Chapter 38

SEBASTIAN

He could see the anger and hurt in her teary eyes.

Sebastian rose to his feet. “Please, let me explain.” His voice came out almost like a whisper.

“There’s nothing to explain, Sebastian. I regret accepting you into my life. I should not have told you about my child. You were just using my innocent baby and me when you had your happy family elsewhere. A jerk and a bastard, that’s what you truly are.”

Sebastian ran his fingers through his hair, unable to believe they were back to this stage of their lives. A stage where she did nothing but call him silly names.

“Please, trust me, Jayda, I didn’t know about Aaron until recently.” He defended himself with tear-filled eyes and a broken voice.

“I will never make the mistake of trusting you again. The roses, notes, love text messages, gifts, chocolates, sweet gestures—everything was all a lie. You never loved me! You wanted to get into my pants and leave me broken so you can get your revenge on me for calling you names and throwing my shoe at you.”

“You know that’s not true, Jayda,” Sebastian countered with a high-pitched voice.

“I wanted us to spend yesterday together but you said you had an all-day meeting with the board of your company. I have no doubt the meeting went well, because I saw the ~meeting~ on the news.”

At this point, Sebastian’s world started to turn black. “I swear to you there is nothing between Katie and I. I only found out recently that Aaron is my son. His birthday was yesterday, so I took him to the mall to get new clothes and toys for him. I missed so much in his life, and I’m trying my best to make up for the lost times.

“I know I should have told you. I didn’t because I was scared you were going to leave me. Please don’t leave me, Jayda, I cannot live without you and our baby. Just let me explain the whole story to you, please.”

“I’m disappointed in you for thinking so low of me. You don’t know me at all, Seb, and you don’t trust me enough. If you had told me, do you think I would have stopped you from seeing or being with your son?” With tear-filled eyes, Jayda continued.

“If you know me well, you would have known how much I hate lies. You’ve done nothing but hurt me, and I think we should put an end to all of these and go our separate ways.”

Sebastian was almost approaching Jayda when she stopped him from coming closer to her by taking a step back.

“Please, Jayda, I will do anything you want me to do, but please, don’t leave me. I love you, and I love our child. The thought of being away from the two of you is killing me already. Please forgive me, don’t leave me,” he pleaded.

JAYDA

While trying hard to hold back her tears, Jayda pretended not to hear his plea. She was hurt beyond words and needed time to herself. She searched through her bag and reached for the black card he’d given her weeks ago.

She placed the black card on his desk. “If you truly love me, you’ll respect my wish by staying the hell away from me and my child.” She stormed out of his office.

Defeatedly, Sebastian sank into the chair behind his desk. He buried his face in his hands and cried until there were no more tears to shed.

***

JAYDA

Jayda was not in the mood to do anything. She was mentally and emotionally drained. She couldn’t believe how everything had turned upside down for her within an hour. Going back to work wouldn’t be a good idea since she was a mess already. She decided to go home and cry herself to sleep. Hopefully, she would be better the next day to return to work.

She got to her apartment at 2:14 p.m. and, without taking off her clothes, she crawled under her duvet and cried her heart out until her eyes were swollen and aching.

After Jayda had stormed out of the conference room earlier today, the only thing she could think of was that Sebastian was using her and her innocent child while he had a family somewhere else. And when she listened to what he had to say, she did not know what to believe anymore!

Jayda sobbed herself to sleep.

She woke up four hours later to a slight headache and a growling stomach. She reluctantly got up from her bed and proceeded to the bathroom to take a shower.

Jay changed into her pajamas and went to the kitchen. Unfortunately, her kitchen was empty. She had planned to go grocery shopping on her way back from work, but she couldn’t because of all that happened.

She decided to order Chinese rice for dinner. When she grabbed her phone, her heart pounded at what she saw. Jayda had a total of forty-one missed calls and twelve messages. They were from her mom, Lilian, Caleb, Olivia, Roman, and Sebastian. Sebastian had called and texted the most.

