After Hours

Chapter 6

Nathan knelt before her, the ring gleaming in his hand.

His eyes — so full of hope, so full of love — locked onto hers.

“Ella,” he whispered. “Marry me.”

For a long moment, time froze.

The restaurant around them disappeared.

It was just the two of them — two hearts, two futures hanging in the balance.

Ella’s breath caught painfully in her throat.

She had dreamed of this moment once.

Dreamed of Nathan’s hand in hers, of promises made under a thousand stars.

But now that it was real, terror wrapped around her chest like iron chains.

"I..." she started, her voice shaking. She looked down at him — the man who had given her everything, who had seen through every wall she tried to build.

Nathan's smile faltered slightly as he waited.

He could see it — the storm behind her eyes.

The fear.

The uncertainty.

Ella squeezed her eyes shut, fighting for air.

Every part of her screamed to say yes.

To fall into his arms and let him save her.

But she couldn’t.

Not when she was broken inside.

Not when she believed he deserved so much more.

Tears welled in her eyes as she whispered, barely audible, "Nathan... I can't."

Silence.

The word hung between them like a blade.

Nathan blinked once, confusion clouding his features.

“What do you mean?” he asked softly, still kneeling, the ring shaking slightly in his hand.

“I love you, Ella. Whatever’s scaring you, we can face it together.”

Ella took a trembling step back, her heart ripping open.

"I'm sorry," she choked out, the sob bursting free from her chest.

"I can't do this. I can't be what you need. You deserve someone whole, someone... better."

Nathan rose slowly, reaching for her, but she flinched away as if his touch would shatter her completely.

"Ella, please," he pleaded, voice raw.

"Don’t do this. Don’t walk away from us."

Her hands covered her face, shielding herself from the unbearable sight of him — the man she loved more than her own soul — breaking right in front of her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered again, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry."

And then, without another word, Ella turned and ran.

She pushed past the stunned diners, past the maitre d' calling after her, past everything she had ever wanted — leaving Nathan standing alone in the middle of the restaurant, a ring in his hand and a shattered future crumbling around him.

Nathan’s voice echoed behind her, desperate and broken.

“Ella! Please!”

But she didn’t look back.

She couldn’t.

Her legs carried her through the night, faster and faster, even as her heart begged her to stop, to turn around, to choose love over fear.

The world blurred into a mess of tears and streetlights and regret.

Ella didn’t know where she was going.

All she knew was that she had to get away before she changed her mind.

Before the love she felt for Nathan drowned her completely

“Ella!”

He took off running, the scarf clutched in one hand. The grass crunched beneath his boots, every pleading shout torn from his throat. He saw her silhouette in the distance – tall, fleeing like a frightened deer – and pushed himself harder, stumbling over a root on the path. His heart lurched as he lost sight of her through the black tangle of trees ahead.

In the silence that swallowed the night, her name echoed again, only in Nathan’s own mind. All that remained was the weight of the scarf in his hand and the empty hush of the darkness. He slowed to a stop, panic bleeding into despair with each ragged breath.

“Ella…”

He wrapped the scarf tighter around his fist. In that instant, he felt as if the ground beneath him gave way. Nathan couldn’t move. He could feel her warmth fading, her scent slipping away on the breeze. Pain bloomed in his chest like a cruel, silent wave.

He crumpled against the cold curb, one shoulder hunching as tears blurred his vision. The ring he’d dropped lay forgotten at his feet. Nathan pressed the soft fabric of her scarf to his cheek, inhaling deeply – as if by holding it he could somehow hold onto her. His heart cracked like ice, shards of hope scattered around him on the pavement. The streetlamp’s light blurred against his tears as he gave in to the ache. In the still of the night, Nathan stayed there, shattered, the scarf clutched tight against his heart

---

Ella didn’t know where she was running anymore.

Her legs burned, her lungs screamed, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t. If she stopped, the weight of what she had done would crush her completely.

Tears blurred her vision as the night air bit into her skin, slicing across her cheeks like tiny blades. She stumbled once, scraping her hands on the rough sidewalk, but she barely felt it. All she could hear was Nathan’s voice calling her name — desperate, broken — echoing behind her like a haunting melody she couldn’t escape.

