Two weeks later…
Narrated by Mason:
It has been two weeks, and I am becoming more desperate about my situation. Paige still hasn't come to talk to me, and I miss her increasingly.
Sarah doesn't give me any information about her, and neither does Ethan, making me even more desperate as the days go by. I can't even send her a message; I have no way to contact her, and that drives me crazy, or rather, it's driving me insane.
My parents can see my desperation, and they are trying to find a way to help me locate her, but they haven't had any success, just like me. I must admit that I have hired a private investigator to gather information about her, but I haven't been lucky with that either.
According to what my mother told me, she has tried to reach out to her, as she used to do through Simba, but she hasn't been able to make contact. If she does, she only talks to her baby through video, even though the baby is no longer a baby.
The investigator informed me that she is not in this country and that he hasn't been able to find her. My heart is increasingly shattered by desperation.
As usual, I find myself in the office every day, doing nothing but work and work. I even go to her company hoping to see her, but she hasn't shown up.
I am lost in my own world, as has been the case lately since she told me that we would talk. When my secretary tells me that I have an unexpected visitor who is not on the agenda, it's strange. I didn't schedule any appointments, and everyone usually contacts me on my cell phone.
—Who is it? —I ask, confused.
"She claims to be his wife," my secretary informs me over the phone.
"Let her in," I reply, filled with excitement.
Finally, Paige has come to talk, and I'll be able to see her. I stand up eagerly, anticipating her arrival. As I go over the words in my mind, I prepare to plead for a chance to make her happy, to be close to her again and rekindle her love.
The door opens, and my smile fades when I see who enters. It's Peyton.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, losing the smile and excitement I had.
"Just give me a few minutes," she pleads, nearly in tears.
"I don't have the time, and I certainly don't have the desire to listen to you," I respond, irritated by her audacity to come after weeks of not speaking.
"I have no one else to ask, to beg for help," she says, crying.
"That's not my problem. Remember how you wanted to deceive me? How dare you come here asking me for something," I tell her.
"I know I've hurt you, and I truly regret it. I didn't want to come like this, but I'm desperate," she says, sobbing.
"And why should I care?" I reply, annoyed.
"It's my baby. I have nothing to provide for him, and I don't want him to be born on the streets. I have nothing to give him, and the father refuses to take responsibility," she says, falling to her knees in front of me.
I sigh because I can't help but feel sorry for her, especially when a baby isn't to blame for the mother they have. I pity her and, at the same time, feel angry at her audacity. She always knew who the father of that baby was, but she didn't reach out to him when she found out. Instead, she told me.
“I can't help you. Don't come looking for me again, not for help or anything else," I tell her, putting on my coldest expression.
“At least a job, you know that I owe my career to you," she pleads.
“Are you kidding me? You didn't earn those qualifications. You slept with professors to get good grades. I know everything about you now. You can't deceive me anymore. I kindly ask you to leave and never come back," I say, reaching for the door to hasten her departure.
She has no choice but to leave because I won't change my mind about helping her. She doesn't deserve it, even though part of me pities her situation.
Once I am alone again, I return to my seat and let out a tired sigh. I had hoped that it was Paige who had come to see me, not that woman.
To be completely honest, every day I lose more hope of seeing her again. She might have found a new partner during this time and may no longer be in love with me. Countless hypotheses surround my mind, countless insecurities about not being with her in the future. With each passing day, I lose hope of being by her side and finding happiness again.
Narrating as Paige:
After several weeks, I decide to travel to see Mason. The best thing to do is to clarify things now, not dwell on them. I have to tell him that he's going to be a father because it's his right, but that doesn't mean I'm going back to him. That's not going to happen.
I don't feel ready to be his partner again. I was hurt deeply by everything that happened between us, and I prefer to take my time before deciding what to do with my love life.
Lucas has been by my side every step of the way. I had my regular prenatal check-up, and everything is going well with my baby. I still can't know the baby's gender, but honestly, it doesn't matter to me as long as the baby is healthy. Everything else is irrelevant.
I haven't informed Mason that I'm on my way to his country. I prefer to do it when I'm already there because if I told him earlier, I'm sure he would come to pick me up at the airport and wouldn't let me go anywhere alone. It's inevitable that he would notice I'm expecting a baby as soon as he sees me.
Lucas didn't hesitate to stay there with me for several reasons. The truth is that a lot has happened in these two weeks, and I'm still surprised when I remember everything we've investigated.
I'll give you a summary of the most important things that have happened, and then you'll understand why Lucas came with me.
First of all, the investigator found Lucas's ex-partner. The surprise is that it is indeed Riley, information that left me in shock. I was in denial about it for days.
When Lucas found out, he was just as shocked as I was. However, we continued listening to the investigator, and the surprise grew even bigger when we learned that Lucas's reunion with Riley was not sought out by her. On the contrary, it was just a twist of fate.
At first, my friend didn't believe it, but after hearing the whole story about what happened with her and the baby, his perspective changed. Even Tabatha's perspective changed. It's a shame what happened to my friend Riley, who was just a young girl trusting her parents, the ones who are supposed to take care of you.
What we don't understand is why she, not him, didn't tell the whole truth from the beginning. If only she had been honest, none of this would have happened, and they could have lived as a couple with the love they had for each other.
Lucas comes determined to talk to her and leave the painful past behind. He also acknowledges that he never forgot about her and that what he felt for me was only sibling love. It reminded him of what he always wanted to have with Riley.
Naturally, I'm not upset with him. On the contrary, I feel relieved that I can't reciprocate the feelings he has for me.
Now, regarding Riley's parents, the investigator didn't have much information. When their daughter disappeared, they moved to another country, and he couldn't trace them anymore. He stopped searching after the fourth country. It wasn't the main focus of the investigation.
