Chapter 2

The next day, Sebastian and I went to a college reunion. I hadn't expected Victoria to be there too.

She wore a long white dress and sat right beside him. Someone called out, teasing.

"Victoria's here too? You two were the most famous couple back in school, you know. A fireworks prodigy and a visual arts goddess. Everyone assumed you'd get married the second you graduated."

I paused in the doorway.

Victoria was two years ahead of me in school.

Back then, I'd admired her endlessly. She was beautiful, radiant, and her work hung in the most prominent spot in the gallery every single year. The first time I ever heard Sebastian's name, it was because of her.

Everyone said the two of them were destined to end up together. Later, when Sebastian started pursuing me, I used to secretly wonder if fate had finally decided to favor me for once.

But now Victoria was sitting right beside him, and every teasing comment from the people around us felt like a needle, pricking into my chest one after another. I forced a smile and sat down on Sebastian's other side.

Halfway through the gathering, I got up to use the restroom. When I came back, the door to the private room hadn't been shut all the way. Someone inside, clearly a little drunk, was laughing.

"Seriously, though, Sebastian. You and Victoria were so close back then. What made you suddenly go after Rose? We're still baffled about it, honestly."

The room went quiet for a moment. Sebastian's voice, looser than usual, like he'd had a bit too much to drink, answered.

"That's all in the past."

Then Victoria laughed.

"Why keep it a secret? We had a huge fight back then, and he wanted to prove he wasn't hung up on me."

Her voice was soft, but it carried straight to my ears.

"Rose happened to walk by right then. He just pointed at her and said, 'Watch me, Victoria. I'll have her in three days. You really think I can't live without you?'"

Someone in the room laughed out loud.

"No way. So Rose was just some random girl you grabbed to win an argument?"

Victoria didn't answer right away. A few seconds later, as if she'd realized how it sounded, she gave a small sigh.

"I don't mean it like that. Rose is great. It's just that, well, that's really how it started."

In that instant, every sound around me seemed to fade into the distance. A sour ache spread through my chest until I could barely breathe.

So the love I'd once believed had fallen straight out of the sky had just been a joke Sebastian tossed off in the middle of an argument, to prove a point.

I thought back, again and again, to the first time we met. He'd stopped me in the hallway, my arms full of books, a smile in the corner of his eye.

"Hey. Mind if I get to know you?"

The sunlight had fallen across his shoulders, and he'd looked like he'd stepped straight out of a dream.

Back then, I thought fate had finally chosen to favor me. Now I knew better. My seven years had been nothing but an elaborate joke from start to finish.

Someone else asked, "So, do you regret it now?"

The room went silent. I held my breath.

Even after everything, some part of me was still waiting for Sebastian's answer. Waiting for him to say he didn't regret it. Waiting for him to say that somewhere along the way, he'd actually fallen for me for real.

But Sebastian said nothing. The silence stretched on so long that my palms turned cold. He never answered.

In that moment, I almost wished he would lie to me. Even just once. Even if it was only to spare my feelings.

But he still said nothing.

Some answers, I realized, were crueler left unspoken than said out loud.

Just then, the sound of a glass tipping over rang out from inside the room. Victoria gave a soft, startled cry.

"Ow, that's hot!"

Sebastian was on his feet almost instantly. A second later, the door was yanked open. He hurried out with his arm around Victoria and collided straight into me, standing in the doorway.

The impact sent me sprawling to the floor. A sharp cramp tore through my lower abdomen, like something inside me was being ripped apart.

Sebastian looked down and saw me, his brow furrowing.

"Rosie, what are you doing standing right by the door?"

Pain made my voice shake, and my hand instinctively pressed against my stomach.

"Sebastian, I'm actually pregnant with your—"

Before I could finish, Victoria drew a soft breath. Sebastian's attention snapped away instantly, worry flooding his eyes.

"Rosie, I need to get Victoria to the hospital first. Go on home. You just took a fall. You'll be fine after you rest a bit."

I grabbed his sleeve, my fingers trembling.

"No, I—"

Before I could get the words out, he pulled his arm free and hurried off. As he passed me, I caught Victoria glancing back with a small smile, and beneath it, undisguised triumph.

I sat there on the cold hallway floor, watching his back grow smaller and smaller. The ache in my lower abdomen came in waves. Warm blood slowly trickled down the side of my leg.

In the end, I went to the hospital myself.

The doctor looked over my chart, frowning.

"The baby's still holding on for now, but you can't take any more shocks, and you can't overexert yourself."

He glanced at the empty hallway behind me. "Where's your family?"

I was quiet for a long moment before I answered, softly, "I have none."

In that moment, it struck me as almost absurd. This baby had a father. And I hadn't even gotten the chance to tell him.