For four years, Martin lived a life most would envy-one built on love, sacrifice, and promises. His girlfriend was everything to him. While she attended college, Martin juggled two jobs, working tirelessly to make ends meet. He didn't care about sleep or rest; what mattered was her future. He funded her education, paid rent for the apartment they shared, and even sent money to her family in the countryside when they needed help. He dreamed of a life where they could finally build a home after she graduated-just two months away.
Martin had promised himself early on: he would not touch her until the time was right. She was his heart, and he wanted her to focus on school, to never feel pressured by anything else. He believed that by sacrificing everything now, they could have a future they would both be proud of.
But everything crumbled the moment she sat him down, tears in her eyes, trembling. Her confession felt like a blade sliding deep into his chest.
"I'm pregnant," she whispered.
His breath caught.
"It's not yours."
The words echoed in his skull, each syllable more unbearable than the last. He sat frozen, struggling to piece together the betrayal in front of him. He hadn't even touched her. He'd been so careful, so patient. How could this be real?
"I didn't mean for it to happen," she sobbed. "It was just a mistake! You were always so busy-always at work-and I... I felt so alone."
His hands gripped the edge of the table, knuckles white.
"I love you, Martin," she continued, voice breaking. "It was one mistake! Please don't leave me. I want to keep the baby... But I still want us."
Martin closed his eyes, the ache in his chest unbearable. He felt the weight of every sleepless night, every sacrifice he'd made, crushing him from the inside. She wanted to continue as if nothing had changed. But everything had.
In the end, Martin knew what he had to do. His voice was calm when he told her it was over. He moved her into a dormitory, paid her tuition as promised, and ensured she had everything she needed to graduate. But that was all. The love, the dreams they shared, the future they imagined together-it was gone.
And Martin, left with only the silence of his apartment, started over. Or so he thought.
Years has passed, and Martin had tried to move on. He met someone new-a bright, kind woman who gave him a sliver of hope that life could be better. Their relationship had grown slowly, cautiously, like someone learning to trust again after being burned. He thought this time would be different.
But tonight, on a video call with her, the familiar cracks in his soul started to reopen.
"Martin..." She looked nervous, her face pale on the screen. "I have to tell you something."
His heart began to pound.
"I... I'm pregnant." Her voice wavered. "It-it was an accident."
Martin stared at her, numb. It felt like he had been thrown into the same nightmare all over again. His hands clenched into fists in his lap, hidden from view.
"I know this isn't what we planned," she continued, voice trembling. "I didn't mean for this to happen. But I love you, Martin. We can figure this out together."
Her words blurred in his mind, mixing with the past. He couldn't breathe. Every emotion he'd buried from that day two years ago rose to the surface, clawing at him, suffocating him.
Not again.
The walls of his apartment seemed to close in. The air grew thick, as if the darkness itself was pressing against him. Memories overlapped-her voice, their voices-apologies, mistakes, promises that meant nothing.
He forced a smile on the video call, nodding in all the right places. But the truth was, he was drowning. As the call ended and the screen went black, he sat there in the dark, unmoving. His heart ached in ways he couldn't describe, a hollow pit expanding in his chest.
It was happening again. And this time, he didn't know if he could survive it.
"Help me..." The words escaped him like a whispered prayer, fragile and desperate.
But there was no answer. Only the silence, and the weight of the darkness pulling him deeper.
"Someone... please... help me."
