CHAPTER 7
Adrian
A month had passed since that night, and our lives hadn’t been the same since.
Elena no longer cried in front of me, at least not where I could see, but I knew she was still far from okay.
I could feel it in the way she moved around me, in the quiet distance she kept, in the way her eyes never stayed on mine for too long.
Every silence between us felt like a reminder of what I’d broken.
But for whatever it was worth, I swore to myself—to God, to anyone who would listen—that I would fight for her, for us, and I’d do anything to earn her forgiveness.
“Ready to go?” I asked her.
She didn’t answer, but she followed me out of the house. Today was our scheduled ultrasound, and I was going with her to the doctor. There was no way I was letting her go alone.
The doctor dimmed the lights, the machine buzzed to live as Elena lay on the examination bed, her shirt slightly lifted. I stood beside her, wanting so badly to hold her hand.
So I tried—I reached out and gently wrapped my fingers around hers.
She pulled away.
The rejection was quiet, barely a gesture, but it hit me harder than any scream ever could. I swallowed hard, stepping back a little.
The doctor pointed at the screen. “There,” she said warmly. “That’s your baby. Everything looks healthy.”
The image flickered in grayscale on the monitor, soft and grainy and impossibly fragile.
She adjusted a few settings, then nodded. “Thirty-two weeks already. The weight and length look great.”
She moved the probe slightly. “Alright, let’s check the baby’s heartbeat.”
A sudden burst of sound filled the room, a quick, rhythmic thumping, steady like a tiny galloping drum.
And suddenly, Elena brought a hand to her mouth, her shoulders trembling as tears spilled down her cheeks.
Mine followed a heartbeat later. It wasn’t the kind of cry you expect from a joyful ultrasound. It was the kind you make when something precious shines through the ruins of everything else you’ve destroyed.
The doctor blinked at us, confused. She clearly thought our reaction was too intense, too emotional for a routine scan. She offered a polite smile, the kind people give when they think they’ve just witnessed a sweet moment between expectant parent.
But she had no idea. She didn’t know this child was the only thread holding us together. She didn’t know how much pain sat between us on that examination table.
On the drive to her office, the silence wrapped around us again, but not as heavy as before. I glanced at her hand resting on her lap.
For a moment, I hesitated.
Then, slowly, carefully, I reached out again. This time she didn’t pull away.
She let me hold her hand. My chest loosened, a small breath of relief escaping me. It wasn’t forgiveness, not even close, but it was something. A tiny crack in the wall between us. A fragile sign she wasn’t entirely gone.
I squeezed her fingers gently.
And for some reason, I felt hope.
— ? —
Elena
By the time I finished reviewing the Q3 operating expense report, my eyes were burning. I leaned back in my chair and exhaled, rubbing the knot forming at the base of my neck.
“Here,” I said, sliding the printed sheets across my desk toward Harley, my junior. “Q3 looks good overall, but the vendor reconciliation still needs more detail. A few invoices don’t match their purchase orders.”
Harley let out a low groan. “Elena... do you ever get tired of being this meticulous?”
I lifted a brow. “Do you ever get tired of missing things?”
He smirked—that confident, annoyingly charming smirk he always had. “Touché. Still harsh, though.”
“Realistic,” I corrected.
“Sure,” he said, placing a hand over his chest. “Realistic. Brutally so. My mentor, everyone.”
This time, I almost smiled. Almost.
Before Harley could say anything else, Jessica appeared beside us, tapping a finger on my desk. She worked in the Tax Division. We joined the company around the same time and basically clung to each other until we figured out how this place worked.
“Lunch?” she asked brightly. “Come on, I’m starving. I’m craving Indian today. Harley, you coming?”
Harley flashed her a polite grin. “Tempting, but no. Last time I went with you I nearly died from the spice level. I’m not risking my tongue again.”
Jessica rolled her eyes. “Coward.”
“Selective self-preservation,” Harley corrected smoothly. Then he glanced at me. “You should go. You look like you need a break.”
There was something gentle in the way he said it—not pity, not concern—just awareness.
“I’m not really in the mood for spicy food, but… whatever.” I grabbed my cardholder. “Alright, let’s go.”
We found a quiet table near the window in the cafeteria. As soon as we sat down, Jessica’s voice softened. “How are you? Really?”
I took a slow breath.
Jessica knew. She was one of the few people I had told after everything fell apart, only because she found me crying in the restroom and thought something was wrong with the baby.
I didn’t want to tell her, didn’t want to open wounds she had already spent a year healing.
But truths like mine don’t stay hidden easily.
“I’m okay,” I said.
Jessica raised an eyebrow. “Elena.”
“Fine,” I sighed. “I’m... functioning.”
She nodded as if that was the only acceptable answer.
For a moment, we ate in silence, the clink of utensils filling the gap between us. Then I asked the question that had been sitting on my tongue since the doctor appointment.
“How did you do it?” I murmured. “How did you forget it?”
Jessica didn’t even hesitate.
“I didn’t forget it,” she said. “I moved on because I decided to forgive him.”
I looked up sharply, surprised. “Just like that?”
She snorted. “God, no. I forgave him, but I also made changes and adjusted things. I made sure that if he ever crossed the line again, he’d leave with nothing.”
My eyes widened. “Jessica...”
“What?” she shrugged. “Fair is fair.”
I hesitated, then asked, “And now? How is he?”
Jessica’s gaze softened. “Different. Better. He takes me out more, he actually listens when I talk. And for a while, I wondered if he was just forcing himself to make up for everything.”
“And?” I asked.
“And he wasn’t,” she said quietly. “He changed. For real. People can, if they’re scared enough of losing what matters.”
I wasn’t sure if that made me hopeful or exhausted.
“But that doesn’t mean you should take the same path I did,” she continued.
I looked into her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Just because I forgave him doesn’t mean you have to forgive Adrian too. Don’t use me as your reference. I chose this path because it’s the life I decided for myself. You have your own choice, Elena.”
I drew in a slow breath. “I don’t know… this is all so confusing. I never even thought I would feel something like this. I thought…” My words faltered. “I thought he…” My eyes began to sting with tears.
“Just take your time and think it through carefully. Don’t make an impulsive decision. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s what you truly believe is best for you and your unborn child,” she said.
I stirred my drink, gathering the courage to ask the next question.
“What about… her? The woman he—” My voice thinned.
She drew in a slow breath. “Well… I went to see her. She played a part in destroying my marriage, she needed to understand the consequences. Things got pretty messy at her office. She was even called in by HR. I don’t know what happened after that, and honestly, I don’t care.
What matters is… she knows she chose the wrong person to mess with. ”
I blinked, stunned.
Then her expression shifted. “Elena... don’t tell me you haven’t confronted that whore.”
Heat rose to my cheeks. I looked away.
Jessica’s eyes widened. “You haven’t.”
I shook my head slowly. “I just... I feel sick even imagining myself talking to her.”
Jessica leaned closer, voice firm. “Elena, you should at least give her one lesson. She borrowed money from your husband. She slept with him. She deserves to know exactly who she crossed.”
I whispered, “Do I really have to?”
“Yes,” Jessica said without missing a beat. “So she knows better than to ever try this again.”
I pressed a hand to my stomach, feeling the faint pressure of a kick.
I wasn’t sure if it was courage I felt rising in me, or rage.