Lahat ng Kabanata ng His Choice Wasn't Me: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

Tiana’s hand remained looped through James’s arm as though she belonged there. She tilted her head, her wide eyes feigning surprise when they fell on Sarah.“Oh, Sarah,” her voice rang with false humility, soft enough to fool anyone who didn’t know better. “You’re back already? I didn’t know you’d return today. If I had known, I wouldn’t have stayed here. Forgive me, I’ll just go now.”Her shoulders curved as though in shame, her lips pursed like a woman eager to disappear.But Sarah knew the act. Her silence was deliberate; her eyes were sharp on Tiana, refusing to reward the performance.But yet again, another familiar little voice cut through her thought.“Don’t go!” Daniel’s cry split the room. His small hands clutched Tiana’s waist with desperate force. “Don’t go, Auntie Tiana! You’re always here with me, every day. Why must you leave because she came back? I don’t want you to leave. She should be the one to go!” Daniel cried, pointing accusingly at her mother.Sarah’s breath hit

The café carried the warm smell of coffee and baked sugar, but Sarah barely noticed. She sat by the window, her palms flat against the wooden table, her body stiff as though the wood itself was keeping her upright.Across the room, the bell above the door chimed. Tiana walked in with the calm grace of a woman who never doubted her place.Her heels clicked softly with measured steps against the tiled floor.Without hesitation, she crossed to Sarah’s table and sat opposite her.Sarah’s gaze followed her every move. There was no greeting, no smile, just silence heavy enough to make the air thick.Steam curled from the cup Tiana ordered, fading quickly between them. Her fingers tapped the handle once before she lifted her eyes.“Why did you send those messages?” Sarah asked, her voice steady, but her hand trembled slightly where it pressed against the table. “Why did you make sure I would see them?”Tiana’s lips curved faintly, her eyes glinting with mock surprise. “How was I supposed to

By the time the sirens wailed and the fire coughed its last breath, the warehouse was nothing but ruins—ashes clinging to twisted steel, smoke curling up like ghosts refusing to leave.The heat still rose in waves, painting the night air thick with burnt metal and sorrow.James stood there, his shirt half torn, his hands streaked with soot, staring at what used to be a building but now looked like the grave of everything he’d ever loved.The officers kept shouting, moving around, pulling charred debris, spraying what little flame tried to come alive again. None of it registered in his ears.His mind was frozen, caught between the past few minutes and the unbearable silence that followed the blast.“Sir, you need to step back,” one of the policemen said, but James didn’t move. His eyes were locked on a spot near the corner, where the flames had finally given way to ash. Something glinted faintly through the smoke.When they brought it out, wrapped carefully in a gloved hand, it was a ri

The hospital corridors were quiet, except for the steady hum of machines and the faint echo of footsteps fading down the hall. James sat beside Tiana’s bed, his elbows on his knees, his eyes fixed on her pale face.The beeping of the monitor matched the slow rhythm of his breathing.She was asleep now, her chest rising and falling weakly beneath the white sheets. The doctor’s words still rang in his head, calm but firm.“Mr. Striker, she’s lucky you brought her in when you did. Another delay, and we might have lost both mother and child. Her condition is critical. She must not be exposed to stress again. No fighting, no shouting, no emotional strain of any kind.”James had nodded then, his mouth dry. But sitting here now, he felt that same tightness return to his chest.He stared at her, the woman who had turned his world upside down and all he could think was how close he’d come to watching another life slip through his fingers.A nurse walked in quietly to adjust the IV line. James

The hospital walls smelled of antiseptic and fresh hope. The cries of newborns echoed faintly through the corridors, each one a reminder that life, no matter how bruised, had a way of continuing.It was barely two months.Tiana’s scream broke through the noise, sharp and urgent, followed by the voice of the nurse counting down. “One more push, ma’am! Just one more!”James stood nearby, his hands clenched into fists, his heart pounding. Clara was beside him, whispering prayers under her breath, her eyes fixed on Tiana.Then it came, the sound that tore the air apart. A baby’s cry.Tiana collapsed back onto the pillow, tears mixing with sweat as the nurse lifted the tiny child and smiled. “It’s a girl,” she announced brightly. “A beautiful baby girl.”The nurse wrapped the child in a soft pink cloth and handed her to Tiana, who took her with trembling hands. The baby’s cries softened instantly, her tiny fingers curling weakly around her mother’s thumb.For the first time in months, laug