Chapter 3

My words hit Savannah right where it hurt.

Her fragile ego shattered, and she exploded in pure, unadulterated rage.

"You're the one with no shame! Your whole damn family has no shame!"

"If you hadn't snitched back then, Justin and I wouldn't have been separated for so many years! We would have been together a long time ago. He wouldn't have suffered day and night from heartbreak, and he wouldn't have gotten cancer!"

"All of this is your sin!"

I actually laughed out loud. It was so absurd I couldn't help it.

If that was what she wanted to believe, then fine.

From now on, our paths would diverge completely. We would be total strangers.

Whether her life turned out wonderful or completely miserable had absolutely nothing to do with me anymore.

Just as my foot crossed the threshold, a sudden, violent retching sound came from behind me.

Justin rushed over to hand Savannah a glass of water, gently rubbing her back with exaggerated tenderness. "I told you not to get so worked up. Why are you stressing over someone so completely irrelevant? You're going to upset the baby!"

The baby?

My foot pulled back from the doorway. My mind instantly went blank.

I was going to be a father?

Right at the exact moment our relationship was shattering into pieces?

I stood frozen in place for what felt like an eternity, completely lost on how to process this.

Savannah and I had been together for fifteen years. After we got engaged last year, we hadn't used any protection. A pregnancy felt like the natural next step.

Except, with our relationship falling apart right this second, the timing of this baby felt shockingly coincidental—or maybe, tragically ill-timed.

And yet, if Justin hadn't just blurted it out, I would have been kept completely in the dark. Why hadn't Savannah told me she was pregnant?

Savannah kept gagging dryly, and with every wretched sound, my heart tightened another notch.

Swallowing my pride, I took a cautious step toward her and asked softly, "You... you're pregnant? Since when? Why didn't you tell me?"

She had betrayed me, yes, but the child was completely innocent. I couldn't just walk away from my own flesh and blood.

Seeing how much I suddenly cared about the baby, Savannah's arrogant demeanor instantly returned.

She deliberately turned her head away, refusing to meet my eyes.

Whenever we used to fight, she would pull this exact same routine, waiting for me to lower my head and beg for her forgiveness.

I forced myself to stay patient and asked again, but it was Justin who spoke up instead.

"Savannah, you've been pregnant for over a month now. Wait... you didn't tell Tyler?"

Savannah leaned back on the sofa, letting out a venomous scoff. "The baby isn't his. Why the hell would I tell him?"

Those words hit me like a physical strike. My entire body went completely numb, frozen to the spot.

Refusing to believe what I just heard, I asked in a trembling voice, "Savannah... what did you just say? Whose baby is it?"

Savannah sneered, her voice dripping with cruel satisfaction. "The baby belongs to Justin and me. Happy now, Tyler?"

My pride was shattered into dust. An overwhelming wave of humiliation washed over me. Before I even realized what I was doing, my hand flew out and struck Savannah across the face with a resounding crack.

The slap was so hard that half of her face instantly swelled red.

Clutching her cheek, she stared at me in absolute, utter disbelief.

"You hit me?! Tyler, have you lost your goddamn mind?!"

"I'm your fiancée, and I'm pregnant! You actually laid a hand on a pregnant woman? Are you even a man?!"

I had lost my mind. She had driven me completely insane.

Any man put in that exact situation would have found it impossible to hold back.

All of my remaining patience evaporated in an instant.

I grabbed all of their belongings and hurled them out the front door. "Pack up your shit and get the hell out of my house right now!"

Justin immediately put on his frail, dying act, crying softly as he turned to Savannah. "Savannah, don't lower yourself for me. It's all my fault. I'm the reason you got hit..."

Savannah shook her head frantically, turning around to comfort him instead. "Justin, don't cry, it's bad for your health! Don't worry. No matter what happens, I'm having this baby."

"This is our child. I will never, ever give him up."

"But..." Justin hesitated for a long moment, looking down miserably.

"I only have a few months left to live. But our child... he can't grow up without a father!"

Savannah's head dropped in sorrow.

A moment later, as if a lightbulb had suddenly gone off in her head, her eyes lit up, and she turned to look at me.

"Tyler, I can give you one more chance. We don't have to break up."

"I can still be your wife. Once Justin passes away, we'll go register our marriage. But you have to agree to one condition!"