Chapter 5 005

The phone vibrated violently in my trembling hands. Sebastian's name blinked across the screen like a curse I couldn't outrun.

I couldn't answer.

Not yet.

Not with my throat closing in on itself, not with my legs threatening to give out beneath me. I stared at his name, willing it to disappear, to mean something else.

But it didn't. It was real.

Sebastian had seen the message meant for Victor.

He knew.

Victoria's voice pierced through the static in my head. "Isabella-what happened? Talk to me!"

I couldn't find words.

The woman-Teressa-smiled like a vulture circling a dying creature, her arms folded casually across her chest. "Well, I guess both men will be talking about you now, hmm? You should really be more careful about who you spread your legs for."

My head snapped up, rage momentarily breaking through the fog. "Get the hell off my porch."

She blinked, mock-innocent. "Just returning a document. No need to get so emotional."

Victoria was already moving, her fingers curled around the edge of the door. "If you don't leave right now, I swear to God-"

"I'm going," she said sweetly, stepping back with a smug little wave. "But you might want to brace yourself, sweetheart. That storm you've been avoiding? It's here."

And with that, she turned and sauntered off.

Victoria slammed the door so hard it rattled in its frame.

The silence that followed felt deafening.

I sank onto the nearest chair, my arms wrapped tightly around myself as if I could keep everything from falling apart if I just held on hard enough.

Victoria knelt beside me. "Sebastian saw it?"

I nodded numbly.

"Shit," she whispered.

I glanced down at my phone. It had stopped ringing.

But even that silence felt temporary.

"He's going to call again," I murmured.

"Maybe you should talk to him," she said cautiously. "Maybe it's better coming from you than someone else."

I bit the inside of my cheek. "But I never wanted him to know. I didn't even want Victor to know. This was supposed to be mine. My decision. My future."

Victoria reached up and gently touched my arm. "I know. But it's not just yours anymore."

I looked at her, my voice cracking. "Do you think I made a mistake?"

She shook her head. "No. You made a choice to walk away from toxic people. That doesn't make you wrong-it makes you brave."

Before I could reply, the phone buzzed again. This time, it wasn't a call.

New message from Sebastian.

I stared at it like it might bite me.

Sebastian:

"Tell me it's not true."

I blinked. My breath hitched.

Tell me it's not true?

Tell me what's not true? That I moved on? That I'm not his to hurt anymore?

Victoria peered over my shoulder. "You need to decide if you're going to lie to him or tell him the truth."

I hesitated. Then slowly typed back:

Me:

It's true. But it's not your concern anymore.

I hit send before I could second-guess myself. My thumb hovered over the block button, but I couldn't bring myself to press it. Not yet.

Seconds later, another message came through.

Sebastian:

Whose is it, Isabella?

My pulse skipped. I didn't answer. I couldn't. My mind was a tangled mess of memories, regrets, and all the words I should've said when I still had the strength.

Another knock shattered the tension.

Not a light tap.

A demanding one.

Victoria moved toward the door, her body tense. "If that bitch came back-"

But when she opened it, it wasn't Teressa.

It was Sebastian.

He stood there, drenched in urgency and confusion, like he'd come running the moment he read my message.

His eyes locked on mine.

Wide. Searching. Hurt.

And angry.

So very angry.

"You weren't going to tell me," he said. His voice was tight, controlled-but the storm beneath it was unmistakable. "You were really going to keep it from me?"

I opened my mouth, but no sound came.

Because what could I say?

That I didn't trust him? That he'd broken me once and I didn't owe him anything anymore?

"I don't even know how long it's been," he continued, stepping inside without waiting for an invitation. "Is it... is it Victor's?"

His words sliced deep.

Victoria moved between us, but I put a hand on her shoulder and gently stepped forward.

"No," I said quietly. "It's not Victor's."

Sebastian's brows furrowed. "Then-"

"It's yours."

The air between us stilled.

His chest rose and fell rapidly, as if he couldn't quite believe what he'd heard. "You... You're serious?"

"I didn't plan it," I said. "I didn't even know until recently. And I didn't tell you because I didn't think you deserved to know."

That hit him. I saw it in the way his mouth opened and closed, the flicker of guilt in his eyes.

"You didn't even apologize, Sebastian," I continued, my voice trembling but gaining strength. "You let me walk away like I never mattered. And now, suddenly you care?"

He stepped closer, his jaw clenched. "I do care. I never stopped. I just-"

"-Chose someone else, and be good because as for me I am not interested in your talks" I said bitterly.

Silence.

The kind that screams.

"I'm not asking for anything from you," I whispered. "Not money, not support, nothing. I just want to move on."

He stared at me for a long moment. Then he exhaled slowly. "You can hate me. You can shut me out. But you don't get to erase me from this child's life."

I said nothing. My legs were shaking. My mind was spinning.

Victoria placed a protective hand on my back.

Sebastian's expression shifted-softened. "You were always the best thing I never deserved."

Then he turned and walked out.

The door clicked shut behind him.

And just like that, the truth was out.

There was no turning back now.

The silence after Sebastian's departure was heavier than before.

It lingered like smoke, wrapping around me, clinging to my skin, my breath.

I stood frozen in the middle of the living room, staring at the door he had just walked out of. Something inside me felt like it was crumbling, slow and soundless, like a wall giving way to rot.

Victoria hovered nearby, watching me cautiously, like I might collapse without warning.

"You okay?" she asked gently.

I didn't answer right away. Because no, I wasn't okay.

I was tired.

Tired of hiding. Tired of pretending I had control. Tired of being tugged between two versions of myself-the girl who once loved Sebastian with everything she had, and the woman who now carried something bigger than that love could ever be.

"I didn't want this to happen like this," I whispered. "Not like a confrontation. Not with him storming into my house, demanding answers."

Victoria sighed. "Nothing about this situation was ever going to be easy."

"I know." I sat down slowly, like my bones had turned to glass. "But I thought I could protect it... this little piece of peace I found. I thought if I kept it quiet long enough, the chaos wouldn't reach it."

Victoria didn't say anything, but she sat beside me, her warmth steady, her presence grounding.

"I just..." My voice cracked. "I just wanted something of mine that no one could ruin."

A beat of silence passed. Then Victoria said, "That something-your baby-is still yours. No matter what they say or do."

I nodded, my hand instinctively resting against my lower abdomen.

And then, just as I began to breathe again, my phone buzzed.

Unknown Number.

I frowned.

Victoria leaned over. "Who is it?"

I hesitated. Then picked up.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end was clipped, clinical.

"Miss Isabella?"

"Yes?"

"This is Miriam, Doctor Victor's secretary. He's requested your presence at the hospital tomorrow morning. First thing. He said it's urgent."

My heart jumped into my throat.

"He... knows?"

There was a pause. "He didn't say. Just that he wants to speak with you directly."

I hung up before I could spiral too far, but the anxiety was already building in my chest.

Victoria looked at me with concern. "Victor?"

I nodded. "Wants to see me tomorrow."

Her brows furrowed. "You think Teressa told him?"

I shook my head slowly. "No... if she had, he'd have called tonight. This feels different. Controlled. Strategic."

Victoria stood. "Then be ready for whatever he throws at you."