جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

~~ CHLOE ~~At first, I had been nervous when Theo pulled me to the dance floor. My fingers rested lightly on his shoulder, and his hand settled carefully on my waist.He held me like I was something fragile, something he was afraid to break.The music was soft and slow, and couples moved around us in perfect rhythm.Theo smiled down at me.“You look beautiful tonight, Chloe,” he said.His voice was sincere. There was no lust in his eyes. No hunger.Just admiration.“Thank you,” I replied softly.I tried to focus on him. I really did.I tried to focus on the way he held me, the way he looked at me, the way he cared.But my heart wasn’t behaving. It kept betraying me.Because even while I was dancing with him, my body was aware of someone else.I could feel him. Even without looking. Even without seeing him. It was like my soul knew he was there.I hated it.I hated that he still had this effect on me.Theo spun me gently, and I forced a smile when he pulled me back into his arms.“Are

~~ CHLOE ~~“Is Theodore really your fiancé?” Lorraine asked seriously.I frowned immediately, confused. The question came out of nowhere, and it made my chest tighten.Was this what she came to warn me about?Lorraine was not even in this city anymore, so I had no idea how she knew. I had not told her yet, and I wanted to tell her myself when everything felt more serious. Now she was standing in front of me, asking me directly, and it made me uneasy.“Yes,” I answered slowly. “He is.”She closed her eyes and cursed under her breath.“Damn it,” she muttered and then she facepalmed.I stared at her, my brows creasing deeper as confusion spread inside me. Her reaction made no sense to me, and it was not what I expected at all.She was supposed to be happy for me, to hug me and ask excited questions. Instead, she looked frustrated and angry, and it made my stomach twist painfully.“How do you know about it?” I asked.She hesitated before answering.“One of my colleagues at work added me

~~ CHLOE ~~Theo looked at me without remorse in his eyes. He did not even try to stand up or cover himself. Instead, he scoffed like I was the one who had done something wrong.I froze, my fingers wrapped around my phone very tightly while my mind struggled to understand what I was seeing.The girl underneath him did not even look embarrassed. She only looked annoyed that I had interrupted them.I stared at him, and my chest felt tight, but not because I loved him. It was because I trusted him.Theo always looked innocent, like someone who could never hurt anyone. He always looked shy, gentle, and respectful. Yet here he was, naked, inside another girl, without a single trace of shame on his face. It all felt unreal, like my mind was trying to protect me from the truth.It all felt like a dream. A terrible dream I could not wake up from. Lorraine stood beside me, and I could feel her anger without even looking at her.But Theo did not care. He did not even acknowledge her presence.

~~ CHLOE ~~“It’s not okay for you to go through what you just went through and not feel anything. You don’t have to bottle everything in. Let it all out Chlo,” Lorraine said to me sincerely.I looked at her, really looked at her, and something inside me finally broke. I did not know how she always knew the exact words to say to break down the walls I built around myself.My chest tightened painfully, and before I could stop myself, tears rushed out of my eyes.I burst into tears.It wasn’t a quiet cry. It was intense crying that made my shoulders shake and my chest ache like something inside me was tearing apart.I covered my face with my hands, but it did nothing to stop the pain pouring out of me.I imagined what would have happened if I had not found out today. I saw myself standing at the altar in a white dress while everyone watched me and waited.I saw my dad smiling proudly, not knowing his daughter was about to be humiliated.I saw myself waiting for Theo, waiting and waiting

~~ VASILI ~~“You’re pregnant for me?” I asked with a frown, trying to believe this was really happening.My heart began to beat faster than it should, and I could hear it loudly in my ears.I stared at her stomach without meaning to, as if I could see proof there already. My mind refused to accept it, yet my body already had.Memories came rushing back without warning, dragging me into a past I never liked to revisit.I was eighteen again, standing in front of Melissa as she told me the same words.I remembered the fear, the confusion, and how my entire life changed in one moment.I remembered how her family treated me like I was nothing after that. They turned me into an errand boy because I was young and alone.They knew I had lost contact with my own family, and they used it against me.I remembered the humiliation and the anger that came with it. I remembered promising myself that I would never be powerless again.Yet here I was, standing in front of Chloe, feeling that same fear