Chapter Six Opened My Eyes In Shock  

 

Eunice' POV

Everything Tyler told me was a lie. Every damn thing!

The scent that lingered on him, the way he called Lola names, the insistence that they weren’t together—it was all a lie.

If not, how was Lola pregnant for him?!

My heart pounded as I turned to Tyler, my voice rising. “What is she talking about, Tyler?!” I needed an answer, and I needed it now.

Lola scoffed darkly, crossing her arms. “I’ll tell you exactly what’s happening.” Her gaze locked onto mine, irritation flickering in her eyes.

“Tyler—your husband—impregnated me,” she announced smugly. “Since you couldn’t even give him a baby, I did. And now, he’s going to be a father, and I’m going to be a mother.”

The words hit me like a slap. My breath hitched as I turned to Tyler, searching his face for denial, for any sign that this wasn’t true. “Tell me this isn’t true, Tyler! Tell me she’s lying!”

But he didn’t.

Instead, he stared at the floor, dumbfounded, as if the words he needed had abandoned him.

I let out a bitter chuckle, though my chest ached. “So you really got her pregnant, huh?” The laughter faded as pain surged within me.

Tyler was the man my heart had chosen. The only man I had ever loved. But now… I swallowed hard. “I don’t think I can continue.” My voice came out low but firm, a quiet declaration of the decision forming in my heart.

“They say if you love someone, you have to let them go,” I murmured, watching him. Waiting.

But Tyler said nothing.

He just kept staring at his feet, unable to meet my gaze.

Lola’s voice cut through the silence. “So, what are you going to do about this, Tyler?” she asked, her tone laced with satisfaction.

I glanced at her, and suddenly, it all clicked. She was the reason Tyler never believed me when I told him I was pregnant. The reason he doubted me despite the two years we had been trying. And even though the doctors assured us that we were both fine, he had still chosen to believe her.

I placed a protective hand on my belly. “Don’t worry, baby. Even if your father has chosen another woman, I will take care of you.” I thought to myself

With that resolve, I spun on my heel and stormed into the house. My movements were swift, driven by a mix of anger and heartbreak as I packed my most important belongings.

Minutes later, I returned to face him one last time. “I’m done, Tyler.”

I expected him to react—to say something, anything. Maybe he’d laugh and tell me this was all a prank, that Lola was lying. That none of this was real.

“How could he have gotten another woman pregnant?!”

But I was a fool, wasn’t I?

Tyler remained silent, not even lifting his head. And that was enough. His silence spoke louder than words. It told me he had made his choice. That he was choosing her because she carried his child.

Pain twisted inside me, but I refused to let it break me.

Lola smirked, arms crossed over her chest as she tapped her foot impatiently, as if counting down the seconds until I was gone.

I lifted my chin, refusing to let her see the hurt in my eyes. “Have a nice life,” I spat, dragging my luggage behind me as I headed for my car in the driveway.

But just as I reached the stairs at the tip of our floorboard, something unexpected happened.

A wave of dizziness crashed over me, relentless and overwhelming. My legs wobbled, my balance faltered, and before I could grasp what was happening, my vision blurred.

Through the haze, I saw Tyler running toward me, his face a blur of urgency. But just as quickly, amid my confusion and rising panic, my gaze caught Lola. She yelped—a dramatic, pretentious scream—her eyes locked on Tyler as if she were jealous that his attention was on me.

Then, just as he reached me, he stopped. He turned back to her.

And in that moment, it felt as if someone had snuffed out the last light keeping the darkness at bay.

Everything went black.

A sharp, sterile scent filled my nostrils, pulling me from the abyss. The weight of my body sank into an unfamiliar mattress, my limbs heavy, my head pounding. A dull beeping echoed in the background, rhythmic and steady. I struggled to piece together where I was, what had happened—

Then, a voice. Soft. Familiar.

“You’re awake.”

I turned my head, my breath catching in my throat.

My mother.

The same mother I had disobeyed three years ago when she warned me about Tyler.

Back then, when I introduced him to her, she rejected him outright. “He’s incompetent in love,” she had said. “Easily swayed. Another woman will take him from you.”

“Mum?!” I had scoffed at the time, brushing her off. How could she judge him after meeting him just once?

But I hadn’t listened. I married him anyway, with or without her blessing.

And for my disobedience, she had cut me off. I was left to start from scratch, building a life with Tyler on my own.

And now… now, I saw the truth.

She had been right all along.

I blinked, trying to process her presence. “Mom?” My voice came out hoarse, weak. “What… how are you here?”

“The hospital called me,” she said gently. “They couldn’t reach Tyler. They checked your emergency contacts… and I guess you must have put my number there.”

A lump formed in my throat as tears welled in my eyes.

“Forgive me, Mum,” I choked out, the weight of my mistakes pressing down on me. “I was being a child.”

She sighed, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, just like she used to when I was little.

“I’ve waited for you to come back to me all these years, daughter,” she said, her voice warm despite the pain of the past.

Her words shattered the last bit of my restraint. The dam broke, and I let myself cry.

She squeezed my hand, her grip firm yet comforting. “Shh, baby girl. It’s okay. You’re here now. That’s what matters.”

I bit my lip, shaking my head. “No, it’s not okay. I was so selfish. You were right about everything, and I didn’t want to hear it. I thought I knew better. And now… I have nothing.”

Her expression softened, and she brushed her thumb over the back of my hand.

“You have me,” she said. “And you have a future. That’s why I need you to come home… and take over the company.”

I stared at her, stunned. Of all the things I expected, that was the last.