Chapter 76: Another Chance

Maya’s POV

It had been several days since Kelvin left me, and each day seemed longer than the last.

I repeatedly called him, sent messages, and tried to explain my feelings, apologising and occasionally giving him space in hopes he might reconsider.

He had done none of the things I hoped he would.

He hadn’t contacted me. He hadn’t responded to any of my messages. Nor had he returned to the apartment we shared.

The moment I stepped inside my Mum’s apartment, she looked up from where she was sitting.

"Why did you take so long to come home?"

I dropped my bag onto the sofa and dropped on the sofa. "Because I was still waiting it out."

Letting out a small breath, I continued, "Kelvin still won’t speak to me. I thought by now he would have calmed down. I thought he would at least answer one of my calls or return to the apartment, but he hasn’t done anything. It’s like he has completely shut me out."

My mother remained silent. Then she stood up and walked toward the dining area. "Come and eat first."

"Mom, I don’t—"

"You’re eating."

I followed her reluctantly. There was already food on the table. She pulled out a chair for me and placed a plate in front of me.

"You’ve lost weight."

I looked down at the food. "I don’t feel like eating."

"That is why you’re going to eat."

I picked up the fork. For the first few minutes, I managed to swallow a few bites. Then the thought of Kelvin came back to me, and the tears I had been holding back finally slipped down my cheeks.

I lowered the fork. "I don’t understand how he can do this to me."

My mother immediately frowned. "Stop."

I glanced at her. Then she said to me, "You’re crying over a plate of food now?"

"I can’t help it."

"You can." Her voice was firm. "You’re making yourself weak when you should be thinking."

I wiped my face angrily. "I have been thinking."

"Then answer me something." She leaned back in her chair. "Does Kelvin still love you?"

I didn’t hesitate. "Yes."

"How do you know?"

"Because he was hurt. If he didn’t care about me, he wouldn’t have been so angry."

"Exactly. He still loves you." My mother nodded slowly. "But love isn’t enough anymore. He doesn’t see you as the woman he loves right now. He sees you as the woman who betrayed him."

The words hurt because they were true. I looked away. "I didn’t betray him because I wanted to hurt him."

"What matters is what he believes now," she said.

Silence settled between us. Then she said something that made me look at her again.

"If Kelvin believes you’re still willing to sacrifice yourself for him, he will eventually forgive you."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

She watched me for a moment before continuing. "You’ve spent all this time begging him to forgive you. You’re asking him to trust your words after you’ve already lied to him. Why would that work?"

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Give him something he can’t dismiss as words." My mother lowered her voice. "Sometimes a man doesn’t remember betrayal when he believes he almost lost the woman he loves."

I immediately understood what she was suggesting. "No."

She didn’t look surprised. "You haven’t even heard the whole idea."

"I know enough."

"You don’t." She leaned forward. "Kelvin is going to continue avoiding you because every time he looks at you, he remembers what you did. But what happens when he sees you put yourself between him and danger?"

My stomach tightened. "You want me to get hurt?"

"I want you to make him understand how much you are willing to risk for him."

"Mum, that is insane." I could hardly believe my own ears. Why would I put my life in danger for anyone?

"Is it?" She didn’t raise her voice. "You don’t need to pretend that nothing happened. You don’t need him to forget what you did. You only need him to feel that losing you would hurt more than forgiving you."

The idea was frightening. But the more I thought about it, the more I understood what she meant.

If Kelvin genuinely believed that I had nearly lost my life protecting him, could he really look at me afterwards and simply walk away?

My mother continued. "We don’t need to manufacture some ridiculous story. Kelvin has to believe the danger is real. You simply need to know when something is going to happen and make sure you’re there."

I swallowed. "And if something goes wrong?"

"Then you make sure it doesn’t go too far."

Her answer should have frightened me more than it did, but instead, I was preoccupied with Kelvin. I kept recalling how he had looked at me before leaving, the wedding, and everything we had created together.

I couldn’t lose him. Not now.

My mother saw the change in my expression and asked, "You understand now?"

I slowly nodded. Then another thought occurred to me. "What happens after he forgives me?"

"The wedding will continue as planned." Then my mother’s expression changed. "But you must stop thinking like his fiancée and start thinking like the woman who will own half of Mercer Technologies."

I looked at her. She continued as though she were discussing something obvious.

"The wedding cannot simply be about wearing a ring and becoming Mrs. Mercer. Once you’re inside that family, you need to understand what belongs to you and what can become yours. Mercer Technologies is the real prize."

My fingers tightened around the edge of the table.

She was right.

I had been so consumed by the possibility of losing Kelvin that I had almost forgotten the larger future I had imagined for myself.

I didn’t just want the wedding. I wanted everything that came with it.

I stood up and picked up my phone. Before I could think myself out of it, I opened Kelvin’s contact.

My fingers hovered over the screen for a moment, then I typed.

"I know you don’t want to speak to me, but I need to see you. It’s important. Please."

I stared at the message for several seconds before sending it.

Every few minutes, I checked my phone again and again. Then finally, almost an hour later, the screen lit up.

My heart jumped. It was Kelvin. I opened the message immediately.

"Come to the café near Mercer Technologies tomorrow afternoon during my lunch break. I will meet you there. I won’t wait a minute longer."

I read it twice. He was willing to see me. After days of silence, Kelvin had finally agreed to meet me.

A relieved smile slowly spread across my face.

My mother, who was already sitting and watching TV, turned to me and asked, "He replied?"

"Yes." I nodded. "He wants to meet me at the café near the company tomorrow afternoon."

She smiled. "Then tomorrow, we will make sure he remembers exactly why he chose you in the first place."

I nodded briefly before looking down at Kelvin’s message again.

I finally got a chance, and I’m not going to waste it.