Chapter 2

But fate, cruel as ever, wasn’t finished with me. As I turned to leave, I saw him.

Mike. Standing there, holding Elena by the shoulders, his face twisted in anger. He spotted me before I could slip away, and in an instant, his expression darkened.

"Are you following me?" he barked, his voice filled with accusation, as though I were the one intruding on his life, as if I were the problem here.

My body still ached from the procedure, my heart even more so.

Instead of answering Mike, I turned my gaze to Elena. She shifted uncomfortably under my stare. But rather than confronting the weight of the moment, she feigned anger, pulling Mike's ear playfully, her voice dripping with insincerity.

"How can you talk like that? Why would Mary follow us? We’re open and honest with each other, and it’s not like Mary doesn’t understand."

All I could manage was a bitter smile, tinged with the sharp taste of irony. "Yes, what does it have to do with me if you and your wife come for a prenatal checkup? Why would I follow you?"

But Mike’s anger flared, and his voice sliced through the tension. "What do you mean? I only regard Elena as my sister!"