms, planning their future together.