My Second chance Love

Ava’s POV I stared at Lily's phone, my stomach twisting as I read the i********: post that Sophia Lane had posted. It was a picture of a sparkling engagement ring with the caption: “After years of waiting, he finally proposed! I'm getting married! Can’t wait for forever with you, baby!” Her baby was my husband. "What are you going to do?" Lily asked but I just forced myself to breathe steadily and I clicked the heart icon, leaving a like, and typed out a comment. “Congratulations! Wishing you both a lifetime of happiness." And as soon as I hit send, my phone rang. It was Daniel. "Ava, listen," he said the moment I picked up. "You saw the post, right? It’s not what you think. She’s just being dramatic. I told her not to post anything." I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Not what I think? She’s wearing an engagement ring, Daniel." "Ava, I swear—" I hung up. It was time to leave just I should have done a long time ago. ~~~~ I stood in front of the mirror, running my hand over my flat stomach. I was seven weeks pregnant. I had planned to surprise him on our anniversary, but now, what was the point? He had already moved on. Daniel had always said he didn’t want kids, that they were too much responsibility. I should’ve listened but I thought I could make him change his mind but look where that got me. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I heard the concern in Lily's voice and my grip tightened around the ultrasound picture,my mind being made up the more. Yes, I’d always dreamed of having a family, but not like this. Not with a man who didn’t love me because what kind of family would I be bringing my kid into? I didn’t need his permission. I made up my mind. I was going to abort the baby because it was the best decision to make given the situation. "Yes I'm sure Lily. Daniel does not deserve this child and neither do I" I choked on my tears and went into the bathroom to cry in peace. The next morning, I went to the clinic. It was quick, too quick. One moment, there was a life inside me, and the next, there wasn’t. The nurses were kind to me and I was waiting to settle my bill when I turned and saw Daniel and beside him was no other person than Sophia. He hadn’t even noticed me yet. He was too busy holding Sophia’s hand, rubbing small circles on her back, whispering something to make her smile. She rested her hand on her stomach and that's when it hit me. She was pregnant with his child. My hand instinctively went to my own stomach and I felt sick. I’d just erased the only part of him I had left, while he was being cozy with another woman. He turned just then, his face shifting from shock to anger. "Ava? What the hell are you doing here?" I lifted my chin, voice steady. "Probably the same thing you are." Sophia stiffened beside him, lowering her gaze. I looked at her, then back at him, and smiled. "Congratulations. Again." Then, I walked away and inside the car, I took some pictures of my medical report and posted them to the extended family group chat and captioned it: It's finally over and the moment I hit send, my notifications exploded and my phone started vibrating non-stop. My mother called first. Then Daniel’s parents. Then Daniel himself but I ignored them all and then messages from Daniel started coming in, Daniel: Are you out of your damn mind? Daniel: Call me. Daniel: We need to talk. But again, I didn’t respond. I put the phone aside and drove home allowing the sadness cover me but I couldn't even mourn in peace because by evening, he was pounding on my door and I opened it slowly, staring at the man I once loved. His face was twisted in fury. "You killed our baby?" he seethed. I held his gaze. "Our baby? I thought you didn’t want kids." "That doesn’t mean I wanted this!" He raked a hand through his hair. "Damn it, Ava! How could you do this without telling me?" I leaned against the doorframe. "Like how you proposed to Sophia without telling me?" His jaw clenched. "You don't get to be angry," I continued. "You don’t get to act like you cared." Daniel exhaled sharply, stepping closer. "I was going to tell you." I let out a cold laugh. "Right. Before or after the wedding?" His eyes filled with guilt, and that was all the confirmation I needed. I grabbed my bag and brushed past him. "Where are you going?" he asked. "To file for divorce," I said without looking back. ~~~~~~~~~ It took him three weeks to sign the papers. Three weeks of text messages, voicemails, and unexpected visits but I ignored them all. Then, one day, I received a call from an unknown number. "Hello?" I said "Ava this is Sophia" I stiffened at the information "We need to talk," she said. And for some reason I agreed to see her. We met at a quiet café the next day and she was already there when I arrived, stirring her coffee absentmindedly. "You’re pregnant," I said, sliding into the seat across from her, acting like I didn't already know She flinched, but nodded. "Seventeen weeks." The same number of weeks I would’ve been. She hesitated before speaking again. "I didn’t know about you." I scoffed. "You didn’t know he was married?" "I knew about you. I just didn’t know…" She gestured at my stomach. "That." Silence stretched between us. Finally, she sighed. "He promised he’d leave you." I raised an eyebrow. "And yet, he didn’t." Her face crumbled, and suddenly, I saw that she was just a young girl and I wondered if she even knew what she was doing. Maybe she was just another version of me. A woman waiting for a man who would never choose her or maybe not and I was thinking about it too much She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I don’t think I should be here with you but I just wanted to tell you how sorry I was" she sighed again "I didn't intend to hurt you" She was talking on riddles and I didn't know if I wanted her to explain herself because the damage was already done and I there was nothing that could be done. I took a sip of my coffee, then placed the cup down gently. "If you were truly sorry then you would have left my husband alone" I watched her hands tremble as she tried to hide them. Why was she so anxious? It was giving me a terrible headache and when I noticed her eyes glistening with unshed tears, I finally decided that I wasn't cut out for this so I stood up, grabbed my bag, and patted her shoulder. "Good luck, Sophia."