Chapter 4

I couldn’t sleep. The apartment was silent, save for the faint hum of the refrigerator and the occasional car passing by on the street below. My hands rested on my swollen belly, a constant reminder that life was changing—whether I wanted it to or not. I had told myself I was strong enough to handle this alone, yet the empty space beside me screamed louder than any words could.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Expecting a reminder from work or another message from a concerned friend, I flinched when I saw the name that made my heart drop.

Leo.

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Not after what he’d done. Not after the betrayal, the humiliation, and the crushing weight of his rejection when I needed him most. And yet… curiosity gnawed at me. He had the audacity to reach out now, after months of silence.

The message was simple:

“We need to talk. It’s urgent.”

Urgent. My mind screamed in every direction. What could be so urgent that he would dare contact me now? Did he know about the baby? Or had he finally realized what he’d lost?

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. Instead, I tried to focus on something mundane—folding laundry, straightening the apartment, anything to keep my mind from spinning. But the anxiety lingered, gnawing at my chest, a familiar tightening I hadn’t felt in months.

The doorbell rang.

My heart stopped. I froze, clutching the edge of the kitchen counter, listening. The bell rang again—insistent, echoing through the small apartment. I wasn’t expecting anyone, especially not him. I tiptoed to the peephole and my breath caught.

There he was. Leo, standing tall in the dim glow of the hallway lights. His coat hung perfectly on his broad shoulders, and his hair was slightly tousled, like he had just stepped out of the office after a long day. His eyes—those sharp, piercing eyes I knew so well—found mine through the peephole.

He raised his hand, hesitant, almost… unsure.

I backed away, shaking. My instincts screamed at me to slam the door and hide, but part of me—the part that hadn’t fully hardened yet—wanted to hear him. Needed to hear him.

I opened the door just a crack.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I said, my voice trembling but firm. “You have no right.”

He looked down, swallowing hard. “I know… I know I don’t. But I need you to listen. Please.”

I didn’t move. The tension between us was thick enough to choke on, heavier than the humid air of the city streets outside. He stepped closer, cautiously, his hands raised in surrender.

“I—I’ve made mistakes. I… I was wrong. About everything.”

The words hit me like icy water. Wrong. The understatement made my stomach twist tighter than it already was. “You think you can fix this with a few words?” I spat. “Do you even realize what you’ve done? The months I spent alone, the nights I cried myself to sleep while you—” I stopped myself. The words were venomous, but they didn’t capture the depth of my hurt.

Leo’s expression softened. There was guilt there, raw and unpolished. “I know I hurt you. More than I can ever explain. But I need you to know… I never stopped caring. Not for you. Not for… the baby.”

I froze. The baby. My fingers instinctively went to my stomach. He saw the reaction, the flicker of fear and hope that I tried to hide.

“I… I don’t know what you mean,” I said, though my voice wavered.

He sighed, a sound heavy with regret. “I know about the pregnancy. I found out a few weeks ago. I—I should have been there. I should have—” His voice cracked, and for a moment, he looked smaller than the powerful, commanding Alpha I’d known. Human. Vulnerable. Broken.

I wanted to scream, to hit him, to demand answers, but my body refused to move. My heart, betraying me, thudded against my ribcage like a drum, erratic and alive.

“You… you waited this long to tell me?” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “After everything?”

“I was scared,” he admitted, his voice low, almost ashamed. “Scared that you’d hate me forever. Scared that I’d lose you for good. But I can’t… I can’t stay away anymore. Not when it’s too late to undo the past.”

The city outside seemed to fade. All I could hear was his voice, the desperation threaded through it. The man who had once rejected me, left me alone when I needed him the most, was standing here—vulnerable, confessing, asking for forgiveness.

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to reach out, to wrap my arms around him and pretend that nothing had happened. But reality wouldn’t let me. Not yet.

“You hurt me, Leo. You left me when I trusted you the most. Do you have any idea how that feels?” I demanded, tears welling up in my eyes. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to face this alone?”

He flinched, as if each word struck him physically. “I know. I can’t erase the pain I caused. But I want to try… I’ll spend the rest of my life trying if I have to. Please… give me a chance to make it right.”

I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “A chance? You think words can fix this? Do you even know what kind of hell I went through while you were—” I stopped. I couldn’t bring myself to finish. Not yet.

Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating. Leo looked at me, unwavering, his eyes pleading. It was the same intensity I had fallen for years ago, the same raw magnetism that had pulled me in despite everything.

Then, without warning, he reached into his coat and pulled out a small box. My stomach lurched.

“I know this doesn’t fix the past,” he said softly, “but I want to start… somewhere.”

I stared at the box, frozen. Inside was a delicate silver bracelet, engraved with our initials. My chest tightened as memories flooded back—our first date, our whispered promises, the nights we had shared when the world seemed to shrink to just us.

Tears slipped down my cheeks, unbidden. My hands shook. I wanted to throw the bracelet back at him, to tell him it meant nothing, but I couldn’t. The emotions, buried for months, surged up in a tidal wave.

“I… I can’t,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I’m not… ready.”

He nodded, accepting the refusal but not letting go. “I know. I’ll wait. I’ll wait as long as it takes. But I need you to know one thing—no matter what, I’m not going anywhere. Not now, not ever. You and our baby… you’re my world.”

The words hit harder than any punch, more painfully sweet than any kiss. My body trembled, my emotions raw and exposed. For months, I had steeled myself, built walls around my heart and mind, and yet, here he was, breaking through them with nothing but his words.

“I… I need time,” I whispered again, stepping back. “I can’t… I can’t forgive that easily. Not yet.”

He nodded again, this time with a faint, almost hopeful smile. “Take all the time you need. I’ll be here.”

I closed the door slowly, the bracelet still in my hand. My breaths came in ragged gasps as I leaned against the door, my mind a chaotic storm of fear, hope, and unresolved anger. I couldn’t deny that part of me wanted to run into his arms, to forgive and forget, to let him back in. But I also knew that trusting him again would be the hardest thing I’d ever do.

As I sat on the edge of the couch, my hand resting on my belly, I realized that nothing would ever be the same again. Leo had returned, uninvited yet impossible to ignore, and the future I had planned—one of solitude and cautious independence—was suddenly uncertain.

And just like that, the quiet apartment, the soft hum of the city, and the stillness of the night became charged with the tension of what was to come.

I had no idea how I was going to survive the next confrontation with the man who had shattered my heart—and yet, somehow, I knew it was only the beginning.