She pressed a trembling hand to her mouth to muffle the sobs that clawed at her throat.

She hadn’t meant to hurt him. God, she hadn’t.

But the moment he dropped to one knee, with that stunning ring glinting in the light, the walls she thought she had torn down slammed back into place. Fear, sharp and blinding, had taken over.

Fear of not being enough.

Fear of ruining his life.

Fear of being loved so much it hurt.

Ella stumbled into a dark alley, collapsing against the cold, rough wall. Her whole body shook violently, her breaths ragged and shallow. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the pain to stop, willing herself to disappear into the shadows. But there was no escaping it — no running from the devastation she had left behind.

“Nathan...” she sobbed softly into her hands. The sound of his name on her lips only made the ache worse.

For a long time, she stayed there, curled against the wall, the cool night air pressing against her fevered skin. She felt hollow. Empty. As if her heart had shattered into so many pieces, she would never find them all again.

But then—

A sharp cramp twisted low in her abdomen.

Ella gasped, her hand instinctively flying to her stomach. She doubled over slightly, blinking through the fog of tears. Another wave of dizziness followed, heavier this time, leaving her swaying on her feet.

Her mind raced, frantic.

And suddenly, she realized—

She was late.

Painfully, unmistakably late.

“No…” she whispered, her voice cracking under the terror that clawed at her chest.

Shoving herself upright, Ella staggered down the street until she found a pharmacy, its harsh fluorescent lights bleeding into the darkness. She ducked inside, her heart thundering in her ears.

She grabbed a pregnancy test with trembling fingers, avoiding the cashier’s curious gaze. She paid quickly, her hands clammy with sweat, her head spinning.

The world narrowed to a single point of fear as she locked herself in the tiny, dimly lit bathroom.

Her fingers fumbled the box open, tearing at the packaging like it might save her from drowning.

When the test was finally done, she clutched it in shaking hands and sank down onto the cold tile floor, drawing her knees to her chest.

Minutes crawled by.

Each second stretched endlessly, a lifetime of terror in every heartbeat.

Finally, with a soft beep, the tiny screen lit up.

Ella stared down at it.

Her vision blurred.

Her heart stopped.

Pregnant.

The word burned into her mind like a brand.

Unstoppable sobs broke free from her throat as she curled tighter around herself, the world crumbling around her.

“I can’t do this,” she cried, the words ripped from her soul. “I can’t—”

But even as she said it, her hand slid down to her stomach, cradling the tiny life growing inside her.

A piece of Nathan.

A piece of the man she loved so deeply she had destroyed everything just to protect him from herself.

She thought of his eyes — how they had looked when he first told her he loved her. How they had lit up when he spoke of their future, their dreams, their life together.

She thought of the way his hand had brushed her cheek with such reverence, as if she were something precious.

And she had thrown it all away.

Tears soaked her cheeks as she rocked slowly on the cold floor, feeling more lost and broken than ever before.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, pressing her palm to her stomach again. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

For a long time, she just sat there, letting the grief and fear and guilt wash over her in endless waves.

Finally, with a shaky breath, Ella wiped her tears on her sleeve.

She forced herself to her feet, her legs trembling beneath her.

She didn’t know how she would survive this.

She didn’t know how she would raise a child alone.

But she knew one thing with absolute certainty:

She loved this baby already, fiercely, completely, with a love that terrified her as much as it healed her.

She would protect this child.

No matter what it cost her.

Even if it meant living the rest of her life with Nathan’s memory haunting her every step.

Ella stepped out into the night once more, the pregnancy test clutched tightly in her pocket.

The city lights blurred around her, a haze of neon and loneliness.

The wind carried Nathan’s name to her again, but she didn’t turn back.

She couldn’t.

Not yet.

Someday, maybe...

Someday, she would find the strength to face him.

To tell him the truth.

To give him back the piece of himself she now carried inside her.

But tonight, all she could do was run — and hope that somehow, against all odds, love would find a way to heal them both