Chapter One–Hundred Twenty–Seven

Chapter One–Hundred Twenty–Seven
Valerie's POV

I turned around sharply to face Jake, whose expression was now an angry frown.

"Fuck you, Jake Lloyd!" I yelled, shoving my middle finger to his face. My chest rising and falling heavily.

Without waiting for his reaction, I stormed out of the house and slammed the door behind me.

Jake didn't deserve any explanation of my whereabouts. Let him go ahead and believe whatever it was he wanted to believe.

I settled behind the steering wheel, my heart still pounding hard against my chest. I drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly to center myself before starting the drive to the restaurant where I was meeting Gina.

I carefully parked my vehicle and pulled out my phone from my purse to check the time—six minutes past nine. Not bad. I was only six minutes late.

I stepped out of the car and sauntered into Palms Restaurant. The place was quiet—almost empty—a couple sat at the far end while an older man by himself was having coffee.

Gina waved at me from where she sat, a smile dragging on her lips. I didn't return the smile; instead, my face was set like stone.

Her smile waned slowly as I got closer to the table. I pulled out a chair and settled opposite her.

"I'm so glad you agreed to meet," she said quietly, holding my eyes. "What would you like to have?" Gina was already signalling the waiter to our table.

"Nothing," I said firmly. "I don't plan on staying here long."

Her eyes dropped in disappointment.

But the waiter appeared almost immediately—a young man in his mid-twenties, with neat hair and a practiced smile. "Good day, ladies. What can I get for you?" he asked, his dimples showing as he spoke.

"Just water is fine—for now," Gina gave him a tight grin.

At that, he nodded and left.

"So...how have you—" Gina started to say.

"What do you want from me?" I cut through her mid-sentence before she finished. "Just get straight to the point."

She froze.

A long sigh escaped her lips. "I want to apologize for..." she paused a bit, "everything. I hate that our sisterhood has gone sour."

"And whose fault is that?" I snapped angrily.

The question hung in silence.

The waiter interrupted our moment and placed two glasses of water in front of us and withdrew.

When the waiter had gone a meaningful distance, Gina's voice began, small and steady. "Growing up, you used to be Dad's favorite child. He didn't used to give me as much attention. You were perfect in his eyes."

I blinked hard.

My mouth parted to protest, but the words didn't come out.

True. She wasn't lying about that part.

She continued regardless. "It was when you refused to take over his company that we started bonding, and my marriage with Christian might have cemented our relationship," her voice cracked a bit. "I was supposed to be happy—instead, I became sad because I was losing my sister in the process."

A tear slipped from Gina's eye.

My chest tightened slightly, but the realization of the weight my younger sister had been secretly carrying stirred a different feeling—warmth inside me.

I reached for her hand across the table and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'd have to admit it," she gave a small laugh, wiping her eyes with her free hand. "I was jealous. You walked away, chose your dream career, and were living the perfect life. Yet—whenever I heard Dad talk about you...he still had that pride in his eyes."

I let out a sigh, still trying to take in all of Gina's confession.

Unknown to her, I was fighting a secret battle. Marriage seemed to be the only path to reconciling with Father. So when Damian broke up with me a few weeks before her wedding, I was thrust into emotional chaos. I became desperate to escape judgmental stares and probing questions from family about my singlehood—I dared not attend the wedding alone. Jake's enticing offer came at my lowest point, and I agreed to a contract marriage just to save face.

"Forgive me, Val," her tone filled with remorse, sliced through my thoughts. "I miss being your sister. I'd do anything to make it up to you."

A beat passed.

I pulled Gina into a hug. "I'm sorry I haven't been the best big sister lately," I whispered amidst sniffles.

We locked in an embrace a bit longer until we eventually parted.

The atmosphere became relaxed. Gina and I talked more about our childhood, work, relationships, and everything in between. We ended up ordering food to keep us company.

I really missed having these carefree moments with my sister. Although I spent more time than I'd intended, instead of being angry, I was happy. Happy that I still had a part of my family to hold onto.

Returning home felt like going back to prison. I started making my getaway plan for when my contract with Jake finally ended.

The next day, I woke up early to prepare for my check-up with Dr. Laila. I waited for Jake's car to drive out of the compound before heading downstairs for breakfast.

I rushed through the meal so I wouldn't arrive late for my appointment.

Dr. Laila greeted me with a warm smile the moment I stepped into her office. She asked some questions regarding my pregnancy before ushering me to the examination room.

I shifted slightly on the bed as she pulled on a pair of gloves, offering me a reassuring smile before gesturing toward my stomach.

"Just relax," she said gently.

I nodded, lifting my top just enough to expose my belly. She applied some gel across me, picked up the device, and pressed it lightly against my stomach.

I was asked to look at the screen as she explained carefully. "That's the head there," she said softly, pointing a finger at a spot. "And the spine..."

Her voice echoed in the background as my eyes took in the tiny form.

My baby—moving and alive.

I didn't know when a tear slipped from my eye without permission.

For a fleeting moment, nothing else mattered.

Not Jake.

Not the contract.

Just my boy—Jayden.

After a few more moments, she reached over and turned off the machine, grabbing a small stack of printed images. "These are for you."

I hesitated before collecting them from her.

A smile formed on my lips at the sight of the black and white pictures. My thumb brushed lightly over the image, tracing the faint outline as something warm and aching settled deep in my chest.

Was I really ready to do motherhood alone?