CHAPTER 270: CHAPTER 270: BETWEEN LOVE AND OBLIGATION

~Zayn’s POV~

Evric quickly grabbed Nuala’s bag, took my hand, and pulled Nuala and me out of the restaurant through the back exit.

As we were ushered out, Meera’s frantic voice echoed behind us, a desperate, fading cry: "Zayn!"

We stumbled out into the cool evening air. Evric had Nuala’s arm in one hand and my wrist in the other, pulling us along. The three of us were silent, the noise of the confrontation still ringing in my ears. I was sticky with soda, my face stung, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the shock of what Meera had done and said.

We reached Evric’s car. Evric wasn’t looking at me; his movements were too precise, too calm. He opened the back door, reached in, and brought out an extra shirt. Then, with heartbreaking tenderness, he began gently unbuttoning my sticky, soda-soaked shirt.

The silent, careful attention hurt more than a shout ever could.

"I’m sorry," I whispered, the words trembling. "I’m so sorry, Evric."

He didn’t pause. "You did nothing wrong. Why are you apologizing?"

I turned to Nuala, who was watching this domestic scene of devastation. "Nuala, I’m sorry for how Meera reacted inside. I never wanted you to see that."

"It’s not your fault, Zayn," Nuala said immediately. "You don’t need to apologize to anyone. She’s the one who needs a straitjacket."

Evric straightened and turned to Nuala. "Nuala, you can go ahead."

Nuala, sensing the charged atmosphere, didn’t argue. "Okay, bro. Call me later." She entered her car and drove away.

As soon as she was gone, I reached out and grabbed Evric’s hand, pulling him closer. The weight of his composure was crushing me.

"Just yell at me!" I cried, my voice raw. "Get angry! Say it! It’s better than your silence, Evric. Say you’re tired of this drama!"

Evric finally lifted his gaze to mine. There was no anger there, only exhaustion and something deeper. "I have no reason to yell at you, Zayn," he murmured. He exhaled softly. "I’m sorry, my love. I’m sorry you had to face all of this... and that I couldn’t protect you when it mattered."

"It’s not your fault," I insisted quickly.

He ignored my protests, changing my shirt with the calm precision of a medic. But my mind was far from steady. A cold distance stretched between us, terrifying in its quietness. Evric wasn’t arguing, wasn’t pushing back, and it made me fear that his love for me was already slipping away, that he was beginning to give up.

I grabbed his shirt before he could step back and pulled him into a tight embrace, burying my face against the warm curve of his neck.

He didn’t hug back right away. It took a few agonizing seconds before his arms finally wrapped around me, a weak, defeated response.

"Just cry if you want to," he murmured against my hair. "I’m trying hard to be that man you need in your life, Zayn, but I can’t..."

Before he could finish, I pulled back slightly. The panic that had been building since last night burst out of me. "I need to talk to you about Meera," I said, my voice shaking. My whole body trembled. "I need to explain why I allowed her to stay in my house. I need you to understand why I couldn’t force her to leave..."

Evric hushed me gently, cupping my face in both hands. He kissed me in an attempt to steady my spiraling panic. What began as a soft brush of his lips quickly deepened, turning into something desperate, a wordless plea for reassurance neither of us could voice.

We were deep in the kiss, the world spinning away, when Meera’s voice, shrill and close, rang out from behind the parked cars.

"Leave him alone, you gay man!"

Evric broke the kiss instantly. He didn’t even turn around. He looked straight into my eyes, his decision clear and final.

"I have to go," he said softly. "Tomorrow morning I’m leaving for a business trip. I won’t be back until Saturday."

He kissed me one last time, a hard, quick press of lips that tasted like goodbye. "Stay calm and take care of yourself till then." He pulled his hands away, his eyes holding mine. "The choice is yours to make."

He vaulted into the back seat of his car, giving his driver a sharp nod. The engine roared to life, and they sped off before Meera could close the distance.

Meera finally walked closer to me, ready to unleash another round of shouting. I turned to face her, the look on my face, a raw blend of exhaustion, fury, and absolute resolve, was enough to silence her. She clearly understood that, she finally realized she had crossed the line.

She lowered her voice instantly, shifting tactics from fury to victimhood. "Oh, Zayn, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. It’s because of our son." Her eyes glistened with sudden, manipulative tears. "I just don’t want him to grow up to see his father in love with another man."

Before I could react, she moved, wrapping her arms around me, holding me tight in a hug I didn’t return. "Please, think about your son, Zayn," she pleaded into my shoulder. "This kind of lifestyle will affect his life, his stability. What if he had been here? What if he saw his father couldn’t even defend his mother from a strange woman because of a man?"

I pulled my head back just enough to look at her, my voice heavy with betrayal. "You started it, Meera. Why would you even think of pouring a drink on him? Since when did you become this rude and disrespectful?"

She pulled back, her desperate facade starting to crumble under the weight of my stare. "Zayn... I carried your baby for nine months on my own! Do you know how much it hurt? How lonely I felt without you?" Her hands gripped my arms tightly. "If none of the past had happened, it would’ve been just us—me, you, and our child. Can you... can you just forget about Evric for a moment and think about me, and our son? Please, Zayn."

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. Her hug was stifling, her logic sickeningly manipulative, but the mention of my supposed son tied my stomach in knots. I had to end this.

I gently pushed her away, finally detaching myself from her grasp. I met her gaze, making sure she saw the resolve behind the pain.

"I can’t break up with Evric, Meera," I stated, the words clear despite the tremor in my chest. "I love him so much."

Her face went from tearful pleading to cold, incandescent rage in a second. Her voice was harsh, devoid of all softness.

"Then you have to choose, Zayn. Choose between your son and him. You have to make a choice."

"Stop, Meera..."

She held up her hand, stopping me before I could speak.

"I’m being honest, Zayn. Whatever choice you make right now, I will accept it, and I will stop coming to you. If you choose Evric, then I’ll erase you from our son’s life completely. You’ve never been there for him since the day he was born, so I’ll make sure he grows up without ever knowing you existed. And you can go on and enjoy your life with your gay partner."

"Meera, stop!" I shouted, the word torn from my lungs.

She dismissed me with a sharp glance. "You have three days to decide, Zayn. After that, it’s over. If you want a DNA test, fine—I’m ready. But the choice is yours."

Then she turned and walked away, leaving me alone in the parking lot.

I watched her retreating figure, the cold reality of her words sinking in. Three days. I started calculating the days in my head, counting forward from tonight. Tonight, tomorrow, and then...

The third day was Saturday. The same Saturday. Evric’s midnight deadline. My mind went blank.

A raw, gutted scream tore out of me, echoing through the parking lot. "No! Why can’t I just live my life in peace?! Why can’t I have happiness, even for a moment?!"

My voice cracked, collapsing under the weight of everything I was carrying.

"I can’t choose! I can’t! They’re both important to me!"

I collapsed against the cold, sticky brick wall, shaking uncontrollably. Evric had given me the choice of commitment or separation, and Meera had just given me the choice of fatherhood or freedom. Both demanded my final answer at the exact same hour. I was trapped between the love of my life and the child I never knew I had. My world had narrowed to one impossible, looming deadline.

"The choice is mine alone."