es; it could have been hours. The cold from the hardwood seeped into her

e buzzing shattered the si

must have been on his way to the kitchen for wa

him pick i

mation so sudden it made

eplaced by a softness, a warmth that sounded like it belonged to a diff

ke a physical blow. He had just kissed her with brutal force, and

s his tone shi

quick and urgent. "Which hospital? NYU Langone? Okay, okay. Don't move.

edi

n the floor, bleeding out the life they had created together, and he ha

is car keys from the bowl by the door. He was

down at her crumpled form. It was as if she were

t was a desperate, final plea for acknowledgment.

r voice was hoarse, barely a

head, his brow furrowed in annoyance. "What

ry now, the tears all cried out. She l

ding too,

s hung i

is expression flickered-confusion, maybe. But then,

bitter laugh. "You

tis,

ice rising. "You heard me say she was bleeding, and like a jeal

, her voice trembling. "I lost the

Carla is in the hospital, genuinely suffering, and you sit there tryi

he whispered, but h

venom. "A cold, calculating monster who would use a

d the do

e. It was the absolute, crushing weight of reality. He would never believe her. He would never lov

thless sound, tears streaming down her face

g back at her with horror. "You're c

sound vibrated through the a

ramps were still there, a dull, relentless ache, but they felt dista

. She thought of the baby she had just lost, a tiny spark of hope extinguished before it could even beg

It was a prison. And she

oor. Her body screamed in protest, but she ignored it.

computer. The screen glowed in the dark r

didn't second-guess. She typed in the address

roceedings Initiat

message, her fingers

he outbox was the loudest sound i