People words

Darius blinked. “No?” What did you mean, I'm not letting you take the responsibility of the baby alone.” Selina scoffed. “I’m not letting you take responsibility for the baby.”

“Why?” he asked with confusion, “What did you mean?” Selina stepped closer a little, wiping her face. “Mr. King I'm not here to trap anyone, I applied for a job because I needed to survive, and I wasn't even certain I would see you again, and even when I did, I remained silent.. I didn't ask for anything.”

“I never said you did..” Darius said gently.

“But you are offering now, and I can't accept it,” she interrupted.

Darius was stunned, he had met different girls but this one was exceptional. “You think I will allow people to say I planned this?” Her voice cracked. “That I chased after the wealthy C.E.O. and got myself pregnant so he could save me? Do you think I want to walk these hallways with people whispering behind my back, that I'm just another woman who used her womb to secure a future?”

“That was not what I meant, Selina.” 

She stood gradually, her hand trembling beside her. “I didn't want sympathy. The only thing I wanted was a decent job. A life I can build with my own hands, that's all.” Darius exhaled, “This is not about pity, I just want to help.”

“And what if helping makes everything worse?” She asked. What if I end up back where I started thanks for you assistance? Being dependent, helpless, invisible, behind someone else’s shadow?”

The room went silent, and Darius's fingers flexed at his side. “ I can’t stand here and watch you act like you are alone in this,” he said firmly.”You didn't make this child yourself so you are not going to carry it yourself.” Selina looked away. 

Darius’ voice dropped, he sounded so low but harsh.”What kind of man do you think I am? That I’d let you raise my child while I sit back and pretend it never happened?” 

“I never said that!” she fired back, “I just don't want to be looked at like some gold- digging mistake!” That's not who I see when I look at you, he snapped. 

Darius ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. “Selina, you act like letting someone help makes you less than yourself. That helping you is some kind of insult.”

“I don’t want help!” she shot back, raising her voice. “I want respect, I want to survive on my own, Is that so hard to understand?” He stepped closer, lowering his voice, trying to calm the storm between them. “It’s not about respect. It’s about responsibility. About not allowing you to deal with this on your own.”

Selina’s lips trembled. “Alone? You have no idea what it’s like to be alone. To be judged, mocked, whispered about. To be held accountable for things that aren’t even your fault!”

“I know what it’s like to feel trapped,” Darius said quietly, but she ignored him.

Her eyes flashed. “And yet, you think you can fix me? Like I’m broken and need someone to carry me out of it?”

“I’m not trying to fix you,” he replied, his voice steady, low but firm. “I just… I simply don’t want you to fall and get hurt more than you already have.” Selina laughed bitterly, shaking her head. “You don’t get it. I’m used to falling. I’m used to people leaving. I’m used to standing up when everyone expects me to collapse. That’s who I am, Mr. King.”

He sighed, his fists clenching at his sides. “And I can’t just stand here and watch you do it alone.”

“You don’t even know me!” she fired back, stepping closer, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “You have no idea how heard I've battled, the nights I’ve cried, the shame I’ve swallowed just to get here today!”

“I know enough to see that you’re proud… stubborn… unwilling to ask for help,” he countered, his own emotions surfacing. “And I respect that, but it doesn’t mean I’ll let you burn yourself out!”

Selina’s hands trembled. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to shrink into a protective bubble. “You think helping me will make everything better, but you’re wrong. Sometimes help makes you weak. Sometimes it reminds you how powerless you really are.”

Darius’s jaw tightened. “Selina… you’re strong, yes. But nobody should have to carry everything alone. That’s not a strength. That’s suffering.”

Her chest rose and sank quickly. “I don’t need saving. I’m not asking for saving. I just… I just want to live without people assuming the worst about me. Without people whispering that I’m nothing but a problem, a mistake, a… a gold-digger for your money.”

“Selina…” Darius’s voice softened. “You’re not a mistake. Not to me. Not to anyone who actually sees you for who you are.” Her eyes filled with tears she refused to let fall. “Then why do you keep trying to fix me? Why can’t you just let me live my life the way I need to?”

“Because I can’t,” he said simply. “Because I won’t.”

The air between them was thick with tension. Selina felt her hands shake at her sides. Darius looked at her, frustration and something else flickering behind his eyes something she couldn’t name.

“I don’t want to be looked at like I need saving,” she whispered, almost to herself. “I don’t want to owe anyone… anything.”

“You don’t owe me,” Darius said, taking a slow, careful step closer. “But don’t mistake my insistence for pity. It’s… a concern. Something stronger. Something I can’t ignore.” Selina swallowed hard, biting her lip. She wanted to shout, to run, to throw herself into her own independence but the intensity in his eyes made her pause.

“You think I’ll let people hurt you,” he added, his tone sharp now, almost like steel wrapped in silk. “Like anyone has the right to make you feel small, or scared, or like you’re not worth their respect?”

Selina blinked. That one hit… too close. She looked away, pacing slightly. “You don’t understand what it’s like… to be stared at, judged, assumed guilty for everything before you speak a word.”

“I do,” he said quietly, taking a step closer again. “I might not have lived your life… but I see it. I see how you struggle. And I see how fiercely you fight. But don’t mistake my seeing it for weakness. I’m not here to judge. I’m here… because I can’t care.”

Selina froze. That simple admission felt heavier than any argument. She wanted to snap, to yell, to turn her back and flee but she couldn’t. Her pride held her in place.

“I…” she started, then stopped.

Darius took a careful step forward, and for a moment, their breaths mingled. He wanted to say something more, to close the distance, but held himself back. “People like me…” she whispered, voice cracking slightly. “We survive alone. We fight alone. That’s all we know.”

“Not everyone,” he replied, soft but firm. “Not everyone needs to fight alone.” A tense silence stretched between them. Each heartbeat was loud. Each breath is measured.

Then, suddenly, the phone on Selina’s desk buzzed, breaking the moment. She leaped slightly, reaching for it.

Darius glanced at it, tension rippling across his face. Selina looked down at the screen, biting her lip, heart hammering.

The name flashing on the screen made her pause. Her voice barely rose above a whisper: “I have to take this.” Darius’s eyes narrowed, a mixture of frustration and something unspoken behind them. “Fine,” he said, his tone clipped, but his gaze lingered. “But this… conversation isn’t over.” 

Darius Left.