Chapter 5-
The pier was deserted except for the faint sound of waves lapping against the wooden posts. The sun was beginning to set, casting a golden glow across the water but for Amara, the beauty of the evening was lost in the pit of her stomach.
She gripped her purse tightly and glanced at the shadows on the pier, heart hammering. One step forward, and she would finally confront the man who had abandoned her and their child. The man who had shattered her world with a single night of silence.
Then she saw him. Ethan stood at the far end, his silhouette tall and rigid against the fading light. He looked older, wearier.different from the confident man she had known. And yet, seeing him there made her chest ache in ways she didn't expect.
"Amara…" His voice was low, hesitant. It carried both relief and fear.
She stopped a few steps away, arms crossed, trying to protect herself from the storm of emotions threatening to overwhelm her. "Why, Ethan? Why did you leave? Why didn't you even say goodbye?" Her voice trembled, but her anger burned beneath it.
He ran a hand through his hair, avoiding her gaze. "It wasn't that simple. I… I couldn't explain. Not then."
Amara felt a flicker of hope, quickly drowned by years of hurt. "Not simple? You left me alone, Ethan! Pregnant, confused, scared. You abandoned us!"
"I know, and I hate myself for it every day," he admitted, finally meeting her eyes. "I didn't have a choice… you have to believe me. There were things pressures I couldn't escape."
The words made no sense yet somehow rang true. Her mind spun with questions. Pressures? What pressures? Why didn't you fight for me? For us?
Before she could respond, a gust of wind blew, carrying the scent of the ocean and memories she wished she could forget. The world seemed to pause between them.
Ethan took a cautious step forward. "Amara, I'm here now. I want to fix this… I want to be with you, for you, for our child."
Her heart clenched. She wanted to believe him, desperately. But the fear of disappointment, of being hurt again, held her back.
"I don't know if I can trust you," she whispered, voice breaking.
He reached out his hand, but she didn't take it. "I'll wait," he said softly. "I'll do whatever it takes."
The sun dipped below the horizon, and the pier was swallowed in twilight. Amara felt the weight of her decision pressing down on her. Every instinct screamed caution but part of her longed to reach for him, to let him back into her life.
And just as she opened her mouth to speak, a shout rang from the shadows behind her, startling them both.