CHAPTER 004

ANNA’S POV

I was so heartbroken and needed someone to talk to. I’d tried calling Clara before, but her number hadn’t gone through. I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and pulled my phone from my dress pocket to dial her number again. It rang once… twice… three times, but she didn’t pick up.

It was like the day couldn't get any worse, it started raining.

The rain fell so hard it felt like the sky itself was angry at me. I sat on the cold concrete outside my parents’ house, drenched from head to toe, shivering as the water soaked through my thin dress. The drops mixed with the tears on my face until I couldn’t tell which was which anymore.

Everything inside me felt hollow.

James had betrayed me. Melissa had betrayed me too. My mother had thrown me out of the house. Even my younger sister was happy about my misfortune.

I stared at my phone again through the rain, the screen blurry beneath the droplets.

Maybe James would pick up. Maybe he’d still care enough to answer, maybe it was all a prank or one bit misunderstanding.

So, I pressed his number with trembling fingers and held my breath.

The line rang. Once. Twice, but he didn't pick.

I tried again, as it rang once, twice and then finally it connected.

“James,” I whispered, my voice breaking.

There was silence on the other end, followed by a cold and clipped voice. “Who is this?”

My stomach twisted. I would know that voice anywhere, but it wasn’t meant for me anymore. There was not an iota of warmth in it.

“It’s me, Anna,” I said softly. “Please… we need to talk.”

And just like that, the call ended.

My heart felt like it had been ripped open again. I stared at the phone until the screen went black, my reflection faint in the glass scared me. I was a broken woman who was betrayed by the people closest to her.

But I couldn’t give up. Not yet.

Maybe if I saw him face-to-face. Maybe… maybe if he knew about the baby, he wouldn’t turn his back on me completely. He had to listen. He had promised me marriage. He couldn’t just abandon his own child.

Hope, fragile but burning, pushed me to act. I pushed myself off the ground, my knees stiff and weak.

The cab ride to his house was endless. My palms were sweaty, my stomach knotted with fear and hope fighting inside me. When the car finally stopped outside his gate, I froze. There was a security man standing there now, tall and stern. James had a security man? Since when?

I walked up, clutching my bag. "Please, open the gate, I need to see James."

The guard looked me up and down like I was dirt. “Miss, I don’t let strangers in.”

“Please,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Tell James I’m here. He knows me.”

He didn’t move. “Madam, I can’t let anyone in without Mr. James’s permission.”

“I’m his fiancée!” I blurted out, though the words stung even as I said them. “Just tell him Anna is here. Please.”

Before the guard could answer, the door swung open. While he was distracted, I quickly shoved him aside and slipped in before he could stop me.

That's when I saw him.. James.

And beside him.. Melissa.

My heart stopped. For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. So it really wasn't a prank as I hoped it would be.

Melissa, my best friend since university and maybe even before that…

She stood there, her hand wrapped around his arm, her head resting lightly on his shoulder like they've always been together, maybe they have, I didn't know anymore.

James’s eyes landed on me, sharp and void of emotion. “What are you doing here?”

I took a shaky step forward. “James, I need to talk to you. Please, just listen.”

He frowned, his voice cold. “Say what you have to say, and leave.”

I swallowed hard, my lips trembling. “I’m pregnant.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

Then Melissa’s laughter cut through the silence, her tone mocking.

“Oh, come on, Anna. Don’t start your pathetic drama here.” She looked me up and down with a sneer. “You look miserable. What makes you think anyone would believe that story?”

My voice cracked, my eyes turning to face her fully. “Melissa… how could you? You knew everything. You knew how much I loved him.”

She tilted her head, feigning sympathy. “Loved, Anna. Past tense. Maybe if you weren’t so naïve, you’d have realized you were never enough for him.”

James said nothing. He just stood there, letting her talk trash at me.

“James,” I whispered, tears mixing with the rain. “You know it’s your baby. We’ve been together for five years. You promised me a future.”

He cut me off with a sharp laugh. “I said a lot of things. That doesn’t make them true.”

Melissa’s hand slid possessively over his chest. “You see, Anna, some of us know how to keep a man.”

Her words hit harder than any slap. My knees felt weak, but I forced myself to stand tall. “You were my best friend,” I said, voice trembling. “You knew everything about me. About us. And you still…”

“I still what?” she interrupted with a smirk. “Took what you couldn’t keep? Don’t act surprised, Anna. You always thought the world revolved around you, well it doesn't anymore.”

James’s face remained unreadable, his gaze cutting through me like ice. “You heard her. Leave. You don’t belong here.”

“I’m carrying your child!” I cried, clutching my stomach.

He scoffed, glancing at Melissa. “Maybe you should ask one of the many men you’ve been sleeping with. Because that child isn’t mine.”

The words broke something inside me. I stepped forward, desperate. “James, please, don’t do this. You know me. You know I would never…”

“Enough!” he snapped, voice sharp as a whip. “From this day on, you are nothing to me. The only woman I’ll ever marry and worth carrying my child is standing right beside me.”

He turned to the guard. “If she ever shows up here again, throw her out.”

“James, please!” I dropped to my knees, the mud soaking through my dress as I clung to his trousers. “Don’t do this to me. Don’t do this to our baby.”

Melissa’s laugh rang again, low and cruel. “Look at you, Anna. You're so pathetic.”

James shoved me back, and I hit the ground hard. Pain exploded through my abdomen, and a sharp gasp tore from my lips.

Then came the warmth. I felt a warm liquid dripping from my body.

Blood.

I froze, my hands trembling as they pressed against my stomach. “No… no, no…”

Melissa stepped back in disgust. “She’s bleeding on the driveway.”

James’s expression didn’t flicker. “Get her out of here.”

The guard grabbed me by the arm, dragging me across the wet concrete.

I screamed, begged, but he shoved me outside the gate and locked it with a heavy clang.

I crumpled on the ground, clutching my stomach, the blood warm against my thighs. My breaths came in shallow gasps. The world spun around me.

The world around me tilted, dimmed, and I thought… maybe this was how it ended.

But then, through the haze, a car screeched to a halt.

A black sleek car. The door flew open, and an elegant woman stepped out.

She ran toward me, her heels clicking sharply against the pavement before she dropped to her knees beside me.

Her face was pale and her eyes wide with terror.

But almost eerily, she looked just like me.. but the older version of me.

She cupped my cheek, her hands trembling.

“My daughter!” her voice broke as she knelt beside me. “Oh my God, my daughter!”

The words echoed in my fading mind, filling me with confusion.

Daughter?