When Love Comes Too Late

As the car started, I watched the garage lights fade, mirroring the dimming of my heart.

For an instant, tears streamed down my face and suddenly felt like a mix of emotions. And then, my stomach ached.

I took a deep breath to compose myself, but I heard footsteps behind me.

The footsteps were steady and rhythmic. I assumed a resident was coming to retrieve their car and prepared to step aside.

The voice-controlled light turned on for an instant. On the side, a man appeared not far from me. I caught sight of the fruit knife in his hand and continued to walk in my direction.

For an instant, my heart almost skipped a beat and in one blink, I immediately ran without waiting for the man to reach near me.

As I continued to run and was determined to escape, I saw the garage exit, bringing a light on the situation.

I was just steps away from the garage exit when I noticed the man had spotted me and started chasing me.

The villa area was nearly deserted at night and I regretted living here for the first time. Desperate, I called for help, hoping the security department would hear me. I still didn't want to die at all.

My mouth tasted of blood from exertion as I ran, but I couldn't seem to escape him.

As the man approached with the knife, the fear of death overwhelmed me. Thoughts of Jayden's heartless face and many what-ifs raced through my mind.

Life was full of surprises and I had no idea what would await me in the end.

If I hadn't stopped the car to tell him about the pregnancy, if we hadn't been together, hadn't gotten married, hadn't liked him from the beginning, would things have ended differently?

The bright lights blinded me and I was knocked to the ground before I could do anything.

As soon as I opened my eyes and scanned my eyes, it turned out it was my very own best friend, Wendy Logan, who held my hand as if she could burst into sobs later on. Otherwise, she wouldn't. Her expression was unpredictable. I continued observing her face, trying to read her mind, but I felt strange.

I patted her nose gently, feeling a bit helpless. "No, I just had a fever and was in the hospital. Your expression makes it seem like I'm dead."

Wendy's stare at me darkened. She then reached out and pinched my cheek.

"Quickly tell me, are you okay?" After a long silence, she asked and embraced me as tightly as possible, as if there were no tomorrow.

"Gosh, Riley! You scared me to death!" She said, continuing to shake her head. "Why did you dare to go out and find him in the middle of the night? Are you out of your mind? Looking at the security footage, I was scared of what you were doing! Aren't you aware of how dangerous what you are doing is?!"

She continued, "It's another creep chasing and getting hit by a car."

That made me pause and realize they were indeed wrong. I only grabbed Wendy's hand and interrupted her before she could continue to say something else.

"Wait, wait. What did you just say about being chased? Our school's security is always on top. Who would dare challenge it?" I asked.

However, I seemed to feel something was wrong, which confused me. She panicked and went outside, calling for help.

"Doctor, doctor!" She yelled.