I can’t take this anymore

Chapter Five – “I Can’t Take This Anymore”

Maya’s POV

The lights above me were bright and cold. I opened my eyes slowly, and the ceiling came into focus. White. Still. Silent.

I felt like I was floating.

My body was weak, like I had run a thousand miles and had nothing left in me. My head ached. My chest was heavy.

And then… the memories returned.

The call.

The fire.

My company.

Gone.

My hands shook as I tried to sit up, but I felt dizzy. I leaned back again, closing my eyes, hoping it was all just a bad dream.

But when I turned my head to the side, and saw Garrett sitting on the chair next to my bed, watching me with those intense eyes—I knew it wasn’t.

He was still here.

Still in the same clothes.

He looked like he hadn’t slept. His face was hard, but his eyes looked worried. Tired. Concerned.

Why was he still here?

I should have told him to leave. I should have pushed him away.

But I didn’t have the strength.

I didn’t even have the strength to speak.

“You fainted,” he said gently. “They said your body was exhausted.”

I turned my head away from him.

I didn’t want to talk.

I didn’t want to feel.

I just wanted to forget.

But the pain in my chest reminded me that everything was real. The fire, the destruction, the fear—it was all real. My company… my dream… had turned to ash in one night.

A knock came at the door. A doctor stepped in, holding a file in his hands.

“Miss Maya,” he greeted me with a calm smile. “How are you feeling?”

I nodded slightly, not sure what to say.

“We ran some tests after you fainted,” he continued. “There’s something you should know.”

I didn’t like the way he said that.

He walked closer, then spoke gently. “You’re pregnant.”

My heart stopped.

I stared at him like I didn’t understand the words.

“W-What?” I whispered.

He nodded. “You’re about four weeks along.”

Four weeks…

That night…

No.

It couldn’t be.

But that was what it was, Bryan never touched me before and after we got married.

Not now. Not like this.

I turned away from both of them, my eyes wide, my mouth open but no words came out.

Garrett stood still. Then he spoke, voice low but certain.

“I knew it,” he said. “I had a feeling.”

I shook my head fast, tears filling my eyes. “No. It’s not yours.”

Garrett frowned. “Maya—”

“It’s not yours!” I yelled, though my voice cracked. “Please… don’t make this more complicated than it already is. I’m already tired. I’ve lost everything. I don’t want this. I don’t want anything else.”

Tears fell from my eyes like rain. My hands gripped the bedsheet tightly. I felt like my world was falling apart all over again.

Garrett stepped closer. “Why are you lying?”

I didn’t answer.

He sat beside me. His tone was softer now. “I saw the blood, Maya. You told me that night… it was your first time out of the numbness”

I covered my face with my hands, shaking my head.

“I know,” I whispered. “I…. It’s yours but I’ll take care of it, you just need to pretend like you didn’t hear it, I told you that night I’ll be responsible, I don’t know ir will turn out this way”

He blinked, surprised.

“But I don’t want it to be,” I cried. “I don’t want this mess. I don’t want to be tied to anyone. I don’t want to feel anything. I don’t want to wake up every day thinking of that night, thinking of you, thinking of what could’ve been if my life wasn’t falling apart!”

I was shouting. Crying. Falling to pieces.

Garrett didn’t move.

“I've been strong for too long," I wept. "When I lost my home, I smiled. When I had nothing, I worked on. When I was betrayed, I chewed my sorrow. But now."

I laid a hand on my belly.

"Now there's a baby. A life. And I don't even have a home.".

Garrett looked at me for a while, then rose and walked across the room. He ran his fingers through his hair, clenching his jaw.

"I'm not leaving," he said softly.

I looked up at him.

"I'm not walking away," he went on. "I don't matter if you yell, cry, or curse at me. That baby is mine. And I will be there. And for your company, I have people investigating it now”

I shook my head, more tears falling. "You don't get it. I'm not ready to be a mother. I don't even know how to take care of myself."

Garrett came over to me and grasped my hand in his, holding it gently.

"Then let me do it," he whispered. "You don't have to be alone."

I looked at him. His voice was firm, but gentle. His hand was warm.

I wanted to trust him.

But I was scared.

"I'll have a paternity test," he said. "Just so you won't question it. But Maya…"

He knelt down beside my bed.

"Even if you send me away, I'm still going to stand right outside that door. You won't be alone. Not anymore."

I wept again. My heart ached. I didn't know if I was weeping from pain… or relief.

All I was aware of was that for the first time in a long time… someone wasn't leaving me.

And quietly, that only made me even more frightened.