Right now, we are at the airport waiting for Ethan. As always, he's a loyal friend who didn't say anything to Riley's parents until I felt ready to do it. He kindly let Lucas and me stay at his house, something we initially didn't want to accept but eventually agreed to.
When we find him, we greet each other, and then he takes us home, where an excited Sarah welcomes us with a smile. I find it strange not to see Riley. I informed her that I was coming, so she should have been here waiting for us. I pretend that nothing is wrong. I haven't wanted to tell Sarah what we found out about Riley, at least not over the phone and not until Lucas talks to her to find out what happened.
We talk a little about what we haven't discussed over the phone, which isn't much since we call each other daily for hours. You can understand that we have a lot to talk about, especially pregnancy symptoms and what lies ahead with our babies.
I can't bear the pressure to finally settle the matter with Mason. I feel too anxious, and it's not good for me. When I feel this way, I lose my appetite, and that's not good for my baby.
I look at Lucas, who is just as anxious as I am, except with Riley. He keeps moving his leg up and down rapidly, and I place a hand on his leg to let him know,
"I'm going to talk to Mason. I prefer to do it finally, rather than continue with this anguish," I say, getting up from my seat.
"I can drive you if you'd like," Lucas offers.
"No need, I'll take a taxi," I reply, grabbing my purse.
I arrive at the company and feel nervous. I move forward to enter and see Peyton coming out of that place, crying. I tense up at the sight of her, but she doesn't see me, thank God. I don't know what I would have done if she had said something inappropriate to me. Besides, I'm wearing maternity clothes, and my pregnancy is noticeable, even though I have hardly any belly. But I like to dress this way.
I wait for a few minutes, then enter the company and see the receptionist talking on the phone. I approach her, and she recognizes me from the time I used to come with Mason.
"Good morning. Are you looking for Mr. Mason?" she says with a smile.
"Yes, please," I reply, clearing my throat.
I see her pick up the phone. The secretary tells her to send me up, and before the call ends, I ask her not to tell Mason that it's me.
She nods and confirms that both she and the secretary agree. Smiling, I go up to Mason's office and mentally prepare myself to finally talk to my ex-husband.
The secretary hugs me when she sees me. She has always been very affectionate with me. In a whisper, she tells me to go in, that he's alone in his office.
I approach the door and knock. Mason says sternly, "Come in." I gather my courage and enter the office.
Upon entering, I see him sitting in his chair, looking at documents. I clear my throat, and as soon as he realizes it's me, he stares at me as if he can't believe I'm here.
Hello, maybe I should have let you know that I was coming," I say nervously.
"You're here?" he asks, surprised.
"Yes, we need to talk," I tell him, stepping forward to sit down.
As he sees me walking, he stands up to move the chair and make it comfortable for me to sit. I smile and do so in silence. When he notices my clothing, he becomes even more surprised and stands there, looking at my not-so-flat belly, pointing at it without saying anything.
"Yes, that's what we need to talk about," I say nervously and blush.
"You're pregnant?" he says before collapsing to the floor, unconscious.
I stand up, and the secretary enters due to the noise caused by something falling from the desk when Mason fainted. She quickly goes to the bathroom and returns with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol. She puts it under Mason's nose, and he starts regaining consciousness.
When he is fully awake, he looks back and forth between my eyes and my belly. The secretary quietly leaves to avoid interrupting this moment, although I wanted her to stay to gather courage. After seeing him faint, I lost it, and I don't know how to tell him about the baby.
"You should sit down so that I can explain everything," I say, pointing to the chair beside me.
"I'm sorry for reacting like that. I didn't expect to see you today, and not like this," he says, scratching his neck.
"Don't worry, if you give me a few minutes, I can tell you everything, and then you'll understand how it happened," I say, rubbing my hands nervously.
"I had so many things planned to say to you, but I think it will have to wait until after I hear what you have to say," he replies, sighing.
I start to explain everything, how I found out that I'm pregnant and the decision I made not to tell him in order to not ruin his wedding and his family, the family I thought he was building with Peyton.
Mason remains silent, and it scares me to imagine what is going through his mind. I just hope it's not something bad because I kept the pregnancy a secret from him.
Mason narrates.
When I see Paige in her maternity clothes and her slightly bulging belly, countless possibilities run through my mind. The first and logical one is that she's pregnant, but I don't know how far along she is or who the father is. I do the math, and I have hope that it's mine. I listen to her recount the story, and as much as I want to, I can't help but smile. She's saying she's pregnant with my child. I'm going to be a father alongside the love of my life!
Even though she didn't plan on telling me about this baby because she didn't want to ruin my supposedly impending family with Peyton, it makes me wonder. What would have happened if I married Peyton? Would I have never found out about this baby? It's a question that lingers in my mind. She finishes talking, and I don't know what to say or how to react.
The love I feel for her is so immense that I could forget everything just to be by her side. But based on her actions, I'm certain it's not something she wants, just like me.
On the other hand, it hurts to know that she was willing to keep our child a secret. I would have lived in deception, and who knows if that would have ever changed.
I can see the nervousness in her eyes. I want to hug her and tell her everything is alright, but when she sees that I'm not saying anything, she says:
"I understand that you're upset about the decision I made not to tell you anything, but I want you to know that my plan is not to go back to how things were before, simply because the trust is no longer there, at least not from my side, and I don't believe it's there from your side either, now that you know I kept the pregnancy a secret for the first two months. I want us to have a healthy relationship for the sake of our unborn baby, but as friends," she says, getting up. "When you figure out what to say, call me. I'll be staying with Sarah."