After Our Fall, Love Reclaimed

The wind, which had been howling moments ago, suddenly seemed to pause, as if someone had turned down the volume. Jayden Lewis just stood there, motionless, and after what felt like an eternity, he finally lifted his bloodshot eyes to meet mine and asked, "Lilah, how did it all end up like this?"

I pulled my coat closer around me and ran a hand through my wind-tousled hair. "Are you really asking me?" I replied with a composed smile. "Isn't this exactly what you set in motion?"

"Lilah, that's not it," Jayden said. "I did leave you there, but Selah said her relative would pick you up. She insisted you were too naive and needed toughening up—otherwise, how would you be able to handle marriage?"

"I was so fed up with you at the time, you seemed to be everywhere I turned, and in a moment of frustration, I agreed with her."

"But I never meant for you to get hurt. I thought you might face a bit of difficulty, and then you'd come back home and stop pursuing me..."

"Lilah, did Selah's relative not come to get you?"

The smile faded slowly from my face as the cold wind blew. "Oh, he came alright."

Jayden exhaled, relieved. "I knew it. Selah is always so meticulous and generous in what she does..."

"But do you have any idea what her relative actually does for a living?"

Jayden looked taken aback. "Lilah?"

"Organized crime, smuggling, you name it."

I stared at Jayden with indifference, and in my empty eyes, he saw his own foolish, astonished expression reflected back at him.

"Escaping from him, I nearly lost my life. I lost my ID, my phone, my wallet—everything."

"I was so hungry that I had to fight with homeless people for scraps. I slept under a bridge at night and narrowly escaped being assaulted several times."

"In the end, someone had plans to sell me off to a brothel."

During those four months, I'd cried myself dry. But maybe it was the wind now—too sharp, too icy—that made my eyes sting with pain.

"The only one who reached out to help me during that time was him."

"The father of the child I'm carrying."

"Stop it."

"Lilah, just stop."

Pain was etched across Jayden's face. He stepped forward and grabbed my wrist. "I'll take you to the hospital, Lilah. This child, whose beginnings are so dubious, can't stay."

"Why?" I asked.

He couldn't meet my eyes, his voice low and rough. "If we end this pregnancy, we can pretend none of this ever happened."

"Lilah, I'll take care of you."

"Your mom’s in the States. You don’t have any family here."

"If you stay with me, I'll look after you..."

"Jayden Lewis."

I pulled my hand away, forcefully.

"Lilah, don’t be naive. No one knows about your pregnancy."

"I can arrange for a private clinic. You can terminate the pregnancy, and no one will ever have to know. Your reputation won’t suffer..."

"And then?" I prompted him. "Will you marry me?"