Chapter 3

It took Jason a moment to react. He opened and closed his mouth, disbelief and confusion warring on his face as he reached out to grab me.

"That's impossible," he said, seemingly trying to convince himself as much as me. "Jane, how could you possibly be married to someone else?"

"Don't you love me?"

His gaze shifted to the child in my arms. He forced a smile, "I lost my memory, so... this child is mine, right?"

"Did you keep that baby from back then without telling me?"

I stepped back. "Jason, stop this madness!"

"This isn't your child!"

The light in Jason's eyes was gradually consumed by darkness.

"Not mine? Then whose child is it?" he snarled, grabbing my arm. "Jane, who the hell did you have a kid with?!"

"With me."

Just as I was starting to panic, the door opened and Mark walked in, taking our daughter from my arms.

The night air clung to his black suit, making it slightly damp, but his powerful presence made him seem anything but disheveled. He regarded Jason with mild interest.

"We have a guest? You should have told me," he said, handing me a package and completely ignoring Jason's increasingly dark expression.

"That cake you like - I almost didn't get there in time to buy it."

Jason looked Mark up and down, his fists clenching.

"Jane, when the hell did you get mixed up with him?"

Before I could answer, Mark laughed. It was a cold, mocking sound devoid of any warmth.

"When?" he echoed. "To be precise, we got together three years ago, had our daughter two years ago, and got married this year. Which 'when' are you asking about, Mr. Stewart?"

In the quiet living room, the two tall men faced off. Rage blazed in Jason's eyes while Mark regarded him with the condescending air of an adult humoring a child, emanating the confidence of a victor.

I sighed, pulling Mark back as I addressed Jason:

"What he said is true."

"Jason, we've been apart for a long time now. We both have our own lives - you're about to marry Olivia, and I'm married with a child."

"You just lost your memory in the accident and can't remember clearly right now. We stopped..." I paused before continuing, "We stopped being part of each other's lives a long time ago."

"Part of each other's lives?" Jason took a step back, his expression suddenly turning bitter.

"Jane, we lived together for over a decade."

"And now you're telling me we're just 'part of each other's lives'?"

I lowered my gaze, speaking softly: "You've grown up. We both need to have our own lives now."

Mark leaned against me, holding our daughter in one arm and taking my hand with the other, silently asserting his claim.

The three of us stood together, physically not far from Jason but separated by an invisible, impassable line.

After a long moment, Jason laughed.

He stared at me, his voice cold. "Fine, Jane."

"You win."

0