Chapter Four: The Scars She Hid
1071 Words
Chapter Four: The Scars She Hid
Five days later.
The twins had finally been discharged from the hospital.
Life was slowly returning to normal. SE
Or at least, as normal as it could be for Jules Jordan.
The tiny apartment she shared with her mother and children still leaked whenever it rained.
Bills still piled up.
The refrigerator was still nearly empty.
And she still woke up every morning wondering how she would survive another day.
But now there was one difference.
Every day, without fail, Liam Lorenzo called to check on Jayda.
At first, Jules thought it was out of politeness.
Then concern.
Now she wasn't sure anymore.
Neither was Liam.
Which was why he found himself standing outside a small café one Saturday afternoon waiting for her.
He had invited her for coffee.
She had refused.
Twice.
Then accepted.
Reluctantly.
As if saying yes was somehow more dangerous than saying no.
When Jules arrived, Liam almost didn't recognize her.
For the first time, she wasn't wearing her office uniform.
She wore a simple blue dress and had her hair down.
No stress-filled expression.
No tears.
No panic.
Just Jules.
And somehow she looked even more beautiful.
His heart betrayed him with a strange flutter.
"Sorry I'm late."
"You aren't."
She sat across from him.
An awkward silence followed.
One neither seemed eager to break.
Finally Liam smiled.
"So."
"So?"
"You've spent the last five days thanking me."
A laugh escaped her.
A genuine laugh.
One he had never heard before.
And God help him—
He wanted to hear it again.
"You make it sound annoying."
"It is."
She rolled her eyes.
He laughed.
And just like that, the tension dissolved.
For the next hour they talked.
About everything.
And nothing.
The twins.
Work.
Food.
Movies.
Life.
For the first time in years, Jules forgot she was struggling.
Forgot she was carrying the weight of the world.
Forgot she was supposed to be careful around men.
Then Liam asked a question.
A simple question.
One that changed the mood entirely.
"What were you studying before you dropped out?"
Jules froze.
The smile disappeared from her face.
Liam immediately regretted asking.
"You don't have to answer."
"No."
She stared into her coffee.
"It's okay."
Her voice became distant.
"I was studying nursing."
Liam blinked.
"Nursing?"
She nodded.
"I wanted to work in pediatrics."
A sad smile touched her lips.
"I wanted to help children."
"What happened?"
Silence.
Long silence.
The kind that carried years of pain.
Then Jules finally spoke.
"My father died."
Liam's expression softened.
"I'm sorry."
She shrugged.
At first glance it looked casual.
But he could see the hurt beneath it.
"He was everything."
Her eyes drifted toward the window.
"He worked himself to death trying to provide for us."
A lump formed in her throat.
"I was nineteen."
Liam listened carefully.
"When he died, everything changed."
Her fingers tightened around her cup.
"There were debts."
"Hospital bills."
"Rent."
"School fees."
"Mum couldn't handle it alone."
"So I started working."
The café suddenly felt quieter.
As though the world itself was listening.
"I thought I'd take a break from school."
She laughed bitterly.
"A few months became years."
Liam saw the sadness in her eyes.
The dreams she never got to finish.
The future that had slipped through her fingers.
"And then?"
Her jaw tightened.
Then came the part she hated most.
"The pregnancy."
The words felt heavy.
Even now.
Years later.
Liam remained silent.
Giving her space.
Giving her respect.
Jules took a shaky breath.
"I was twenty-one."
Her voice lowered.
"There was a party."
The shame returned instantly.
As if no time had passed.
"I wasn't someone who partied."
She laughed softly.
"Actually, I was probably the most boring person there."
Liam smiled.
"I doubt that."
For the first time, she smiled back.
Then the smile vanished.
"I drank too much."
The memory was blurry.
Broken.
Fragments she could never fully piece together.
"I remember dancing."
She swallowed hard.
"Then I remember waking up."
Liam's stomach tightened.
Jules stared at the table.
"I don't know who he was."
The confession hurt even now.
"Everything after that happened so fast."
People talked.
People judged.
People assumed.
Nobody cared how scared she was.
Nobody asked if she was okay.
Nobody offered help.
When she discovered she was pregnant, she felt her entire future crumble.
Then came the shock.
Twins.
Not one.
Two.
And suddenly survival became more important than dreams.
"You never found him?"
Liam asked quietly.
She shook her head.
"No."
"Never."
The answer left a strange ache in his chest.
Not because of the unknown man.
But because of everything she'd faced alone.
All those years.
All that pain.
All that responsibility.
No partner.
No support.
No rescue.
Just Jules against the world.
And somehow she had survived.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Her question pulled him back.
Liam smiled slightly.
"Like what?"
"Like you're feeling sorry for me."
His eyes held hers.
"I don't."
She frowned.
"I admire you."
Jules froze.
The words hit harder than she expected.
Because pity she understood.
Judgment she expected.
But admiration?
Nobody had ever looked at her and seen something worth admiring.
Liam leaned forward.
"You lost your father."
She looked away.
"You lost your education."
Her eyes grew wet.
"You became responsible for everyone."
A tear escaped.
"You raised two children by yourself."
Another tear followed.
"And despite everything..."
His voice softened.
"You kept going."
The tears finally broke free.
For years she had been surviving.
Not living.
Not dreaming.
Just surviving.
And somehow this man saw strength where she only saw failure.
Neither noticed how close they had become.
How the distance between them had disappeared.
Or how Liam was staring at her lips.
Or how Jules had stopped looking away.
The moment stretched.
Dangerously.
Beautifully.
Until Liam's phone rang.
The spell shattered instantly.
Both pulled back.
Both suddenly aware of the tension that had filled the air.
Liam answered the call.
His expression changed immediately.
"Father?"
Jules looked up.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
And as Liam listened to the voice on the other end, he realized the peaceful days he'd spent with Jules were about to become much more complicated.
Because Lorenzo Luca had just arrived in the country.
And he had plans for his son.
Plans that did not include a struggling single mother with twins.
End of Chapter Four.
- Writer
