“You know how much her face matters to her!”
Ethan was livid, but he didn’t seem to see the
redness on my cheek.
I lifted my head and met his gaze.
“The one who needs to apologize is Ava, not
- me. She mentioned my father. Ethan, what
about what you did to my father? You have
nothing to say?”
I saw the surprise flash through his eyes.
“If it weren’t for me, Dad would’ve died even
sooner. Claire, I promised Dad I would take care
of you for the rest of your life, but not if you
keep hurting Ava.”
I gave a hollow laugh. It was stupid of me to
expect anything from him.
Then everything went black. I collapsed onto
the floor.
When I woke up, the smell of antiseptic filled
my nostrils, a nurse was removing the IV from
<
my arm.
“Congratulations, you’re pregnant. But you are
weak, so you need to watch your emotions and
eat well.”
My hand instinctively went to my stomach. For
the past five years, I wanted a baby with Ethan.
I never thought it would happen at this moment.
My phone buzzed, a message from Ethan.
[The doctor says you’re just tired. You’ll be fine
if you rest.]
[I’ll come pick you up when you apologize to
Ava.]
I laughed humorlessly and turned off the phone.
“Ms. Claire, the doctor scheduled some tests
for you, please come with me.”
I followed the nurse, not thinking much of it,
until we got to the stairwell.
“I heard you’re pregnant. Color me impressed.
But you should know that for the last five years,
we haven’t had kids, because I told Ethan I
didn’t want you to have any.” Ava said.
I turned to see Ava, full of smug satisfaction.
“The vitamins he fed you every day? Those
く
were birth control pills.”
Ava examined my expression, trying to find any
sign of despair.
“Okay,” I said, my voice calm.
I brushed past her to walk away when a hand
shoved me from behind.
I was pushed down the stairs.
A sharp pain pierced my body. I turned to see
the bloodstain on the floor, spreading rapidly.
I had lost the baby.
After being discharged from the hospital I left
the divorce papers on my bed.
I hailed a taxi for the airport.
Just before boarding, I saw a message from
Ethan on my phone.
[Claire, I can’t believe you haven’t changed. You
still cause trouble for Ava. Apologize, don’t
push me.]
I pulled out the SIM card and tossed it into the
trash can at the airport.
Ethan and Ava, were at a mountaintop watching
the sunset when his phone rang.
“Mr. Ethan, Ms. Claire is gone! She left a
<
document… on the bed, you need to come here
and see it.”
