"I'm pregnant."
I said the words softly, testing how they felt in my mouth, as though saying them aloud might make them more real.
I stood in front of the mirror, my fingers resting lightly against my stomach, my reflection staring back at me with a mixture of fear and something dangerously close to hope.
A small, nervous smile tugged at my lips. I hadn't planned this. None of this had been planned.
But this… This changed everything.
I picked up my bag, my heart beating faster than usual as I stepped out of my apartment. The city felt different today. Lighter. Like something was finally about to fall into place.
For the first time, I allowed myself to imagine it. Sebastian hearing the news. The look on his face. The way everything between us would finally stop being something hidden and wrong and start becoming something real. Something that mattered.
I didn't call him or text.
I wanted to see his face when I told him. I wanted to watch the moment it changed.
By the time I reached his office building, my palms were slightly damp. I wiped them against my dress, steadying myself before stepping inside. "You've got this," I whispered under my breath.
The receptionist recognized me and didn't stop me.
The elevator ride felt too long. Every second stretched thin with anticipation.
When the doors opened, I stepped out and walked straight toward his office.
The door was slightly open. I pushed it without knocking.
"Sebastian, I need to—"
"Stop."
The word hit me instantly. Sharp. Final.
I froze where I stood.
He was behind his desk, not sitting, not relaxed. He stood still, his posture rigid, his expression unreadable in a way that felt unfamiliar. It felt wrong.
"I need to talk to you," I said again, more carefully this time.
"I know." His voice was controlled. Too controlled.
"Then let me…"
"No."
My chest tightened. The word landed harder this time.
"I don't think you understand," I said, taking a step forward. "This is important."
"So is this." He stepped forward. Slowly. Deliberately.
And the look in his eyes… It wasn't confusion.
It wasn't conflict. It was anger.
"What are you doing?" I asked quietly.
"What am I doing?" he repeated. A short, humorless laugh left him.
Sebastian let out a slow breath, his gaze fixed on her.
"I think the better question is, what are you doing, Lena?"
The question caught her off guard. "I don't understand."
"Don't you?" His gaze locked onto mine. Sharp. Accusing. "Because I think you understand perfectly."
My heart started to race.
"Daniel came to see me."
The name hit her like a sudden jolt. "What?"
"He told me everything," Sebastian continued, his voice steady but laced with something dangerous. "About the two of you. About how you've been seeing each other again."
Her head shook immediately. "No. That's not…"
"He said you've been trying to fix things."
"He's lying."
Sebastian watched me closely, too closely.
"He said what we had was just something temporary for you," he went on. "Something you used while you figured out what you really wanted."
"That's not true," I said again, my voice tightening. "None of that is true."
"Stop! Why would he lie?" Sebastian asked.
"I have no idea." I had no explanation that sounded real enough to compete with what he had already decided to believe.
And in that silence, I saw it. His mind was made up.
"You don't believe me," I said softly.
Sebastian didn't answer immediately. Then—
"I think," he said slowly, "that I've been played."
The words cut deep. "No," I whispered.
"Yes." He stepped closer, his presence suddenly overwhelming, his voice still controlled but edged with something colder now.
"You let me believe this meant something," he said. "You let me think it was real."
"It is real." The words came out instinctively, without hesitation.
"Is it?" he asked.
My chest rose sharply. "Yes."
"Then explain why your ex is telling me you're back together."
"I don't know why he said that," I said, my voice shaking now. "But it's not true."
He watched me, silent, evaluating. And then he looked away. That hurt more than anything.
"I don't want to hear this," he said finally.
My heart dropped. "You haven't even listened."
"I've heard enough."
"No, you haven't," I said, stepping forward again. "You're choosing not to listen."
"I'm choosing to see things clearly."
Something inside me broke.
"I came here to tell you something important," I said.
"And I told you," he replied, his voice firm now, "I don't want to hear it." The finality in his tone left no room for argument.
"This—whatever this was between us—" he exhaled slowly, as if forcing himself to stay calm. "It was a mistake."
The word echoed in my head. "A mistake." My fingers curled into fists.
"That's not true."
"It is." There was no anger in his voice. No hesitation. Just certainty.
"I'm going to fix this," he said.
Fear crept in quietly. "What do you mean?"
"It means," he said calmly, "I'm going to do what I should have done from the beginning."
My heart dropped.
"I'm going to commit to Claire."
My breath caught.
"I'm going to marry her."
And just like that, everything inside me went still.
I opened her mouth. Tried to speak. Tried to tell him. But nothing came out.
Because the man standing in front of me… was already gone.
Not physically. But emotionally. Gone.
"I think it's best you leave," he said.
Her throat tightened. "Sebastian…"
"Leave."
This time, there was no softness left. And I knew there was nothing I could say now that he would hear.
I nodded once. Turned. And walked out.
The door closed quietly behind me.
I stepped into the elevator; my hand moved instinctively, resting against my stomach. And suddenly—the truth I had come to tell him felt heavier than ever. Because now he had just walked away from something he didn't even know existed.