Chapter 2

The second I stepped outside, Liam hurried after me. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a dressing room.

Before I could react, he had me backed against the wall, one hand tilting my chin up. The cold distance from earlier was gone, replaced by the familiar affection in his eyes.

"What's wrong? Jealous, babe?"

He teased me the same way he always did. He looked and sounded like the Liam I remembered, but somehow, things between us didn't feel the same anymore.

When I didn't answer, Liam seemed to assume I was angry.

He said gently, "Don't get the wrong idea, Natalie. Victoria's pregnant, and she can't exactly go home and tell her family she got pregnant before she was married.

"I only agreed to go along with the proposal so she'd have something to tell her parents and wouldn't have to deal with everyone judging her."

Liam only rambled like this when he felt guilty and was trying too hard to justify himself.

And even if the whole thing really was just for show, why did it have to be him? Victoria could've asked someone who was actually single. Why choose Liam when she knew perfectly well he already had a girlfriend?

He was so worried about Victoria being judged, yet it had never crossed his mind that I had been dealing with people's judgment too.

Because Liam had refused to make our relationship public, all our neighbors still thought I was single. Every time they saw me, they joked that if I didn't find someone soon, I'd end up an old maid.

I looked at Liam calmly. His excuse was so flimsy that I couldn't even be bothered to argue.

Instead, I turned away and said flatly, "I'm not feeling well. If that's all, I'm going home. You should get back too. Leaving your fiancée alone to come after me doesn't exactly look good."

Liam frowned, irritation creeping into his voice. "I came after you to explain, and you're still making a scene? You're a woman too. You should have some sympathy for Victoria.

"Would you really rather stand by and watch everyone tear her apart for getting pregnant out of wedlock? I never knew you could be this heartless. Natalie, I'm disappointed in you."

I almost laughed. All the disappointment I'd been holding back finally boiled over.

"I'm heartless? What about Victoria? She knew you were my boyfriend, but she still insisted on having you pretend to be her fiancé. How is that any less heartless?"

Liam knew he was in the wrong. His jaw tightened before he snapped, "You're twisting everything around. There's no talking to you!"

With that, he stormed out and slammed the door behind him.

The moment he was gone, I crumpled to the floor. It felt like a knife had been driven straight through my heart, and I could barely breathe through the pain.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears streamed down my face, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make them stop.

Liam had never treated me this way before. He had always been patient and gentle, the kind of man who put my feelings first.

Once, I casually mentioned that I hated the seeds in dragon fruit. After that, he sat there with a toothpick, picking them out one by one before cutting the fruit into pieces and feeding it to me.

Whenever I washed my hair and was too lazy to dry it, Liam would grab the blow-dryer himself. He'd tease me for being lazy while patiently drying my hair for me.

But now, he had lost his temper and yelled at me because of Victoria.

The truth couldn't have been more obvious. He had never gotten over her.

And now that I thought about it, maybe he'd kept our relationship secret for so long because he'd been waiting for Victoria to come back all along.

Meanwhile, I had stupidly waited five years for him.

Once I had cried myself out, I wiped my face and rested a hand over my lower abdomen. Then I forced myself to my feet and left.

Liam didn't know it, but I had a surprise planned for him that day too.

I was three months pregnant. I had thought we were finally going to build a life together. Instead, he had betrayed me.

Fine. I would get an abortion and cut every last tie between us.

I took a cab straight to the hospital.

But the moment I reached the entrance, I saw Liam and Victoria, still dressed up from the proposal. Victoria was clutching her stomach in pain while Liam hovered beside her, frantic.

"Doctor, my wife fell coming down the stairs. Please, you have to save our baby!"

My mind went blank. I stopped dead in my tracks.