Chapter 48

“Seyra, what are you doing here?” Calvin asked, his face making that expression it did when he came across me again after our one-night stand.

“You must be Lily Marino.” She pulled a chair and sat down, not caring whether she was invited or not. Something told me I wouldn’t enjoy this conversation…

“I am…” I confirmed, pressed my lips together as I looked at her.

“I see you are quite far along,” she said, her eyes looking down at my bump. I moved my hands over it immediately, almost as if I were protecting it from her. “Did he tell you to remove it as well?” Seyra then asked, glaring at Calvin. I frowned and looked over at Calvin, unsure what she was talking about. I then realized we only ever discussed my ex, never any of his. “Or was that just how you treated me?” The words leaving her mouth sounded like it had hurt her quite deeply. I noticed Calvin went quiet. It wasn’t easy to do that. He’d always give his side of the story unless there was no difference. Was he really that cruel to her?

“I-I don’t understand, Calvin. What is she talking about?” I looked over at Calvin who now avoided even looking at me.

“Oh, so, you didn’t tell her about us at all?” Seyra asked, raising her brow at the man then looked over at me.

“Seyra, stop this and just leave,” Calvin warned, his tone and expression quite serious. “You’ve done enough damage to my life already,” he said. I then realized just how out of the loop I was. He asked so much about Felix, but never once had he mentioned his ex-fiancée. Of course, I knew she existed because I once googled him, but I never read all the details about them.

“I was pregnant once too. His baby. And we were still engaged then,” Seyra sighed as she told me. Her gaze fixed on me. “Tell her what you told me.” She then turned to Calvin who was clearly pissed off.

“I didn’t tell you anything you didn’t deserve, Seyra.” He crossed his arms and glared at me now. What did I even do?

“Did he force you to do a DNA test too?” she asked, but when I didn’t answer, she just laughed.

“I-I,” I stuttered, unsure what to say now. Did this really all happen before?

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she said. “I’ll do you one better.” Seyra ran her fingers through her short hair. “He told me he wouldn’t raise my child and that he didn’t want me anymore, even went as far as saying I should get rid of the baby.” Her eyes began to well up.

“I never—” Calvin wanted to say but got interrupted.

“You made me get rid of my baby, then you dumped me straight after, you pig!” She let her tears fall down. “Be careful starting a family with that one.” She hastily got up, gathering her bag. “I just came by to warn you, so you don’t have any regrets. Because of him, I now can’t have kids anymore. Have a good evening,” she said sweetly, as if she didn’t just complicate things and walked away.

“Have a good evening…” I muttered and turned back to Calvin, clicking my tongue.

“Lily,” Calvin was saying.

“Is it true what she said?” I asked plainly, clenching my teeth.

“No, of course not,” he was quick to say, but when I kept staring at him, his answer changed to, “Okay, it’s partly true.”

“Wow, just wow.” I shook my head and suddenly felt sick. I knew my gut told me not to trust this man! “Can we go home?” I asked.

“Lily.” He sighed and reached for my hands.

“I want to go home, Calvin.” I pulled away.

“Fine.” He rolled his eyes and got up, handing me the keys. “Here, go start the car. I’ll be right there then.”

I took the keys and did as I was asked. I waited a good ten minutes before he finally came, and all I could think about was what he’d do if he didn’t need me to save Janelle from the publicity. Would he make me do the same thing? Was he only this close to me for a reason? And if so, what was that reason!?

“Will you even give me a chance to explain myself?” he asked once we started driving home.

“Not right now,” I muttered.

Calvin dropped me home, then left, only saying, “Come find me when you finally come around.” I, of course, didn’t say anything to him and instead just locked the doors. I couldn’t help but feel upset right now. He never told me about Seyra. Clearly, he didn’t even want me to know.

***

Since Calvin left that night he hadn't called me once or texted me, nothing. Janelle and his parents were the only people who called to check up on me, but by the way we spoke, it was clear they had no idea nothing was happening. Janelle did ask me about Calvin, but I was quick to change the subject. I was now on maternity leave and kept pacing around the living room. I tried pretending that it didn’t bother me, but deep down, it did bother me, and it kept me from truly enjoying my time off work.

I took my vitamins, made myself some tea, and took some biscuits with me to the couch and sat down. Just as I turned on the TV, I heard a knock on the door, and the person kept calling my name, so clearly, he was at the right address. I opened the door with the chair lock and peeped through the small opening.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“I’m Odell, Seyra’s ex, and from what I’ve heard, she stirred up some trouble?” he answered. By the looks of him, he was quite a charming man, but I didn’t believe any of this. Did Calvin send him?

“Why are you here? Who sent you?” I began to ask suspiciously.

“I came by myself. She had been gloating about what she did, and word got around, so I figured I’d save you from her destructive behavior,” he explained.

“I don’t get it.” I frowned. Did he come all this way to talk negatively about her?

“What did she tell you about her child?” he then asked.

“What about it?” I then asked, wanting to see if he was just reaching or if he did actually know something.

“For starters, like I said, I’m an ex of hers. She was cheating on Calvin with me, and I knew it. I didn’t mind because I loved her and thought someday she’d see that and feel the same way. Well, she got pregnant with me. Tried pinning it on Calvin, but he knew damn straight it wasn’t his child and told her she either does a DNA test or leaves his life. She refused to do the DNA test and threatened to get rid of the baby. He didn’t care, but I did. I thought confessing my love for her would make her realize how she was after the wrong person, but it didn’t work. Calvin left her. I offered to give her and the baby the world, but instead, she got rid of the baby and went with my uncle,” Odell spoke, each sentence adding twists and turns which made me sick. Was she really that awful?

“I… wow.” I was speechless, unsure what to tell this man.

“I summed it up for you, but I just need you to know she’s a terrible person who ruins everyone’s lives. You seem kind, and Calvin deserves happiness, which I’m sure she came to disrupt,” Odell replied. I could see the guilt in his eyes, like he’s trying to make up for the bad he had done.

“Thank you for telling me all this…” I muttered, now having to figure out how true all of this was.

“If you don’t believe me, search for Tristan Pennyworth, my uncle. The story of him leaving his wife for a young woman was a hot topic that year,” Odell said lastly before leaving me.

I frowned and went back to the couch. The TV show I once found interesting suddenly didn't interest me anymore. I kept thinking about Calvin, how I screwed up. I should’ve given him the chance to talk and explain himself, but instead, I hadn’t. I needed to reach out to him.