Springdale.
The courtyard of The Regal Hotel.
The flowers were in full bloom, and the breeze carried their fragrance.
But Mia Quinn was unable to admire its beauty, the scene seeming to suffocate her.
Warm light spilled on the ground as a couple of familiar silhouettes embraced under a tree.
"Zack..."
The lady's voice was gentle and soft. Her fair arms were wrapped around his neck as she rested her head on his chest affectionately.
The man seemed to have other considerations. After some hesitation, he gently and slowly pushed her away.
When Zack Sullivan looked in Mia Quinn's direction, she quickly hid behind something.
She heard Zack say, "Angie, you said you were going to give me a surprise. What is it?"
Angie Stewart's voice was sweet and her tone a little shy as she quietly said, "Zack, I'm pregnant."
At that moment, Mia Quinn felt as if she'd been struck by some inexplicable force.
Her eyes widened in horror as her face turned pale.
"What?!" Zack appeared shocked too.
"Zack, I'm pregnant!" Angie threw herself into his arms and hugged him, her face filled with bliss. "I'm carrying our baby. You'll be a father soon, are you happy?"
Zack lowered his head, his expression still stunned, and furrowed his brows slightly. "When was this?"
"Just a month ago."
With her body against his, Angie looked up slightly and glanced towards the area Mia was hiding.
Her lips curled up, making her appear a little sly. "That day when Mia went for a photo shoot and we did it at the window seat in your house... that time."
A month ago, when she went for a photo shoot?
Mia felt the world spin before her eyes.
At the window seat in Zack's house...
She used to love lying there to read books.
On that thought, she felt her gut churn.
Angie said some more, but Mia did not process it.
Her mind was blank.
A while later, she heard Zack say, "Let's go back. We've been out here too long, she'll get suspicious."
When they were done being intimate, they headed back to the living room.
Mia was pale as a sheet as if her heart had been ripped apart.
Through those bloodshot, teary eyes, she saw Zack wrap his arm around Angie as they made their way in her direction.
Seeing that they were approaching, she ran off in a panic.
Giddy and weak, Mia had no idea if it was because of the alcohol she'd just imbibed.
While running, she accidentally bumped into a few big men clad in black.
She was just about to apologize when one of them held her tightly. "That's her. We found the person, take her away!"
That's her?
Had they gotten the wrong person?
Mia struggled for a bit and tried to resist, but she had no energy left in her.
She got increasingly giddy and soon her consciousness blurred...