Seven Years Lost: My Firefighter fiancé Saved Everyone But Our Love - Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Before Arthur could get a word out, Hailey was already freaking out: "Hell no!"
"You two have been together for seven years, and now there's a baby! You can't just... get rid of it!"
Arthur's face went from zero to furious in half a second:
"Kayla, cut the dramatics. You're being ridiculous."
"I'm not being dramatic." I locked eyes with him. "The second you left me standing at that altar, we were fucking done."
Arthur started to make excuses, but then Natalie burst into tears:
"Kayla, this is all my fault! Don't blame Arthur! I'm such an idiot for falling in love with him... I'm a horrible bitch. I should just die!"
And with that lovely performance, she ran out the door sobbing.
Arthur took a step toward the exit, his face all twisted with concern:
"Kayla, Natalie's in a really dark place right now. I'm scared she might hurt herself. Just... wait here, okay? We'll talk about the baby situation later."
He was already heading for the door when Hailey yanked him back:
"Arthur, what the hell is wrong with you? Who's your girlfriend here—her or Kayla? Who comes first? How are you even confused about this?"
But you can't wake someone who's pretending to sleep.
Arthur shook off his mom's grip, frowning:
"Mom, she's got severe depression. We're talking about saving someone's life here!"
The whole room went dead quiet.
Arthur shot me this guilty look, then bolted after Natalie anyway.
Guess he forgot that Natalie wasn't the only life on the line here. There was also the one growing inside me.
Rain started hammering against the windows like bullets.
Hailey squeezed my hands, closing her eyes: "Kayla, it's pouring out there... maybe wait until tomorrow to leave?"
I stared at the rain battering the glass and shook my head: "Nah."
Just let this winter storm be our final goodbye.
That night I went back to my parents' house. Arthur spent the same storm kneeling outside our front door, not moving for twelve straight hours.
The next morning, Mom was driving me to the clinic when we opened the door to find Arthur struggling to his feet, his eyes lighting up:
"Kayla, you're awake."
He'd been kneeling all night in the rain, soaked to the bone. His usually bright eyes were bloodshot and hollow.
I was so done with his whole "beg for forgiveness after the fact" routine—if he actually gave a shit, why did he keep picking her over me?
Arthur blocked my path to the car.
His eyes were desperate as he raised his right hand and promised:
"Kayla, I cut Natalie loose completely. Handed her off to another team."
"I swear to God, I'll never see her again. Look, I've got the official transfer paperwork right here."
He shoved his phone at me, his eyes filled with stubborn pleading.
I took his phone and smashed it on the concrete: "Arthur, it's too fucking late."
Arthur looked at me, broken—his face a mess of pain and disbelief.
"Why? Kayla, I promised I'd give you everything you wanted. Can't you just trust me one more time?"
Even now, he still didn't get it.
This was never about trust or feelings. Once someone else gets mixed up in your love story, it's contaminated. Game over.
I didn't say another word, just headed for the car.
Suddenly he screamed: "KAYLA!"
Arthur dropped to his knees right there on the sidewalk, holding out that engagement ring from our ruined wedding:
"Marry me. We'll go to City Hall right now, give our kid a real family. Please?"
Honestly? Arthur was a catch.
Good-looking, successful, solid family, and his parents adored me.
We had history. We had chemistry. We were having a baby.
That little homewrecker who came between us? Maybe I really could just pretend she never existed and go back to our life.
But I couldn't fucking do it.
The love I wanted had to be perfect. No cracks, no side pieces, no bullshit.
The second I picked up the ring, his phone started buzzing.
I could hear Gideon screaming on the other end: "Captain, we got a problem! Natalie tried to kill herself again!"
Same old bullshit, different day.
Arthur's face twisted with conflict, then he gritted his teeth: "Stop calling me about her shit. I'm done."
He hung up and looked at me with puppy dog eyes: "Kayla, please say yes. Marry me. I swear I'll spend the rest of my life making this up to you."
I couldn't help but laugh. And once I started, the tears came flooding out.
I threw the ring on the ground. He picked it up. I threw it again. His face got darker.
I said quietly: "Some mistakes don't get second chances."
"You threw away seven years for her. I hope you die alone and miserable."
"Arthur, I'm the one who dump your ass."
Maybe he'd never heard me go full savage on him before, he grabbed my hands and crushed me against him:
"Kayla, please don't get rid of our baby. I'm begging you."
"We've wanted this for so long. You can't seriously go through with it."
"This baby is proof of our love. Please, don't be this cruel."
Arthur's words brought back all these memories.
All those years wandering through Target's baby section, fantasizing about our future family, giggling over tiny pink onesies, geeking out over high chairs and strollers... This little life was something we'd dreamed about forever.
We really had been happy once, walking toward our perfect future together.
Too bad present-day Arthur didn't deserve any of it.
The day of the procedure, I put my hand on my stomach and apologized to the tiny life inside me, tears streaming down my face:
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Mommy can't bring you into this mess..."
Word about the abortion somehow made it back to Arthur's superiors.
Some investigation team called me up, trying to smooth things over:
"Ms. Rovella, Captain Haustia's got a spotless record. Yeah, he screwed up, but maybe you could cut him some slack?"
I was in a taxi heading to JFK, watching the city blur past my window.
"Sorry, but the baby's gone." My voice was completely flat. "I wasn't bringing a kid into a home where daddy's obsessed with his side piece."
Dead silence on the other end. Then they hung up.
I yanked out my SIM card, tossed it in the trash, and wheeled my suitcase into the JFK.
Arthur tracked my flight and came tearing through the departure lounge like a maniac, clutching some beat-up old envelope.
"Kayla, wait! Look at this!" He shoved it at me, voice cracking. "The forgiveness coupon you made me seven years ago. You promised that as long as I had this, you'd forgive me for anything. Anything!"
Inside was this adorable little watercolor drawing of two stick figures holding hands, with my teenage handwriting:
"Arthur's Free Pass - Valid Forever."
"I've kept it in my wallet all these years, scared I'd lose it..." He grabbed my wrists, his eyes bloodshot. "Seven fucking years, Kayla. We were supposed to grow old together. Don't bail on us now. Please."
Seven years of love doesn't just disappear overnight. It's like trying to rip out your own heart.
I turned my back on him, pulled free, and walked toward security.
Maybe I wasn't ready to completely let him go yet.
But I knew damn well that nobody actually dies from heartbreak.
Time heals everything. Someday, we'd just be strangers who used to matter to each other.