Jayda was not in the mood to talk to anyone or to read or reply to anyone’s text message, so she ignored all and dialed a Chinese restaurant to have them deliver dinner to her.

Jayda’s doorbell rang as soon as she got off the phone. Reluctantly, she went to the door. She peeped through the tiny hole to check who it was. When she saw that it was Lilian, she opened up.

Lilian pulled her into a comforting embrace. “Thank God you’re fine. I’ve been going crazy. You refused to pick up my calls. Your secretary said you left work early this afternoon and didn’t return.”

Jayda pulled away from the hug and went to the couch.

LILIAN

Lilian took a seat beside her. Her heart went out to Jayda. She could tell her best friend had cried her eyes out because of how red and puffy her face was. Even right now, she had tears in her eyes that she was trying to hold back.

Sebastian was even in a worse condition. Lilian had just come from his place. He had begged her to go and see Jayda to make sure she was okay since she wasn’t answering anybody’s calls or texts.

Lilian let out a sigh and took Jayda’s hands in hers. “Talk to me, my love.”

“He lied to me, Lily. He has a son. He has a family somewhere else and didn’t tell me about it. He let me believe I was the first to have his child. Everything was all a lie. The gifts, ‘I love you’ talk…everything was just an act. He was only using me,” Jayda said as fresh tears poured out of her.

“Sebastian did not take advantage of you, and he will never do that, because he truly loves you. You should have given him the opportunity to explain everything to you.”

JAYDA

Lilian’s statement made Jayda think deeply for a few seconds, and then it hit her.

She blinked her swollen eyes. “You knew about it? You knew Sebastian has a son and you never told me?” she accused.

“Jayda…” Lilian began but was cut off by Jayda who pulled away and buried her face in her hands in disappointment.

A few seconds later, she lifted her head to look into Lilian’s eyes. “You of all people know how much I hate being in the dark, and you never saw the need to tell me anything. What type of best friend are you?

“I can’t even stand you right now, please leave my apartment. I want to be alone.” She wiped the tears that couldn’t stop sliding down her face. She couldn’t believe Lilian betrayed her. “You were meant to have my back and not Sebastian’s,” she whispered.

Lilian shook her head. “I only knew about this a few days ago. If Sebastian was intentionally cheating on you or he never cared about your feelings, he wouldn’t have opened up to Caleb and me.”

“Then why didn’t anybody say anything to me? I had to find out myself from a stupid celebrity gossip show on TV. Do you know how humiliating that is?” Jayda cried.

LILIAN

“Sebastian was scared to open up to you because he knew you were going to break up with him after he told you everything.”

“You are not the only victim here, Jayda; Sebastian is also suffering. From Susan to everything he went through with you, and now, all of this. He had no idea he has a son until the night you had your accident. He couldn’t even tell you then because the doctor had told us all to keep anything that will make your blood pressure rise away from you.

“Do you know how it killed Seb to look into your eyes and not tell you about Aaron? He missed so much with the son he never knew he had, and he’s trying to make it up to you, the baby, and Aaron because he loves you guys so much.” Lilian wanted to hug her friend, but she didn’t dare try.

“I didn’t say anything to you because it was not my place to tell, and again, I felt it would be better if the truth comes from Sebastian. That’s why I’ve been persuading him to talk to you about it.

“I now believe you when you say you really suck when it comes to relationships. You’re a lawyer, Jayda, and you should know better about listening to the other side of the story before jumping to a conclusion.

“As your best friend, that’s if you still consider me as one, just know that I want the best for you. You’ve honestly been through a lot, and you deserve to be happy.” Lilian was crying too.

“I know the news is shocking and you need time to process all of it. But bear in mind that Sebastian is also suffering. He’s human and he is also affected by all of this.

“I just hope you find a way to forgive him and try to work things out with him before it’s too late. Life is too short to choose unhappiness over happiness.

“As for me, I don’t think I’ve betrayed you, but all the same, I’m sorry for not saying anything to you. Take care of yourself and the baby. I’m a phone call away if you need me,” Lilian said, then left Jayda’s apartment.

