His Nightmare
Olivia's revelation hit Nicholas like a ton of bricks. The news felt surreal, making him question everything. He had only recently returned from Osaka, and the timing of Olivia's pregnancy raised a storm of doubts and confusion in his mind. Whose child could it be?
As the realization settled, Amelia felt a heavy weight pressing on her chest, causing her breath to catch. It was as if a fist-sized stone had struck her, leaving her gasping for air. Questions swirled in her mind, each one more piercing than the last. When did this happen? Who was involved? How could her polite and well-mannered sister find herself pregnant outside of wedlock?
The once innocent and idealized image of her sister shattered, replaced by a web of secrets and unanswered questions. Amelia's heart ached as she grappled with the overwhelming emotions.
Driven by curiosity, Amelia peered through the crack of the door. She looked at Nicholas, who stood frozen and petrified like a statue. He couldn't believe that their long-distance relationship would come to an end just when he was planning to surprise Olivia with a proposal.
"You're joking, right?" Nicholas asked hopefully. He was still trying to think positively, believing that fate wasn't playing tricks on him. Unfortunately, destiny had been written long before he was born into this world. Misfortune was the predetermined outcome for him on that night.
"No, Nick. I'm really pregnant. I can't marry you," Olivia replied, her voice filled with a mixture of sorrow and resignation. Her head remained bowed, unable to muster the courage to lift her face and meet the gaze of her current boyfriend, who would soon become her ex-boyfriend.
Nicholas shook his head in disbelief, a flicker of hope still clinging to his heart. "No! This joke isn't funny at all," he protested, desperately clinging to the possibility that Olivia was playing a cruel prank on him.
Unfortunately, Nicholas's words meant nothing, as Olivia could only sob uncontrollably, expressing her regrets repeatedly. The bouquet of roses that Nicholas held fell to the ground, along with the diamond ring he had intended to put on his girlfriend's left ring finger. Nicholas's heart shattered upon discovering that his beloved was pregnant with another man's child.
"Who is the father of the baby?" Nicholas asked softly, his voice filled with a mix of curiosity and sorrow. His eyes, devoid of their usual spark, stared blankly at the cloudy, starless sky of that fateful night.
Olivia remained silent, her lips sealed tightly shut. She didn't want to reveal the father of the child she was carrying just yet. The weight of her secret hung heavy on her shoulders, and she wanted to find the right moment, and the right words to share the truth.
"One day, I'll tell you. But not now!" Olivia whispered softly, her voice barely audible. She shook her head, a mixture of guilt and uncertainty etched on her face. "I'm truly sorry."
Nicholas's smile was bitter, a reflection of the pain that gnawed at his heart. Olivia's betrayal had wounded him deeply, leaving him heartbroken and skeptical of love in the days that followed. The trust they once shared seemed irreparably broken.
"Many people easily say 'I love you.' But they don't truly mean it when they say it," Nicholas muttered softly, his words laced with disappointment and frustration. At that moment, he intended to criticize Olivia, to express his disillusionment with her actions. The woman, aware of her mistakes, resigned herself to Nicholas's condemnation without defending herself, accepting the consequences of her mistakes.
The unfortunate man walked away from the woman he once loved wholeheartedly. Their love had transcended the boundaries of space and time. He had never intended to betray her even when they were far apart.
Soon, raindrops fell from the sky, dampening the ground beneath the broken-hearted man's footsteps. From a distance, Nicholas heard a girl screaming his name. However, his mind was not in a normal state. He had no intention of paying attention to that call.
Nicholas only realized there was someone else nearby when the girl managed to catch up and offered him an open umbrella to shelter him from the relentless rain. It took some time for Nicholas to recognize the girl wearing a white T-shirt and hot pants in front of him. It was Amelia.
"Use the umbrella, Nick! I'm afraid you'll get sick!" the girl said, her voice trembling. Tears streamed down her face, her cheeks flushed and her eyes red. It was evident that she already knew about what he had been through. Her concern for him radiated through her words.
"Go away!" Nicholas said, his voice short and faint. The pain and bitterness in his tone were palpable. He pushed her away, his emotional walls rising higher. The weight of his own turmoil was suffocating, and he couldn't bear to let anyone in.
Amelia's heart shattered into pieces. The warmth and tenderness she once saw in Nicholas had evaporated, replaced by cold indifference. His love and hope seemed to have vanished entirely. She felt a profound sense of loss and despair, unable to comprehend how things had changed so drastically.
"But, Nick. You might get sick if—" Amelia's voice faltered, her sentence left hanging in the air. The flash of anger in Nicholas's emerald eyes silenced her instantly. The girl stood frozen, her heart aching with the rejection and the chasm that had formed between them.
Nicholas despised being pitied. His lips curled into a cynical smile, a defense mechanism to shield his wounded pride. He forcefully pushed away the umbrella offered by Amelia, refusing to accept her concern or care. The bitterness in his actions only deepened the pain in her heart.
He rushed to his car, leaving her crying alone on the side of the road. The sound of his car engine fading into the distance mirrored the emptiness and loneliness that engulfed Amelia's soul. She watched him go, tears streaming down her face, feeling the weight of his absence and the shattered fragments of the nightmare.