Maria and Gabriel first crossed paths while studying at a prestigious university. They took up different courses, but still, fate brought them together through a common subject.
The first time Gabriel laid eyes on Maria, he knew that she was not like any other girl. She came in 20 minutes late with a cup of coffee in her hand yet looked more than ready to learn and participate.
Throughout the semester, he noticed different habits the young woman had. She would always enter with an iced coffee in hand and took down notes diligently. Although he always wanted to, Gabriel never tried befriending Maria.
However, as the semester progressed, the professor randomly placed them in the same group for a project. The pair eventually met and started talking. It wasn’t an instant attraction that brought them close, but the fact that they had polar opposite characteristics.
They remained friends for a year before realizing that romantic feelings were slowly developing. A few months after, Maria and Gabriel’s courtship began, and it didn’t last long until they started talking about the future.
Maria won the battle and was granted full custody of their child
Graduation was just around the corner, and Gabriel revealed his desire to become a father. However, Maria was not ready to let go of her life without responsibilities. Additionally, she was not financially prepared to support a child.
Gabriel, however, really wanted to start a future for their family at an early age. He promised Maria that their baby would come first, whom he would fully support, before marrying his partner. He said:
“You know you’re the only one I want to spend the rest of my life with. Having a child will tie up all our blessings and bring us closer together.”
Maria, who was so in love with her boyfriend, agreed to start a family as a starting point to their future. Right before graduation, Maria found out that she was pregnant with their first child.
Time flew by, and Gabriel would always visit Maria and his daughter, Gwen, but did not contribute much for their little one’s finances. Instead, Maria’s parents took care of Gwen’s basic necessities.
Five years passed, and still, Gabriel’s promises about fully supporting his daughter and marrying Maria remained words. It came to a point where Maria’s parents began doubting the man and demanded he takes full responsibility for his daughter.
Similarly, Maria tried to talk to her partner about their future, but he would always try to change the topic. On their sixth anniversary together, Maria saw a woman’s name pop up on Gabriel’s phone.
“Who’s that?” she asked. Gabriel simply shrugged it off and said it was a coworker asking about work-related things. However, Maria felt that it was more than that and decided to dig deeper.
After stalking the woman, Maria found out she was not an officemate but an ex-girlfriend of Gabriel. It was at that moment that the mother-of-one decided to take things to court and sue her boyfriend.
Luckily, where Maria and Gabriel lived, the law defended single mothers and saw Gabriel’s act as deception. Since Maria agreed to have a child because he promised to wed, his refusal to do so makes him guilty.
Eventually, Maria won the battle and was granted full custody of their child, while Gabriel had to pay for their daughter’s finances until she graduated from college. Initially, Maria felt guilty for taking her relationship to court but later discovered that Gabriel had been cheating on her for years.
She no longer feels remorse and has since moved on.
