Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

I nervously shoved Faris's hand away and bolted upstairs. "I'm hitting the sack first."

He didn't follow me, but he called out, trying to change the subject. "Not watching TV anymore?"

I ignored him and dashed into a room, shutting the door behind me. Leaning against it, I felt a wave of anxiety.

Looking around, I realized something was off-this was Faris's bedroom, the one he used after his last shower.

I turned to open the door, only to find Faris leaning against the doorway.

I swallowed awkwardly and asked in a low voice, "Which room should I sleep in?"

He propped one hand on the door frame, leaning casually, and said with a cheeky grin, "You're in my room now. If you want to crash here, that's cool. I'll share half of my bed with you." I rolled my eyes at him. "Cut it out!"

He chuckled but didn't push it. He stepped aside and opened the door to the room across the hall. "You can sleep here."

I slipped into the room immediately. Faris seemed like he wanted to follow, but I quickly shut the door.

A knock came soon after.

He said, "I wasn't done talking."

Gritting my teeth, I cracked the door open and glared at him.

He stood there with his arms crossed, giving me a half-smile. "Actually, if you're scared of the dark, ghosts, or nightmares, my door's always open. You can come snuggle anytime." "Get lost!" I slammed the door shut.

Outside, I heard Faris's laughter and his footsteps fading away. I went into the bathroom and took out the pregnancy test.

As the liquid rose on the strip, I felt a mix of nerves, expectation, fear, and sadness.

When the two red lines appeared, I leaned against the cold tiles, feeling desolate. This kid came at the worst possible time.

Lying in bed in the dark, I stared at the ceiling, my hands resting on my abdomen.

If Ethan knew I was carrying his child, would he have made a different choice back then?

Actually, when I first suspected I might be pregnant, I had already made up my mind.

Even if Ethan and I went our separate ways, I would keep this child. This child was my spiritual support and my reason to keep living!

Maybe I had slept too much during the day, or maybe it was the unfamiliar environment and the many things on my mind. But I had a bit of insomnia.

I didn't hear Faris come upstairs again.

In the middle of the night, I wasn't sure what time it was. I still hadn't fallen asleep, but I heard some noise downstairs.

I got out of bed and walked to the window, spotting Faris driving away.

Where could he be heading so late?

I went downstairs to check, only to find the door locked.

Was he worried I'd sneak out while he was gone?

So, I went back to my room and lay down again.

Later, I drifted off and when I woke up, it was already daylight.

I had a text from Faris: [You awake? I got you a new set of toiletries. Didn't want to wake you, so I left them at your door. Grab them when you're up.]

I opened the door and found the toiletries. After freshening up, I went downstairs. The living room was empty, but I heard noises from the kitchen.

I saw Faris making breakfast. It's not unusual for guys to cook; I'd seen Jason and Ethan do it well.

But Faris was different. He seemed new to it, studying his phone intently while cooking and not even noticing me.

"How to make scrambled eggs soft and fluffy?" I read out the title he was searching on his phone.

He jumped and quickly put his phone away when he saw it was me. "You walk so quietly?"

He was actually blushing a bit.

I knew he was using that annoyed tone to cover his embarrassment.

I shrugged. "I made noise; you were just too into it."

Faris puffed his cheeks and stared at me, still looking a bit embarrassed, as if he was thinking of something to say.

I pointed to the pan. "If you don't take it out now, the eggs won't be soft or fluffy."

He quickly turned off the heat and used a spatula to take out the eggs.

Seeing him so flustered, I almost wanted to laugh but held it in.

Looking at the not-so-pretty scrambled eggs on the plate, he scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, my skills are limited. Just make do with it."

Seeing the greasy eggs, I shook my head. "Too oily."

He pointed to the rice cooker. "There's oatmeal. I saw you could eat it the other day, so I made a bit."

Oatmeal, eggs, toast, and coffee were all set on the table.

Faris said he bought the toast and coffee early in the morning.

He pushed the scrambled eggs he made in front of me. I felt that if I didn't eat them, it would dampen his enthusiasm for learning and might make him lose interest in the kitchen, so I accepted them. Eating the eggs with the oatmeal made it a bit less greasy.

"Is it good?" Faris asked me expectantly.

I swallowed the food in my mouth with difficulty and lied. "It's pretty good."

