Chapter 3: Goodbye Doesn't Mean I Stopped Loving You

Tracy POV:

I didn't cry until the bus pulled away from the city. As the tall buildings slowly disappeared behind us, I could no longer hold back my tears.

I rested my forehead against the cold window and closed my eyes. Goodbye, Noah. Goodbye to the life we were supposed to share. Goodbye to the dream that ended before it even had a chance to begin.

The woman sitting beside me looked at me with concern. "Are you alright, dear?" she asked softly.

 I quickly wiped my tears and forced a weak smile. "I'm fine." She smiled gently. "You don't have to pretend."

Her kind words almost made me cry all over again, so I turned back to the window before she could see the tears falling from my eyes.

Three days later, I rented the cheapest apartment I could find in a quiet town nearly four hours away. The landlord handed me the keys and gave me a small smile.

"It isn't much." I nodded. "It'll do."

He warned me that there would be no hot water until the evening and that the roof leaked whenever it rained. I simply smiled. "I'll manage."

He looked at me for a moment before saying softly, "You've had a hard week." I gave him a weak smile. "You have no idea."

After he left, I looked around the tiny apartment. It had one bedroom, an old sofa, a small kitchen, faded curtains, and walls that badly needed fresh paint. It didn't feel like home, but it felt safe. At least, I hoped it was.

I unpacked my small suitcase, and it didn't take long because almost everything I owned fit inside one bag. At the bottom lay my wedding dress, folded neatly.

I stared at it for a long moment before picking it up. My fingers gently touched the soft lace.

"I really believed I'd wear you forever," I whispered, my voice shaking. Instead, it had become the dress I was wearing when I lost everything.

I carefully folded it again, placed it back into the suitcase, and closed the lid. Some memories were simply too painful to keep looking at.

Finding a job was much harder than I expected. The news had spread so quickly that whenever someone searched my name online, the first thing they saw was a story calling me a thief.

One café manager looked at my résumé for a moment before gently shaking his head. "I'm sorry," he said. I gave him a small nod. "I understand."

At another restaurant, the owner recognized me right away. "Aren't you the woman who stole from that billionaire?" he asked. I looked at him calmly. "I was only accused."

He shrugged. "Same thing." Then he handed my résumé back. "We're not hiring."

I walked outside and took a slow, deep breath. "Keep going, Tracy," I whispered to myself.

No one else was going to stand up for me, so I had to keep fighting on my own.

A week later, I finally found a job at a small bookstore. The owner, Mrs. Harper, never asked about my past. She only smiled and asked one simple question.

"Can you smile at customers?" I let out a small laugh, the first one I had in days.

"I think I still remember how," I replied. She smiled back. "Then you're hired."

The pay wasn't very good, but it was enough to help me get by. More than that, it gave me a chance to start my life over again.

Life slowly became a simple routine. I went to work, came home, slept, and did the same thing again the next day.

Then, one morning, everything changed. I had just opened the bookstore when a sudden wave of dizziness hit me.

I quickly grabbed the edge of a bookshelf as the whole room seemed to spin. "Tracy!" Mrs. Harper rushed over to me. "You look so pale." I tried to smile. "I'm okay."

She looked at me with worry. "No, you don't look okay." I sighed. "I just skipped breakfast."

She crossed her arms. "That's no excuse." "I'm fine," I insisted.

She picked up her handbag and shook her head. "No. I'm taking you to see a doctor."

I started to protest. "I can't afford” She cut me off before I could finish. "I didn't ask."

An hour later, I sat quietly inside a small clinic, feeling nervous as I waited for the doctor. After looking through my test results, she gave me a warm smile. "Miss Carter" she said gently.

My stomach tightened. "Is something wrong?" I asked.

She let out a soft laugh and shook her head. "Not at all. It's actually wonderful news." I looked at her, confused.

"I don't understand." She smiled even wider. "Congratulations." I blinked. "For what?"

She looked at me kindly. "You're going to have a baby." Everything around me seemed to go silent. "A..." I couldn't even finish the word. The doctor nodded.

"You're about six weeks pregnant." Six weeks.

Slowly, I placed my hand on my stomach. A baby. My baby and Noah's.

Tears filled my eyes until everything became blurry. The doctor handed me a tissue with a gentle smile. "Are those happy tears?" she asked.

I couldn't answer because I didn't know how to explain that the happiest news of my life had come at the same time as the deepest pain in my heart.

That evening, I sat alone on the floor of my small apartment with the ultrasound picture in my hands. It was tiny, showing only a blurry little shape, but somehow it already meant everything to me.

I smiled through my tears. "Hi," I whispered softly. "I guess it's just the two of us now."

I gently placed my hand on my stomach. "I don't know if I'm ready to be your mom," I said as another tear rolled down my face.

"But I promise I'll learn." The room became quiet again before I asked the question that had stayed in my heart all day.

"Should I tell your father?" Noah's face filled my mind. I remembered his smile, his laugh, and the way he used to look at me before everything fell apart.

Then I heard his cold words in my memory. "I can't marry someone I can't trust." I slowly closed my eyes and shook my head. "No," I whispered as another tear fell. "He already made his choice."

I pressed a gentle kiss against the corner of the ultrasound picture. "I won't beg anyone to love us."

At that moment, I made my decision. No matter how difficult life became, I would raise my child on my own.

Meanwhile, Noah couldn't sleep anymore. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Tracy standing in her wedding dress, begging me to believe her.

To keep my mind busy, I threw myself into work. Meeting after meeting, contract after contract, but nothing helped.

Then Daniel walked into my office without knocking. He looked at me and frowned. "You look terrible." I gave a tired smile.

"I've been called worse." He shook his head. "You haven't gone home in three days." "I'm busy," I replied. "No," he said as he sat across from me. "You're hiding."

I looked at him without saying a word. "You think she's innocent," he continued. "I think you're asking the wrong questions." I frowned. "What do you mean?"

Daniel leaned closer. "You keep asking if Tracy betrayed you. The real question is, who wanted you to believe that she did?"

His words stayed in my mind long after he left. For the first time, I wasn't only questioning Tracy anymore. I had started questioning everyone around me.

That night, heavy rain fell outside Tracy's apartment when bright headlights shining through the curtains suddenly woke her up.

A black luxury SUV slowly stopped across the street, but the engine stayed running. Someone was still inside, watching.

Tracy's heart began to race. She quietly stepped away from the window and turned off the light. Holding her breath, she carefully pulled the curtain aside for another look.

At that moment, the driver's door opened, and a tall man dressed in black stepped out. He looked straight toward her apartment. Then, without saying a word, he smiled.