Selena’s POV

I was standing, smiling, in front of the people I learned to love for the past months. The wind tasted salty because of the ocean nearby as my heart raced inside my chest. It was violent, almost painful.

I dated many times. I’ve been with different men, and from the way they looked at me, I could guess their intention.

But he’s different. Very different.

With him, I always feel like I’m trapped in the dark.

I couldn’t understand the way he looked at me. I couldn’t guess what he was thinking. He always surprised me…just like now.

The man I learned to love after saving me held the hand of the woman in front of us.

Pain was what welcomed me when I got here, replacing the joy and excitement I had earlier.

Elias stared into my eyes, gentle but calculated like always. “Rachel, this is Selena. She’s the one I’m talking about.”

His parents are behind them. They’re having dinner when I arrived here on a boat. I had to travel two to three hours to get here just to attend his birthday. A simple celebration, but it was like an extravagant surprise for me.

“Selena, this is Rachel,” Elias paused and smiled at me. “...my fiancee.”

Fiance. I have always been indestructible. But I didn’t expect that one single word to shatter me from the inside. I felt like I was struck by lightning. It was vivid. It was violent. So ruthless.

My heart sank and ached. My breathing became rugged as I felt my hands trembling. Lips sealed. Unsaid words lingered in my head.

There were still a few people around, celebrating his birthday, but their eyes were on us.

I blinked multiple times, swallowing hard, as I forced a smile. “Y-Your fiancee?” My voice was shaking. Maybe I heard it wrong. I hope so.

Elias nodded and smiled, the kind that never fail to make my heart race. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you about her. Rachel is also my childhood friend. Her parents and mine are friends.”

A childhood friend turned into a fiancee.

Perfect! What a perfect match. What a perfect timing! Perfect couple. Only I was not.

I hugged my bag while staring at him, my throat hurting from suppressed cries. The gift I have for him inside my bag was nothing compared to the gift of having his fiancee here on his birthday.

I shouldn’t have come here. I shouldn’t have.

“Selena!” Serena, my cousin, who was sitting in front of me snapped her fingers in front of my face.

I flinched as she pulled me back to reality. I’ve never been this distracted and broken in my life.

I roamed my eyes around. We’re in a coffee shop, talking, ranting about life.

“Yeah?” I lifted my tea and sipped on it, only to get burned. “Ah!”

“Selena!” Serena immediately handed me the table napkin. “Are you okay?”

My lips curled into a forced smile and nodded. “Yeah. I was just amused by how you two could still argue on simple things.”

“Simple things?” Serena groaned. “Selena, he wants me to stay in the house and just sit there like a pig to feed whenever he comes home.”

“Reasonable.” I glanced at her belly and chuckled. She’s gained weight because she’s pregnant and her due date is coming.

Her brows furrowed. “Are you serious? I’m a doctor. I know when I can and can’t work. I can do normal check-ups.”

I took a deep sigh, trying to ease the burden in my heart because of what happened last week. I’ve been avoiding Elias after that incident on his birthday. I just couldn’t force myself to face him after he unknowingly broke my heart.

“My dear cousin…” I held Serena’s hand. “You are a doctor, but not a GYN. And Tyler is just obviously worried.”

She crossed her arms. “Still! How could he talk to the director of the hospital to not approve my return? He even threatened to sue the hospital. Can you imagine the brute?”

“Typical of Tyler Walter,” I said, shaking my head.

I smiled as I watched Serena when her phone started ringing. She’s angry, but she actually answered Tyler’s call.

To me, their argument is simple and normal. How I wish I could have an argument like that with someone.

Growing up in a wealthy family was convenient. Luxurious, even.

Trips, parties, shopping without thinking of the expenses, it was an easy life.

But being raised by strict parents had its cost. When I was studying, I wasn’t allowed to have suitors. My mother always said men were distractions, that love could wait. So, when I finally became an adult, I dated. I partied. I rebelled.

But none of those relationships meant anything. They were shallow, fleeting, a pastime I thought I needed to fulfill something missing inside me.

And yet, this… this feels like the greatest heartbreak of my life. Because for the first time, I loved someone I never even had.

Serena looked at me after talking to Tyler. She looked calm now, but her brows were furrowed while staring at me as if trying to deduce a logic riddle.

“What?” I smirked.

“Something’s not right,” she said, tilting her head a little.

I was suddenly uneasy because of how she looked at me. She’s indeed my cousin. She could sense that I’m hiding something.

“Nothing is wrong,” I said, clearing my throat.

Her eyes squinted as she leaned on the table, eyes lingering like a ghost haunting me. “You’re distracted, Selena. Tell me what’s bothering you? Are your parents forcing you again to date the men of their choice? Tell me, and I’ll try to talk to them.”

I shook my head. “Serena, there’s nothing wrong.”

“There is!” She hissed and frowned at me. “You attended Elias’s birthday party last week, and you were excited when you told me you bought a gift for someone for the first time in your life. What happened?”

My lips parted. I was lost. I couldn’t think of anything to say. Or do I really have to say anything? I feel like I’d break down if I tell her even a single word about my heartbreak, and I don’t want that. I don’t want her to see me suffering.

My heart was a drumbeat inside my chest, painful and violent as I grasped for something to say, or to distract her. But then a loud screaming interrupted us.

“Ah! It hurts!” A woman from the next table was screaming in pain. The man with her was panicking.

And Serena being the doctor immediately attended to them without even thinking twice. I had to follow her and help her because she’s pregnant.

While watching, I couldn’t help but thank the situation for distracting Serena. I would tell her what happened, but not now. I’m not ready and…I don’t think I can open up about my one-sided feelings for Elias right now.

“Don’t rub your eyes,” Serena said while holding the woman’s hand. “Your contact lens flipped under your eyelid. I suggest you stop wearing one for the meantime and get your eyes checked to prevent infection.”

I was just standing beside Serena while she’s giving advice, and then suddenly, I heard something.

My brows furrowed as I looked at Serena, whose eyes were widened while looking down. I followed her gaze and I gasped when I realized what happened.

Her water broke. Chaos erupted. And my already fast-beating heart tripled.