“KARMA”

"Hey, Marius, I'm glad you called."

That was Lana answering his call.

She was currently standing outside Sam's condominium unit. It had been two days since he dropped her off, and Sam hadn't been responding to his calls or text messages. Worried, he decided to come over to check on her.

"Did Sam call you? Or did she come to your place?" were his consecutive questions.

The truth is, this was his last resort. He tried his best not to involve Andrew and Lana in the mess, even though he was the one who caused it. But he couldn't think of any other way. Besides, the fact was Sam had nowhere else to go except to her brother.

"Sam? No, she hasn't. Wait, aren't you two together?" replied his friend on the other line.

He quickly picked up on the concern in Lana's voice.

"My god," he replied instead, then rubbed his face wearily with his hands.

He momentarily forgot that Lana was still on the line, so he was slightly surprised to hear her voice from the other end.

"What's wrong, Marius? Where's Sam?"

Lana's tone was filled with heightened concern this time. He knew she needed to explain, so before doing so, he took a deep breath.

"Where are you? I'll come to you."

When he remained silent, Lana's voice filled the air. "I'll come to you then. Marius, I need to talk to you this time," she said.

"Okay, let's meet at our favorite coffee shop in the mall," she added.

Marius didn't respond after that. Instead, his heart continued to race as he ended the call.

Inside his car, he decided to let go of the emotions he had been holding back. He knew he was a man and shouldn't show such vulnerability. But what could he do when he felt like his chest was about to explode with anger?

Sam left him. He needed to accept that truth. What made it worse was that it wasn't just Sam who left him. Their child was also gone.

"Shit! Shit!" he cursed angrily, punching the steering wheel of his car.

This is karma. Yes, he accepted it as his karma. He did something bad to Sam, schemed and plotted against her. And now, he's the one who fell into that trap. Because he fell in love with her. He loves her deeply.

*****

"Lena? Your childhood friend?" Lana clarified as they faced each other.

He nodded and took a sad sip of his coffee. "I didn't anticipate that, Lana. I didn't think Lena could do that," he admitted, sighing heavily.

"Maybe you should have told Sam about it a long time ago. So it wouldn't have come to this," Lana's tone was filled with deep sorrow.

"Don't blame yourself, Lana. It's not your fault. You're right, I should have told her about it a long time ago. I will confess everything to her. I'm just waiting for the right time," Marius explained.

"But Lena came into the picture," Lana said, shaking her head.

"Was Andrew aware of my feelings for you back then, Lana?" he decided to ask his friend.

Lana nodded and smiled at him. "I'm not hiding anything from my husband, Marius. Besides, don't worry, Andrew doesn't have any idea about that. He knows that we never became a couple. I think Sam's reaction would be the same if there was no scheming involved."

Marius furrowed his eyebrows at what he heard. "What do you mean?" he asked, sounding confused.

"What I mean is, if only the plan to make her fall in love with you to get back at Andrew didn't happen, maybe my husband's reaction would be the same as Sam's. But that added to it. And didn't she have an accident because she overheard what you and Patrick talked about?" Lana explained.

He nodded to show that he fully understood what Lana meant.

"I think it's better if we give Sam some time," Lana continued.

"What do you mean by giving Sam some time?" protested Marius's tone, expressing confusion, unable to discern which feeling was true.

"There's nowhere else for Sam to go but to her parents in London," Lana replied.

Marius paused for a moment, pondering on what his friend had said.

"Really? Do you think you can help me visit her?" Marius was somewhat encouraged by Lana's suggestion, his enthusiasm evident in his tone.

"I don't think it's a good idea to visit or follow her," Lana answered.

“Why not?” Marius asked, immediately dismayed.

"I think Sam distanced herself because she's trying to calm down the hurt she's feeling right now. Let her be. Didn't she ask for space from you? Give her that, because for someone like her who's deeply hurt, she can't listen to all your explanations. The pain and the answer to the question of how or why you did that to her are more dominant in her mind," Lana explained, looking straight into his eyes.

Marius let out a heavy sigh as he tried to understand what his friend said. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that he tried to absorb it. Because the truth is, he understood what Lana was trying to convey.

The problem, however, was that his heart seemed unwilling to agree with Lana's suggestion. So when he spoke, it was what came out of his mouth.

"Lana, my child is with Sam. Am I not going to witness the birth of my child? Is that what you're saying? Should I just let that happen?" His words were accompanied by strong protests, and Marius couldn't hide them. Maybe the reason why it's becoming difficult for him to filter through all the emotions and feelings he's experiencing right now is that he's hurting so much. And in moments like these, he almost wants to be angry at Lena. Because if not for her interference, he and Sam wouldn't be in this complicated situation right now.

"Let her heal. That's what I mean. Haven't you noticed, even with Andrew and me, she didn't show up or even say goodbye? It means she wants to be alone, so let's give her that."

"It's not easy for me to agree with what you're suggesting, Lana," Marius insisted.

"I know. You love her and you're the father of the child she's carrying. Of course, you want to be by her side, especially since pregnancy isn't easy, right? But this is her decision. And as the mother of the child, she has more rights than you," Lana's tone remained unchanged. She remained calm.

"When can I talk to Andrew? I wanted to ask for his favor," Marius remembered, thinking that perhaps Andrew would understand him and help with what he wanted to happen.

Oh right. Andrew also went through this kind of trial before. The only difference is that he didn't find out that Lana was pregnant because his friend didn't chase after him.

"Maybe I should be the one to explain things to Andrew, Marius," Lana suggested, smiling meaningfully at him.

"Lana, please," Marius pleaded with a tone of request.

Lana shook her head in succession. "You and Andrew aren't okay yet, right? What do you think his reaction will be when he finds out what happened and it comes directly from you?"

"I'm not afraid of your husband's anger, Lana. I'm more afraid of losing Sam completely," he explained sincerely.

"I understand. But I hope you'll listen to me first. Don't worry, I'll help you," Lana reassured him with confidence.

Marius didn't say anything more after Lana's words. Even though the truth was, he didn't want to agree to that idea. He couldn't do anything about it. Lana had a point. Andrew was angry with him. And he was sure he would be even angrier once he found out about the latest events.