world came into focus slowly. White ceiling. Whi
pale, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. When he saw I w
rip tight and desperate. "You're awake. The doctors said you were lucky.
A part of me, the part that had loved him for so
phone call. You just have
y hand awa
ed, then hurt. "A
ce a dry rasp. I turned my
was trying to manipulate me with his concern, just like he had with his grand proposal. He was trying to use my near-death experi
brake failure," he sai
d. I knew it wa
he used to control me. "I was so scared, Ava. When I got the c
once craved this kind of declaration from him. Now, it just made
d a nurse came in,
u gave us all quite a scare." He checked my chart. "We ran a full set of tests
left m
e baby?" I
is smile faltering. "Yes. You're abou
t with his child. The nausea I'd been feeling for weeks,
e replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated joy.
with wonder. He looked at me, his ey
aby," he whispered into my hair. "This is a miracle.
was perfect. This was a nightmare. A child would tie me to him foreve
gnant then, too. I was twenty, terrified, and secretly living in his house.
flat and devoid of emotion. "You can't h
e procedure was cold and clinical. The pain was immense, but the emptiness that fol
child was convenient. This child was a symbol of his victory, a
rom the hug, his hands o
already pulling out his phone. "And t
, leaving me alone with the catastrophic reality of my situat
or creaked open again. I th
t was
. She wore a simple, elegant dress, and her expression was
heard about the accident. I came as soo
ilies on the bedside table. Thei
loe," I said,
e said, her eyes wide with what looked like joy for m
smile. Her hand went to her own flat stomac
ropping to a conspiratorial whisper
od running cold. "What
f steel in her eyes. "I'm pregn
roar in my ears. Her words hung in the air, sharp and poisonous. It wasn't ju
his perfect heir at home, and his compliant mistress on the side, both of them bearing his children. He was
ttomless pit. I saw my future laid out before me: a gilded cage, a lif
pain or sadness anymore. There was only rage. A quiet, foc
life. I would not brin
t, smiling face. She thought she ha
was
in, I looked at her, my
to my doctor,"
ing this.
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