Patience Heart

Karina's Determination Part 2

Today is my last day at Chattame. Six months—it's felt like a lifetime, yet somehow, it went by too quickly. The project I poured myself into, the one that was supposed to help me forget everything, is finally finished. The Redesign Chattame project was more than just work to me—it was my refuge from the storm that Adam had left behind.

Since the moment I walked into the office this morning, it's been non-stop. Everyone has been busy preparing a farewell party for me. Each floor has given me gifts, some more thoughtful than others, and all day long, I've been smiling and thanking them. It's exhausting, but also bittersweet. It feels strange knowing that this chapter of my life is closing. The memories tied to this place are overwhelming—both the good and the bad.

As the day wears on, I need a break. I slip away to the garden, a small haven of greenery tucked behind the building. The air is cooler out here, and I let the breeze wash over me as I sit on one of the benches. It feels peaceful, but my mind is still swirling with thoughts of the last few months. Adam's name drifts to the forefront of my mind again, as it so often does. The pain is still there, a dull ache that never quite goes away.

Suddenly, I notice someone approaching. I look up, and my heart stops. It's her.

Karina.

Of course. I should've known this day wouldn't go by without some drama. She's been around, lurking in the background, waiting for a chance to talk to someone—maybe even to me. I keep my face neutral as she walks closer and sits down beside me. My heart pounds in my chest, and I try to calm the storm of emotions inside me.

For a while, she just sits there, silent. I glance at her out of the corner of my eye, unsure of what she wants or why she's approached me now. I've never been this close to her before; I've only seen her from afar in the lobby, where she usually waits for Mathias every day. But now, as she sits just a few feet away, I finally get a good look at her, and it hits me—Adam has great taste.

Up close, she's even more stunning than I had imagined. She has a delicate beauty that photographs or quick glances don't do justice. Her skin is clear, glowing in that effortless way that makes me painfully aware of how tired I must look after these six long months at Chattame. Her long black hair is down today, flowing loose past her shoulders, unlike the strict ponytail she usually wore when I caught sight of her waiting at the lobby. She's everything I'm not, and it stings more than I care to admit.

I feel a sharp pang of insecurity rising in my chest. Of course Adam loved her. She's everything I'm not.

The silence between us lingers, thick and uncomfortable. I steal another glance at her, but she's staring down at her hands, fidgeting with her fingers. Maybe she's changed her mind about approaching me. Maybe this meeting was a mistake for her, too. I debate saying something, anything to break the tension, but before I can decide, she speaks, her voice soft and hesitant.

"I'm sorry to bother you," she begins, her voice soft, trembling with something that sounds like desperation. "I've seen you with Mr. Lee a couple of times. People say you're close to him."

I feel a knot tighten in my stomach. Mr. Lee. Of course, she's talking about the rumors. There's no way she's missed the gossip that's spread around the office about me and him. I keep my face neutral, not letting anything show. What else can I do? I wonder how much she knows—or thinks she knows. Does she have any clue about what happened between Adam and me? Or is this just a part of her search for answers?

Her eyes finally meet mine, wide and pleading. She looks so fragile, so broken, and for a moment, I feel an unexpected surge of empathy. But I force myself to stay composed, my mind working to protect what little is left of my heart. I can't let her get too close. Not like this.

"Your boyfriend?" I ask, feigning ignorance. "Who is he?"

She looks at me, searching my face for something. "Adam Adrian," she says softly.

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. Of course. Adam.

"He was the Head of PMO at Chattame," she continues.

I keep my expression calm, not revealing anything. Of course, she's heard the office gossip. I wonder if she knows more than she's letting on. Does she know how much I know about Adam? Does she have any idea what I've been through?

I feel a lump forming in my throat. Adam. His name still has the power to affect me in ways I wish it didn't. But I force myself to stay composed. "Then why do you need to find him?" I ask, trying to sound nonchalant. "If he wanted to be found, wouldn't he have told you where he is by now?"

Her face crumbles a little at my question. She starts to tear up, and before I can stop her, she begins to spill everything—her story, her pain, her regrets.

"We've been apart," she says, her voice shaking. "Last year, I refused his proposal. I just... I didn't want to be a replacement for someone else. I thought Adam was still holding on to something from his past, and I didn't want to be second best. I couldn't bring myself to be with someone who wasn't fully over another woman."

I listen quietly as she speaks, each word cutting into me like a knife. She doesn't know that the "other woman" she's talking about is me. She has no idea that I'm the one she felt she was competing against.

Karina continues, her voice growing more frantic. "But after we fell apart, I realized... I realized that Adam is the only light in my dark world. He's the one thing that makes sense in my life, and I pushed him away. I kept trying to reach out to him, to fix things between us, but he started to distance himself. He was pulling away, and I didn't understand why."

She wipes at her eyes, desperately trying to hold back the tears. "I even... I even pretended to crash my car once. I lied and told him I needed money, just to get him to respond. And you know what? He sent it to me without question. But I never used it. I didn't need the money—I just wanted to know that he still cared."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. The desperation in her voice is palpable, and I feel a surge of sympathy for her, even though every part of me wants to scream. She's telling me things about Adam that I didn't know, things I wish I hadn't heard.

"At first," she says, her voice lowering, "he would still answer my calls, still come when I needed him. But then, he started pulling away more and more, until one day... he just disappeared. I tried to find him. I went to his house, but it's been sold. He's completely gone, and I have no idea where he is. I'm lost without him."

Her voice breaks, and she stands up from the bench, bowing slightly toward me. Tears are streaming down her face now, and my heart clenches painfully in my chest.

"Please," she begs. "Please help me. I don't know where else to turn. I'll do anything... just help me find him."

I stare at her, my mind spinning. She has no idea what she's asking of me. She doesn't know that Adam left me too, that I'm just as lost without him as she is. And she definitely doesn't know about the baby growing inside me—the baby Adam has no idea exists.

For a moment, I'm tempted to tell her everything. I want to scream that I'm the one Adam left behind, that I'm the one still carrying the weight of his absence. But I can't. I can't tell her, not like this.

Instead, I force myself to smile—an empty, hollow smile—and say, "I'll do my best."

The words feel like a lie, even as they leave my mouth. My heart is breaking as I speak them, but what else can I say? I watch as Karina walks away, her figure growing smaller as she disappears from the garden.

And there I sit, alone again, with the weight of my own secret pressing down on me.

Adam is gone. But he's left so much behind, and I'm not sure how much longer I can keep holding it all together.

I gently touch my tummy, feeling the fluttering movements that remind me of the life that's developing within. "Baby," I whisper, my voice barely above a murmur. "What should we do?"