Chapter 39: Chapter 39

"YOU'RE here," I managed to smile at Adam when he finally arrived that night.

"Hey, sweetheart," Adam smiled, before pulling me into a hug. I was forced to hug him back even though I really wanted to push him away from me.

"I missed your smell, Claire," he murmured, sniffing my hair.

"Hmm…" I only managed to say. I could feel my heart constricting inside my chest.

"Don't I get a kiss, sweetheart?" Adam asked in a playful voice when he pulled away from me. "You miss me too, right?"

I just gave him a small smile. "I… I wasn't feeling well, Adam."

His face was suddenly filled with concern. "What exactly are you feeling, Claire?" he asked, his hand already on my forehead.

His forehead frowned while he was staring at my face. "Why do your eyes look puffy? Have you been crying?" His hand went down to my cheeks. It stayed there, and my heart broke more.

"Nothing, Adam," I said, slightly looking away. "I just cried over a sad movie."

The truth was, I had been crying for hours before he arrived. Everything I'd learned from Mary broke my heart. I couldn't believe that Adam had done this to me.

"Come on, Claire. Be honest with me, please," he said in a gentle voice.

I frowned at him as I removed his hand from my face. "I said it was nothing, Adam. Please, don't ask me more because I wasn't in the mood."

He sighed. His eyes remained on mine. He continued trying to read my face.

"You said you wanted to tell me something when I got back; what is it, sweetheart?"

I wanted to smirk. I was planning to tell him my feelings for him, but thank God I already found out his lies before I confessed to him. I couldn't imagine the pain and shame I would feel when he rejected me.

"Oh. That was nothing, Adam. I had totally forgotten about it." I tried to smile at him. "Come on, let's get inside. I know you're tired."

But Adam didn't move. He didn't even smile back. Instead, he held my wrist. "Claire, I know something's wrong? What is it?"

I looked him straight in the eye.

How could you do this to me, Adam? You broke my trust! You said you wouldn't tell anyone, but you told Mary, your first love! Why? Is that because you're still in love with that woman and you wanted to assure her that nothing had been going on between us?

But instead, I just shook my head. "Nothing is wrong. I just don't feel good. Let's just get inside." I didn't wait for his answer and already turned my back on him.

I smiled sadly to myself. Marcus was wrong. Adam wasn't in love with me. I bet he was still in love with Mary.

If Adam had real feelings for me, he wouldn't tell anyone about our setup. He wouldn't break my trust.

Now, everything was cleared to me. All along, Adam was just acting. Everything that he had been doing for me was just out of responsibility. Because I was the mother of her child. But he wasn't in love with me.

"We have food there on the table," I said when I felt him behind me. "Just help yourself. I'll just go to the bathroom."

"Claire—"

I wasn't able to let him finish because I had already slammed the bathroom door. I leaned on the bathroom door as I felt the tears that escaped my eyes.

"Come on now, stop crying, Claire," I said to myself as I tried to wipe away my tears with my fingers. "You can't show him you're hurting—" I stopped when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my belly. I looked down. I felt like my heart had stopped beating when I saw blood gushing down my legs.

"No!" I cried in panic, loud enough for Adam to hear.

The next thing I knew, he was already carrying me outside of the apartment.

"I don't want to lose the baby, Adam," I gripped his shirt as tears streamed down my cheeks. "I can't lose my baby. Please…" I was already sobbing in his chest. I could no longer hear my own heartbeat.

"You won't lose our baby, Claire." I felt him kiss the top of my head. "I promised you, sweetheart. J-just hold on, okay? I won't leave you."

But promises were indeed meant to be broken. Hours later, I woke up in the hospital bed feeling empty.

"Claire…" I looked at Adam, who was sitting beside me. His eyes were red and puffy. His hair disheveled. His shirt crumpled. He looked devastated and broken. Like he had just lost something important.

My hand fell on my flat belly. Tears automatically fell from my eyes. I knew it.

"M-my baby…" A sob escaped from me. "Bring me back my baby. Please."

"C-claire…" I felt Adam's hand on mine.

I turned to him. Just like me, he was also crying. It was the first time I'd seen him with this kind of expression. Broken. Loss.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered, his voice breaking. "I'm sorry. Claire. We lost him. The doctor couldn't do anything to save him."

I shut my eyes as pain consumed my whole being. "No. No." I shook my head in desperation. "I can't accept this. Bring me back my baby. I need him."

"Claire, sweetheart," Adam said in a gentle voice as he covered me in his arms. "I'm sorry."

I let out a loud sob as Adam buried my face in his chest. "Why did this happen to me? Why did the heaven take him away from us? Why?" I cried louder in his arms.

"I… I also don't know, sweetheart," he said, his voice on the verge of breaking. "Hush, sweetheart," he whispered against my ears. "I know this is painful, but we'll get through this, okay?" I felt him kiss the top of my head. "We'll get through this. Together. I'm here, baby. I'll always be here for you."