My Fake Boyfriend’s Real Vendetta

The next day, I went to a private clinic to schedule an abortion.

The doctor was a kind, elderly woman. She looked at my chart, hesitating, before finally just patting the back of my hand.

Afterward, I went back to the apartment and packed up the crib and baby clothes I had bought.

The joy and anticipation I once felt for this child's arrival were now matched by the intensity of my pain.

But there was no way I would let my child be born into a family filled with hatred and scheming, to become a tool for Carlos's revenge.

With tears in my eyes, I donated all those baby items to a charity.

After I was done, I replied to my mentor's email.

"I've made up my mind. I'll sign the principal dancer contract with the Paris Opera Ballet."

A month ago, because of Carlos's plea to "stay with me."

I had considered giving up the opportunity to go to Paris.

Thinking back now, it was utterly foolish.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a reminder notification.

It was for the Malibu beach restaurant that Carlos had carefully selected and booked to celebrate our fourth anniversary.

So today was our fourth anniversary.

He had said he was preparing a huge surprise for me today.

I didn't want to go, but holding onto a final sliver of hope, I went to the restaurant as planned.

But there was no sign of Carlos.

Soft music filled the restaurant, and outside the window, waves crashed against the sand while neon lights outlined the coastline.

I waited for three hours, the sky outside darkening until the Ferris wheel at the distant Santa Monica Pier burst into light.

Many people in the restaurant flocked to the terrace, gazing at the romantic words spelled out in lights on the giant Ferris wheel in the sky.

"Welcome Home, Evelyn"

Almost instantly, I knew why Carlos's phone had been unreachable.

This fourth anniversary of ours, to him, was nothing more than an insignificant scene in his script of revenge.

Evelyn's return was the main event.

Joyful cheers erupted from the pier, and Carlos's figure appeared in the Ferris wheel's private gondola.

Beside him stood a graceful woman.

Carlos smiled and waved to the people below.

His expression was one of someone who had just won a great victory.

As if he had won the whole world.

I mechanically cut into the long-cold steak on my plate. It tasted like ash.

A fog of unshed tears blurred my vision.

I set down my knife and fork heavily, unable to stop myself from thinking about the day Carlos confessed his feelings to me.

His spirited expression.

His words, "Aurora, be my girlfriend!"

Now, the memory of it felt jarring, ridiculous.

My appetite was gone. I got up and went to the restroom.

But as I came out, I happened to see Carlos and Evelyn sitting down at the table next to mine.