CHAPTER 2: The Man I Should Never Have Met
1222 Words
The cold air didn’t help.
If anything, it made everything worse.
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. My chest felt too tight, like I couldn’t get enough air no matter how hard I tried.
Pregnant.
The word echoed in my head like a curse.
Pregnant… and my husband just confessed he never loved me.
A broken laugh slipped out of my lips.
“Wow,” I whispered to no one. “You really outdid yourself this time, Amara.”
I wrapped my arms around myself, standing alone under the dim glow of a streetlight outside the hotel.
Inside, the party was still alive with music, laughter, and celebration in the air.
Like my life hadn’t just collapsed.
I didn’t know how long I stood there before my legs finally gave in.
I sank onto the curb, heels abandoned somewhere behind me, my dress brushing against the cold pavement.
Think.
I needed to think.
But every thought led back to the same place.
That night.
My fingers tightened into fists.
“No…” I whispered. “Don’t think about it.”
But it came anyway.
Uninvited.
Unstoppable.
THREE MONTHS AGO.
Rain poured like the sky was breaking apart.
I remembered that clearly.
Because that was the night I broke too.
“Please, Daniel… just listen to me—”
“Not now, Amara.”
His voice had been cold and dismissive.
Like I was nothing.
Like I didn’t matter.
“I said not now,” he snapped, already reaching for his car keys. “You’re always making things difficult.”
Always.
That word stayed with me.
Always the problem.
Always the burden.
Always… not enough.
I didn’t even remember leaving the house.
Only the rain.
Cold. Heavy. Endless.
Soaked into my skin, my hair, my bones.
I walked without direction, without purpose.
Just… away.
Away from him.
Away from everything.
And then—
I saw headlights. It was blinding, followed by a sharp honk.
“Watch where you’re going!”
A deep voice.
Sharp. Irritated.
Dangerous.
I froze.
Right in the middle of the road.
The car stopped just inches away from me.
Black, sleek, and expensive.
The kind of car that screamed power.
The driver’s door opened.
And then…
He stepped out.
Everything about him felt… wrong.
Not wrong like bad.
Wrong like—
Too much.
Too intense.
Too dangerous to exist in the same space as me.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, now slightly damp from the rain.
His hair was dark, slightly messy, like he had run his fingers through it too many times.
And his eyes—
God.
His eyes.
Cold.
Sharp.
Like they could see straight through every lie you ever told.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he demanded, his voice cutting through the rain as he approached me.
I couldn’t speak.
Couldn’t move.
I just stared at him.
And something shifted.
Just for a second.
His expression changed.
Not softer.
Never soft.
But… different.
Like he noticed something.
“You’re crying,” he said, quieter now.
I hadn’t even realized.
“I’m fine,” I muttered quickly, stepping back.
Big mistake.
My heel slipped.
The world tilted—
And then—
His hand caught my wrist.
Everything stopped.
The contact was brief.
Just a second.
But it felt like longer.
Too long.
His grip was firm, steady, and warm.
And for some reason… my breath hitched.
“Careful,” he said, his voice lower now.
Closer.
I looked up at him.
Too close.
Way too close.
Rain slid down his face, tracing along his jaw.
He didn’t look away.
Didn’t let go.
“Let me go,” I whispered.
But there was no strength behind it.
His eyes darkened slightly.
Not with anger.
Something else.
Something I didn’t understand.
“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” he said.
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“Trust me,” I murmured. “I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
For a moment, he just watched me.
Silent.
Studying.
“Get in the car.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“You’re soaked. You can barely stand. Get in the car.”
“I don’t even know you.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“Good. Then you have nothing to expect from me.”
That should have been a red flag.
A big one.
But I was tired.
So tired.
Of fighting.
Of hurting.
Of being invisible.
And for some reason…
Standing there, in the rain, in front of a stranger who looked like he could ruin lives without blinking…
I felt seen.
That was my first mistake.
The car was warm.
Too warm.
It wrapped around me like something dangerous pretending to be comfort.
Silence filled the space between us as he drove.
I didn’t ask where we were going.
I didn’t care.
“Why were you in the road?” he asked after a while.
I stared out the window.
“I wasn’t paying attention.”
“That’s obvious.”
I almost smiled.
Almost.
There was more silence.
Then—
“Did someone hurt you?”
The question hit harder than it should have.
“Yes,” I said softly.
He didn’t ask who.
Didn’t ask how.
“Do you want to go back?” he asked.
My answer came immediately.
“No.”
And that was all it took.
The car didn’t turn back.
Instead…
It kept going.
To a place I had never been.
A world I didn’t belong in.
A mistake I would never be able to undo.
PRESENT.
My breath came out shaky as I pushed myself back to my feet.
“I can’t…” I whispered. “I can’t let this be real.”
But it was.
Every part of it.
Because that night didn’t end in a car.
It didn’t end with a conversation.
It ended in a room.
A decision.
A moment of weakness I could never take back.
And now—
Now it was growing inside me.
A car suddenly pulled up in front of me.
It was smooth, silent, and expensive. The same car from months ago
My heart stopped.
The window rolled down slowly.
And a familiar voice said—
“Get in.”
My blood ran cold.
No.
No, no, no…
Out of all the people in this city…
Out of everyone I could have run into tonight…
It had to be him.
The one man I could never face again.
The father of my child.
And the most dangerous mistake of my life.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he said.
My fingers curled tightly at my sides.
My heart pounded so hard it hurt.
“How…?” I whispered.
His eyes locked onto mine.
Dark.
Unreadable.
Terrifying.
“Get in the car, Amara.”
My name.
He knew my name.
“I don’t even know you,” I said, my voice trembling despite my effort to stay calm.
A pause.
A slight tilt of his head.
Then—
“You will.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Because something in his tone told me—
This wasn’t a request.
It was the beginning of something I wouldn’t be able to escape.
And deep down…
I knew.
Getting into that car again…
Would change everything.
And this time…
There would be no going back.
- Writer
