Chapter 4: Cough and Shock

Maya POV

“If you read our contract clearly, it states that no question is to be asked. Just do your job and leave after 1week. I am paying you for it.”

That's one of the worst egoistic words I have ever heard in my life.

Too arrogant. Too void of care and I wonder how that kind of man tends to live with his own daughter.

Those words haven't left my head even till this present morning and to think I was feeling sick. My head throbbed, and under my ribs, a slow, sick burn crawled its way up my chest. I pressed a hand to my stomach. It didn't help.

I sat up slowly, blinking away the dizziness.

The pamphlet from the hospital peeked out from under my pillow. I shoved it deeper under the mattress before I could read the words again. Gastric cancer. Early stage. Immediate treatment advised.

I hadn’t told Xavier yet. I wouldn't want to be like a golddigger. I wasn't done with the service yet.

Hell, I hadn’t told myself.

A soft knock on the door pulled me back to reality.

“Maya,” Xavier’s voice was always calm, always measured. Like nothing could ever truly rattle him. “We’re invited to a school family mixer tonight. Big crowd, important people. You’ll need to be ready by five.”

I swallowed. “Okay.”

“Someone will bring up your dress.”

He didn’t wait for confirmation. Just like that, he was gone.

I forced myself to my feet, ignoring the twinge in my side. The guest room, despite its beauty, still felt too stiff. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror…pale skin, dry lips. no matter how much water I drank.

You’re not falling apart yet, I told myself. You just have to get through this.

Just one week.

……

The burgundy dress was stunning…..silk that fell against my skin like it had been sewn there. It clung in all the right places and somehow made me feel like I belonged in the kind of crowd I’d always avoided.

Ava’s little gasp when she saw me at the top of the stairs was worth the fatigue clawing at my bones.

“You look like a princess,” she whispered.

My chest ached….but not from the pain this time.

Xavier stood behind her, hands in his pockets. His eyes swept over me, an unreadable mix of approval and… something else. Something that made my throat tighten.

“You clean up well,” he said.

“I aim to impress.” My voice was light, but my insides were tight with nerves.

As we walked to the car, I couldn’t help but ask, “Is it true?”

He raised a brow. “What?”

“That I look like her. The woman in the photo. Your… Maya.”

His eyes flickered. “Yes.”

“And her name was really Maya?”

He didn’t answer.

Didn’t deny it either.

The mixer was held at the Skybrooke Country Club, a place so polished it made me feel like I’d stepped into a live painting. The fountain in the courtyard sparkled. Waiters in black ties carried trays of champagne and hors d'oeuvres. Every parent there looked like they belonged in a luxury brand’s spring campaign.

Ava held my hand tightly. “Do you think they’ll like me?”

I crouched next to her. “They’ll love you. Just be you, okay? Be yourself.”

She nodded, but I could feel the nerves in her fingers.

We walked in as a “family.” Xavier’s hand rested lightly on my back, guiding, reassuring. His presence was solid, unwavering. For a moment, I almost forgot everything. My grief. My body. My lies.

We made it through introductions, fake laughs, smiles. Ava stayed close but slowly began to ease into the group. There were coloring tables, a small photo booth, a candy buffet that lured most of the children in.

Xavier and I stood under a shaded pergola, pretending to sip wine.

“You’re doing well,” he murmured, leaning close. “I didn’t expect her to talk to you this fast.”

“She doesn’t know me.”

“She thinks she does. Sometimes that’s enough.”

I turned my head toward him. “You say that like you know.”

He didn’t respond.

Then my eyes caught them.

My heart stuttered.

Across the courtyard, standing near the flower arrangements, laughing like they owned the world…Jason.And Kira.

My mouth went dry.

She was in a tight green dress, hair styled to perfection, clinging to his arm like she belonged there. But it wasn’t them that made my stomach churn.

It was the little boy between them.

He looked… like him. Like both of them.

Five years old, maybe. Tiny curls. Eyes wide, observant, just like Jason. He clung to a stuffed dinosaur and munched on a cookie, entirely unaware of how many lives his existence was complicated.

I took a shaky step back, head spinning. My fingers trembled.

No. No, no, no. He wouldn’t.

I turned to walk away….too late.

Jason spotted me.

He stilled. His smile slowly turned cruel.

“Maya?” he called, loud enough to turn a few heads. “Wow. Didn’t expect to see you here.”

Kira turned too. Her smile widened with venom. “Is that…? No way. Guess cancer does make you glow after all.”

Xavier stiffened beside me.

Jason chuckled and walked over, the boy lagging behind.

“I almost didn’t recognize you,” Jason said, stopping a foot away. “But I guess you always had a flair for the dramatic.”

“Leave,” Xavier said, voice cold. “Now.”

Jason ignored him. “Didn’t think you’d show your face around here, Maya. What, playing house now? Replacing a kid you lost with someone else’s daughter?”

I gasped.

Kira clucked her tongue. “How sad. You always wanted to be a mother so badly.”

Xavier moved closer to me. “That’s enough.”

Jason smirked. “Relax. I’m just catching up with my ex. We go way back. Don’t we, baby?”

Something inside me cracked. I turned, grabbing Xavier’s arm. “Let’s go.”

But then my chest burned.

A sharp pain, like a knife dragging through my ribs.

I coughed once…sharp and dry.

Then again….wet.

Red.

I stared at my hand.

Blood.

Oh God.

I tried to speak, to warn Xavier, but everything tilted sideways.

The sounds faded, everything went blurry.

Then everything went dark.