Faris lit up at the compliment and decided to taste his own cooking.

As soon as he took a bite, he spat it out and frowned. "This is terrible."

I couldn't help but laugh.

Faris reached over to take the eggs away from me and handed me a piece of toast. "Here, eat this instead."

Halfway through the meal, I cleared my throat. "Can you let me leave?"

Faris's chewing paused.

"No!" he said firmly.

I felt a bit stifled. "You don't have the right to restrict my freedom."

Faris nonchalantly took a bite of his bread, chewed for a while, and asked without looking up, "Why can't you stay?"

I stirred the oatmeal in my bowl. "Why should I stay?"

He suddenly put down his bread and looked at me, his expression dark.

I thought he was going to get angry. But instead, he suddenly smiled, got up, and came around to my side. His tall body loomed over me from behind, his hands resting on either side of me. The sudden move made me a bit nervous.

His lips were close to my ear, and the warmth of his breath made my ear feel hot.

"Do you remember? My dad once jokingly asked your dad to reserve you as his daughter-in-law at a dinner party?"

His mention of it did bring back a distant memory. But it was so long ago that it was almost forgotten.

I avoided his breath and pretended to be calm. "Things said while drinking are just jokes. My dad didn't take it seriously."

Faris disagreed. "Your dad clearly liked me as a potential son-in-law back then. He said I looked like a hardworking and reliable person, worth depending on."

I pushed away his hands that were on either side of me and rolled my eyes at him. "You're just taking advantage of the fact that my dad can't see you now, aren't you?"

He smirked and sat back down, but the smile quickly faded from his face.

He picked up the toast he hadn't finished but didn't eat it for a long time.

"Are you planning to go back to Ethan?" he asked.

I lied, "Yes. I completely understand why he made that decision that day."

"Do you really care about him that much?" he asked, his tone intense and his eyes dark.

I forced a smile. "Yes, I care a lot. Besides, the child needs a father."

Faris suddenly looked up at me, a flash of pain in his eyes.

After a moment, he lowered his gaze and said cruelly, "But he doesn't care about you at all."

I smiled lightly. "It's okay, as long as I care about him."

Faris suddenly threw the half-eaten toast on the table. "This is really bad. Next time, I'll buy from a different place."

I knew that deep down, he probably saw me as weak and pathetic.

After a while, his tone suddenly became very calm. "If I don't let you go, will you hate me?"

I looked into his eyes and answered seriously, "I will hate you very much."

Faris turned his face away, biting his lip, his brows furrowed deeply.

"Finish eating, and I'll take you," he said, struggling to get the words out.

He didn't eat much of the meal, and I only ate half of my oatmeal.

After washing the dishes, he took me to the door.

While changing shoes at the door, I noticed a new pair of women's slippers on the shoe rack, with the tags still on.

I suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.

In this world, we were kind to many people and received kindness from many, but we couldn't always reciprocate every kindness. Sometimes, hurt was inevitable.

I didn't let Faris take me to the villa entrance but asked him to stop by the roadside, which was not far from the city center, where there was a small mall.

I deliberately made my tone sound bright and cheerful. "I'm going to buy some of Ethan's favorite foods and make him a nice dinner at home."

I got out of the car, and Faris did too.

"Thanks for the ride." I turned to leave.

"Emily," he called out.

I turned back, and Faris was standing there with his arms open, a roguish smile on his face.

"Not even a goodbye hug?" he teased.

He was always so unserious. I ignored him and was about to walk away.

But he grabbed my hand and pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly.

He held me so tight that I found it hard to breathe.

"If Ethan bullies you, you can come back to me," he whispered in my ear.

I broke free from him and didn't respond to his words, quickly turning to leave.

I wandered around the mall for a while but didn't buy anything. When I came out, Faris's car was already gone.

I walked along the road, feeling very lost.

Of course, I wouldn't go back to Ethan. In some ways, I had my pride too.

Between a couple, I might be able to lower my head. But with a third person involved, it was different. I had endured too much already. And this time, I would rather leave with dignity.

I didn't know how far I had walked when suddenly, with a screech, a car stopped beside me.

I stopped and saw the back door open, and Ethan got out of the car.

This time, I didn't hesitate at all and turned to run.

Ethan quickly caught up to me, picked me up, and despite my struggles, put me into the car.