Chapter 83

POV ISABELA

As soon as I stepped out of Noah’s apartment, I felt the cold air of the hallway hit my face as if I had been holding my breath for far too long.

As if, only in that moment, my lungs finally remembered how to breathe.

But it didn’t help.

My chest was still tight.

Heavy.

Aching in a strange way… like something inside me was slowly breaking apart.

I tried to convince myself that everything was fine.

That I was overreacting.

That it wasn’t what it looked like.

But it wasn’t.

Nothing about that felt normal.

Nothing.

Luana.

Alone.

In his apartment.

Pregnant.

Holding a test.

And Noah…

Strange.

Nervous.

Distant.

As if he were hiding something.

My heart ached sharply.

The kind of pain that isn’t physical… but still hurts more than anything else.

I walked toward the elevator with slow, dragging steps, trying to organize my thoughts that felt like an impossible knot to untangle.

Maybe I was being unfair.

Maybe it was a coincidence.

Maybe I was making things up in my head.

But deep down…

Something inside me was screaming.

Loud.

Desperate.

That's no.

That it wasn’t a coincidence.

That something was wrong.

Very wrong.

The elevator arrived with a soft “ding.”

I stepped inside.

The doors closed with a dry sound, echoing in the heavy silence that seemed to follow me.

I leaned my head against the metal wall and closed my eyes for a moment.

My breathing was uneven.

Short.

Faulty.

I didn’t feel well.

There was a knot in my stomach.

Tight.

Unsettling.

A restlessness that wouldn’t go away.

A bad feeling.

The kind you try to ignore… but that refuses to leave.

When the elevator reached the garage, I stepped out almost automatically, as if my body was in control and my mind was far away.

I walked to my car.

Opened the door.

Got in.

I tossed my bag onto the passenger seat.

And then…

I looked for my phone.

Nothing.

I frowned.

Searched my bag again, faster.

More forcefully.

Nothing.

My heart started racing.

I searched again.

More desperately.

Nothing.

Then the memory hit me like a shock.

The couch.

I had left my phone on the couch.

“Damn…” I murmured, running a hand over my face.

I closed my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath.

I had no choice.

I got out of the car.

Closed the door a little harder than necessary and walked back to the elevator.

The elevator went up slowly.

Too slow.

My heart beat faster with each floor.

For no clear reason.

But it did.

Hard.

Restless.

When the doors opened, the hallway seemed quieter than before.

Colder.

More… strange.

I walked toward Noah’s apartment, and then I noticed.

The door was slightly open.

I had left it that way.

I took a step closer.

And that’s when I heard it.

Voices.

I froze.

My entire body went still.

As if I had been frozen in place.

“How did this happen, Luana?”

Noah’s voice.

Tense.

Filled with concern.

My heart pounded.

“How did we let this happen?”

Silence.

Heavy.

And then…

“Seriously, Noah?” her voice came, laced with irony. “Do you really want me to explain how we made our baby?”

My world stopped.

Our baby.

The words echoed inside my head.

Repeated.

Loud.

Deafening.

Our baby.

No.

No.

No.

My chest tightened so much it hurt.

For real.

Like something was crushing my heart.

My breathing faltered.

It became uneven.

Out of sync.

I heard a few more words… but they sounded distant.

Muffled.

As if I were underwater.

As if everything around me had lost its sound.

But those two words…

They were still there.

Reverberating.

Our baby.

Without thinking.

Without being able to reason.

I pushed the door.

It opened easily.

I walked in.

“Ours?”

My voice came out lower than I expected.

Almost a whisper.

But it was enough.

They both looked at me immediately.

Noah froze.

Literally.

Luana too.

Silence fell heavily over the room.

Dense.

Almost suffocating.

My phone was still on the couch.

But I didn’t even look at it.

My eyes were fixed on Noah.

“Isa…” he murmured, standing up too quickly. “That’s not what you’re thinking… I can explain.”

My chest tightened even more.

“Explain what?”

My voice came out steady.

