Our Second Forever

Chapter 6

Alina’s POV

The sky was gray the next morning, the kind that threatened rain but never actually poured. I walked Sophie to school under the heavy clouds, my hand wrapped tightly around hers as if letting go might somehow make her disappear.

She skipped beside me, talking about her class project on butterflies and how Mrs. Bell promised they’d get caterpillars soon. I nodded and smiled in all the right places, but my mind was somewhere else entirely.

I hadn’t seen Elijah again. Not since he stormed out of the bakery two days ago.

But I knew I would.

He was back in town now, and this town wasn’t big enough to avoid him forever.

Especially not when the truth was hanging in the air between us like a storm ready to break.

“Mommy,” Sophie said suddenly, pulling my hand. “Are you sad again?”

I paused and knelt in front of her.

“Why do you think I’m sad, baby?”

She tilted her head like she was figuring out a hard puzzle. “Because your face looks like it’s carrying something heavy.”

That took the breath right out of me.

I brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and kissed her forehead. “You’re too smart for five, you know that?”

She giggled. “That’s what Mrs. Bell says, too.”

I stood up and walked her the rest of the way to school. I stood at the gates long after she went inside, wondering if today was the day I’d find the courage to fix everything I broke.

By the time I got to the bakery, Ava was already there prepping dough. She glanced at me, frowning.

“You look like you haven’t slept in two nights.”

“I haven’t,” I admitted, tying on my apron.

“Still thinking about him?”

I didn’t answer right away.

“Alina,” she said gently. “If he’s Sophie’s father… don’t you think he deserves to know?”

I leaned against the counter, my shoulders sagging. “He hates me, Ava. He thinks I abandoned him. Thinks I ruined his life.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No. But I also didn’t stop any of it from happening.”

She wiped her hands on a towel and came to stand beside me. “You were just a kid. You were scared and alone. You did what you thought would protect everyone.”

“But it didn’t protect anyone. Not him. Not me. Not Sophie.”

“Maybe not then,” she said. “But you have the chance now. If he’s back, you can tell him. You can give him a chance to be part of her life. That little girl is everything, Alina. Don’t you think she deserves to know where she came from?”

I looked out the window, past the parked cars and slow-moving morning traffic, and wondered how I’d even begin to explain it to him. How do you tell someone you love that you left them because you were blackmailed?

That you sacrificed everything because you thought it would save someone else?

That you’ve carried the weight of that decision every single day since?

I didn’t even know where to begin.

Later that afternoon, the bell above the bakery door rang, and I braced myself but it wasn’t Elijah.

It was Maya.

Her heels clicked against the tile floor, her designer bag perched perfectly on her shoulder, and her red lipstick flawless as ever.

It had been six years since I saw her last, but she looked exactly the same.

And for a second, I forgot how to breathe.

“Alina,” she said with a smile so cold it chilled my skin. “What a surprise.”

I blinked, stunned. “Maya?”

“I heard you were here,” she said. “Imagine my shock. This quiet little town? You were always more of a city girl.”

I swallowed, trying to keep my voice steady. “What are you doing here?”

She looked around the bakery like she was inspecting it. “Elijah brought me. He’s investing in some development project nearby, and I thought I’d tag along. You know supportive girlfriend and all.”

My stomach dropped.

“You’re dating Elijah?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.

She smiled wider. “We’ve been together for a while now. I was with him overseas, actually. And now that we’re back… well, it’s a bit of a homecoming, isn’t it?”

I nodded, trying not to let the sting show.

“Is that little girl yours?” she asked casually, gesturing toward the photos on the wall—one of Sophie in her kindergarten play.

“Yes.”

“She’s adorable. Looks like you.”

I said nothing.

Maya leaned in slightly, her voice lower. “She also looks a little like Elijah.”

My body went still.

“Maya—”

“You know,” she said, her tone still syrupy sweet, “he mentioned that when he saw her. But I told him there’s no way. You wouldn’t keep something like that from him, would you? That would be… unforgivable.”

I met her gaze.

Her smile never faltered, but I saw the cruelty behind it. She knew. She knew Sophie was his. And she was playing with fire.

“I did what I had to,” I said quietly.

“Well,” she said, stepping back and adjusting her purse, “just thought I’d say hello. Maybe I’ll see you around. After all, we’re practically family now.”

And with that, she turned and walked out like she hadn’t just shattered my already fragile world.

I stood behind the counter, heart racing, fists clenched.

Maya had always been manipulative. But this? This was a game she had no right to play.

Sophie was not a pawn.

And Elijah?He deserved the truth.Even if it broke me.