Chapter 77 Seventy Seven
The hospital room felt smaller than it had any right to be.
The faint hum of machines, and the scent of antiseptic clinging to the air like a warning.
Antonia sat at the edge of the bed, her hands folded protectively over the curve of her stomach as she watched Austin quietly.
He stood near the window, arms crossed, jaw set. He had insisted they talk alone. No Lucy. No Priscilla. No Sofia.
She had agreed because she knew this moment was unavoidable.
The ultimatum had been hanging between them for days now, growing heavier with each passing hour.
Choose me… or tell the truth.
Antonia drew in a slow breath. Her heart was pounding so loudly she was certain he could hear it.
“Austin,” she said quietly.
He turned to face her, his expression guarded, eyes sharp with expectation. “Yes...”
Silence stretched. Thick. Loaded.
“I’ve made my decision,” she continued, her voice steadier than she felt. “About your ultimatum.”
Something flickered in his eyes - hope, relief, anticipation. He took a step closer, lowering his voice. “And?”
Antonia lifted her gaze to his. “I’m choosing the truth.”
The words landed like a slap.
Austin froze.
“What?” he asked, as if he hadn’t heard her correctly.
“I’m choosing the truth,” she repeated. “I’m going to tell everyone. Priscilla. Kennedy—”
“No,” he cut in sharply. “No, Antonia. That’s not what I asked you.”
“You asked me to choose,” she said softly. “And I am.”
His mouth tightened. “You’re choosing to destroy everything.”
“I’m choosing not to live a lie anymore.”
Austin laughed, but there was no humor in it. “So that’s it?”
Antonia swallowed. “I can’t keep carrying it. It's affecting not just me but also my baby's health.”
She gestured faintly to her chest. “The lies. The fear. The constant waiting for the ground to fall apart beneath us, especially now that Sofia knows.”
Austin shook his head, pacing now. “You’re overreacting. Sofia doesn’t know anything. She suspects—so what? People always suspect things. That doesn’t mean you blow up your entire life.”
“She knows something is wrong,” Antonia said. “She already reached out to me. She told me the timeline doesn’t add up.”
His steps faltered.
“What?” His voice sharpened. “She contacted you?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Today, right before I was brought to the hospital.”
Austin cursed under his breath, running a hand through his hair. “That doesn’t mean anything. She has no concrete evidence.”
“Maybe not,” Antonia said. “But this secret is too big.”
Austin stopped pacing and faced her again, his eyes dark now. “So you’re willing to ruin me? That’s what this is?”
Her heart clenched. “Why do you keep making this about you?”
“Because it is about me,” he snapped. “Do you have any idea what telling the truth will do to my reputation? To my job?”
“And what about what it’s doing to me?” she asked, her voice trembling for the first time. “Do you think it’s easy carrying a child knowing the truth could tear everyone apart?”
“You’re not the only one affected here.”
“No,” she agreed. “But I’m the one living with the consequences every day.”
Austin stepped closer, lowering his voice again, softer now—dangerously so. “You don’t care what happens to me.”
Antonia stared at him. “That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it?” he pressed. “You’re willing to throw me under the bus just so you can feel morally superior.”
“That’s not what this is.”
“Then what is it?” he demanded. “Guilt? Fear? Or is it because of Kennedy?”
Her breath caught.
“That has nothing to do with this.”
Austin scoffed. “You expect me to believe that? You see him again and suddenly you want to ‘come clean’?”
Antonia shook her head slowly. “You’re twisting this.”
“I gave you a way out,” he said sharply. “A real relationship. Stability. A future. And you’re throwing it away.”
“You didn’t give me a choice,” she said. “You forced one.”
“That’s not true.”
“You said if I didn’t choose you, you’d tell the truth yourself.”
Austin’s lips parted, then closed again.
Silence fell between them.
Finally, he exhaled. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“You meant it enough to say it.”
He looked away. “I was trying to make you see how serious I am about you.”
Antonia blinked. “You threatened to expose everything just to make me choose you?”
“I was desperate,” he admitted. “I didn’t want to lose you.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “You manipulated me.”
“No,” he snapped. “I fought for you.”
“That’s not fighting,” she said quietly. “That’s control.”
Austin’s face hardened. “So now I’m the villain.”
“No,” she said. “You’re just human. And flawed. And scared. But that doesn’t give you the right to trap me.”
He laughed bitterly. “You really think telling the truth will set you free? You think people will forgive you?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But at least I’ll be honest.”
“And what about us?” he asked. “What happens to us?”
“There is no ‘us,’” she said gently. “Not like this.”
The words clearly hurt him more than he expected. His shoulders sagged just slightly.
“So you never cared?” he asked quietly.
“I cared,” she said. “That’s why I’m ending this before it destroys us both.”
Austin shook his head. “You’re choosing guilt over love.”
“I’m choosing integrity over fear.”
He scoffed. “You’ll regret this.”
“Maybe,” she whispered. “But I’ll regret lying even more.”
Austin stared at her like he was seeing her for the first time. “You really don’t care what this does to me.”
She met his gaze. “You cared more about making me choose you than about what your ultimatum did to me.”
That silence again.
He stepped back, wounded pride hardening into something colder. “Fine. Do what you want.”
She nodded, tears finally slipping free. “I will.”
Neither of them noticed the shadow just outside the door.
Sofia stood frozen in the hallway, her hand hovering inches from the handle. Every word. Every confession. Every fractured truth had reached her ears with devastating clarity.
Her heart was pounding, but her face was eerily calm.
So this was it.
The secret.
The lie.
And Antonia was finally ready to expose it.
Sofia’s lips curved slowly into a thoughtful smile.
Interesting.
She stepped back silently, already planning her next move.