But inside…

I was breaking.

“I just heard it very clearly…” I continued, swallowing hard. “She said ‘Our baby.’”

The silence deepened.

“Is it possible…” my throat tightened, “that the child she’s expecting… is yours?”

Noah ran a hand over his face, visibly nervous.

“Isa… for God’s sake… just let me explain.”

That hurt.

More than it should have.

“Didn’t you say there was nothing between you?” My voice rose, filled with pain. “That it was just professional?”

He opened his mouth to respond.

But I didn’t stop.

The words came out fast.

Uncontrolled.

“I told you, Noah!” My voice trembled. “I told you she looked at you differently!”

I felt my eyes burn.

“Because women know… women feel it… I felt it!”

“Isa…”

“And you said I was overreacting!”

“I can explain…”

“Two months, Noah!” my voice broke. “Two months you’ve been distant… cold… strange…”

My heart hurt so much it felt impossible to keep talking.

“And now she shows up pregnant in your apartment?”

Silence.

Heavy.

Suffocating.

“When?” I asked.

Neither of them answered.

“I’m asking… when?”

Noah closed his eyes for a second.

As if gathering courage.

And then he said it.

Low.

“Two months ago…”

My heart dropped.

It was exactly that day.

The day he changed.

The day he started pulling away.

A sharp pain tore through my chest.

“That’s why…” I murmured, feeling my voice fail, “That’s why you changed with me…”

My vision blurred.

“Me asking what was going on… and you wouldn’t say anything…”

I took a deep breath, trying not to fall apart right there.

“You lied to me, Noah.”

He shook his head.

“No, Isa…”

“You deceived me.”

Luana tried to speak too.

“Isabela, I…”

“Luana, please,” Noah interrupted, nervous, “don’t make this worse.”

She crossed her arms, irritated.

“I’m just trying to—”

“Leave, Luana,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Please… let me talk to Isabela.”

She widened her eyes.

“You’re kicking me out?”

The tension grew even heavier.

Sharper.

“You’re kicking out the mother of your child to talk to another woman?”

That hit hard.

My chest tightened.

Strong.

Noah looked lost.

Directionless.

Not knowing what to do.

And in that moment…

I understood.

Or at least I thought I did.

“That’s right, Noah.”

My voice came out low.

But firm.

Decisive.

“You have to be with the mother of your child.”

I swallowed hard, feeling the bitter taste rise in my throat.

“I’m leaving.”

My chest was so tight I could barely breathe.

“Because it’s clear that here… there’s no place for me anymore.”

I turned around.

Each step toward the door felt like something inside me was being torn apart.

But before I could leave, I felt his hand grab my arm.

Warm.

Shaking.

“Isabela… for God’s sake… You need to listen to me.”

I stopped.

But I didn’t turn around.

I didn’t have the courage.

“I can explain.”

A weak laugh slipped out of me.

Humorless.

Lifeless.

“Explain what?”

I slowly turned.

Met his eyes.

“Do you sleep with your assistant?”

My throat burned.

“That you lied to me?”

My chest ached.

“That you deceived me?”

My voice faltered.

“That everything you told me… was a lie?”

Luana tried to speak again.

“Isabela, it wasn’t like that—”

“Luana, for God’s sake!” Noah snapped. “Leave!”

She looked at him, irritated.

Hurt.

“Let me handle this with Isabela.”

“You’re not going to defend me?” she shot back.

“Stay out of it… please.”

Silence returned.

Heavy.

Luana grabbed her bag with abrupt movements.

“Fine.”

She walked past me.

But before leaving, she shot me a hard look.

Almost defiant.

And then she left.

The door slammed.

The sound echoed.

And then…

Silence.

Dense.

Suffocating.

Noah was still holding my arm.

His hand was trembling.

“Isa… please…”

His voice came out broken.

Desperate.

“Listen to me… I need to tell you everything.”

My heart was pounding.

Confused.

In pain.

And I didn’t know…

If I still had the strength to listen.