He turned to look, his emotions going haywire and wreaking havoc in his chest.

Fear and anticipation coursed through him.

It was a feeling he had never felt before.

For the first time, he found himself at the mercy of his emotions.

There were a lot of people at the other end of the escalator, but there was no longer any sign of Melissa. Marcus' eyelids twitched slightly, then he did something that he had never done in his life.

“Excuse me, please."

Murmuring apologies, he ran in the opposite direction, pushing his way through the crowd. A moment later, he found himself upstairs once again. Faces flooded his vision as they passed by, his eyes anxiously darting from one to another. But none of them was Melissa.

Marcus swallowed, his throat bobbing slightly. In his desperation, he considered pulling strings.

Just then, a face he recognized came out of the aisle on the other side.

It was the newly-married Vanessa with her husband.

From the curve of her stomach, it was easy to tell that she was pregnant. The man beside her stood by protectively, but Vanessa's face remained indifferent, as if she didn't care about him in the slightest.

Marcus stared at Vanessa.

Perhaps he had heard it wrong.

Perhaps the name he heard people call earlier wasn't Melissa, but something similar, like Vanessa. Or maybe it was indeed Melissa, just not the one he knew.

Right, of course. In the first place, it didn't make sense. Melissa wouldn't have any reason to visit the obstetrics and gynecology department. The pharmacy clerk confirmed Melissa bought and took morning-after pills that night right after the last time she and Marcus had slept together. There was no way she was pregnant.

He couldn't believe he was even considering that possibility. It was almost as if he was hoping for it.

He was being pathetic.

He was the one who said all those nasty things to her face- that she was worthless, and that she didn't deserve to be Mrs. Fowler. No woman in her right mind would want to give him children after how he demeaned her like that.

Marcus felt cold, his face turning pale.

A sense of loss flooded over him, his eyes filled with dull shadows.