***

CALEB

Caleb had never seen his best friend this broken. He’d been devastated after Susan’s betrayal and in low spirits when he was trying to win Jayda’s heart at first. Since Jayda made it clear to him earlier today that it was over between them, Sebastian felt as if the reason for his living had been taken away from him.

Before he could take another shot of alcohol, Caleb took the glass from him. “Getting drunk won’t solve anything, Sebastian.”

Sebastian looked at Caleb with his red puffy eyes from crying. “The pain is too much for me to bear, Caleb. I know alcohol won’t solve anything, but at least it will make me forget everything.

“To avoid getting into trouble like fighting or ending up in bed with someone else tomorrow morning, I’ve chosen to get drunk in my apartment. Can I have my shot back, please?”

“No. You’ve had enough, Seb. I don’t want you to drink more. I swear to you that things will be fine.”

“Nothing will be fine, Caleb. Jayda said if I truly love her, I should respect her wishes and stay away from her and the baby. What hurts even more, was that she referred to our child as hers only.

“She said she wanted nothing to do with me again. I didn’t go to her apartment because I didn’t want to make matters worse and then make her file any papers against me.

“I’ve called her countless times, and I’ve even sent her multiple texts, but she didn’t respond to any. I have nothing else in life to look forward to, and I have no one else to fight for. Please give me back the alcohol and let me drink myself to death.”

“Seb, Jayda is just hurt. She needs time to heal. Besides, you cannot just give up on her like that. You two have come a long way,” Caleb persuaded.

Sebastian looked at Caleb with his sad, puffy, and dull eyes. “You needed to see the hurt in her eyes. There’s no doubt she hates me more than she hated me the first time we met.”

“Jayda loves you, Seb. She was just hurt about the situation, but you’re not at fault.”

“It ~is~ my fault. If only I had told her the truth right away. Maybe I’m not even destined for happiness at all,” he complained.

“No one’s life is perfect, Seb. Nobody has it all. Jayda is not the only one hurting; you are hurting too. I don’t know where you will get the strength from, but please be strong, Sebastian.

“You have Aaron who looks up to you so much. From the little time you’ve spent with him, you’ve come to know him and love him. Your son needs you, Seb. In the same way, Jayda and your unborn child need you. I swear to you that she didn’t mean all that she said. She was just hurt. Give her a little space to process it all and keep fighting for her,” Caleb urged his friend.

“You’ll gain nothing if you give up on her now, Seb. You’ve won over her heart once, and you can do it again. Please don’t stop trying!” Caleb pleaded.

Sebastian finally nodded. “I just hope she’s okay and does not do anything to harm herself or the baby.”

“I’m sure she won’t,” Caleb said reassuringly. “Your mom called me earlier this evening. She was worried about you since you wouldn’t pick up any of her calls.”

“I was not in the mood to talk. I’ll call her tomorrow.”

“No need for that. She will be stopping by to see you tomorrow.”

Sebastian frowned. “I don’t think I’ll go to work tomorrow. I need a day to myself to clear my head, and if I feel like working tomorrow, I’ll do that from home. I’ll call Mom in the morning and tell her to postpone her visit.

“Aaron will also be spending this weekend with me, so I need to prepare for that. I have to stock up with groceries and snacks that he likes, and I also have to plan how we’ll spend the weekend.”

“Perhaps you guys can come over to my place on Saturday evening. I’ll be able to see Aaron and give him his birthday present,” Caleb offered.

“No problem. I’m sure he will be happy to meet you.”

“So, should I order you something to eat? You haven’t had anything since morning. I know how much dinner means to you,” Caleb said.

“I’m not hungry.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that and just so you know, I’ll be spending the night here,” Caleb said, after which he reached for his phone and dialed a nearby restaurant.

He’d never seen his friend this desperate and unhappy. Sebastian had said he hoped Jayda wouldn’t do anything to harm herself or the baby, but Caleb was more worried that his friend might do something terrible.