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I froze at the sight. This was a side of her I’d never seen. “You… does Miguel know you’re like this?”
Saoirse blew a lazy smoke ring in my direction, her tone full of mockery. “Mind your own
business.”
“Want to tell Miguel about this? Go ahead. He won’t believe you anyway.”
She seemed to revel in the sound of my dry coughing.
“Believe it or not, the moment I open my mouth, he’ll never choose you.”
Just then, the door creaked open, and a drunken Miguel staggered out.
I instinctively reached out to steady him, but he walked right past me and fell into Saoirse’s arms instead.
“Saoirse, you came to get me.”
She shot me a triumphant smile as she helped him away, slow and sweet. Miguel didn’t spare me a single glance.
I stood there like air, completely invisible.
A sharp pain twisted in my chest, so tight it stole the breath from my lungs.
Before I could move, a few rough-looking men stepped in my path. “Where’d this little chick come from? Come keep us company.”
I turned to leave, but they blocked me again. “Wanna go? Then finish this crate first.”
My body had long been weak, and tonight, I had no strength left to resist. I could only drag the crate over, open bottle after bottle, and force it all down.
Each swallow burned like glass shards down my throat.
The metallic taste of blood rose in my throat. I stumbled to the wall, leaned against it, and etched violently.
Barely holding myself upright, I staggered into the restroom. My stomach burned like fire, my head spinning uncontrollably.
With a trembling hand, I clung to a final sliver of hope and dialed Miguel’s number.
As expected, a busy tone answered me.
Tears streamed down my cheeks without warning.
Belle, you should’ve known long ago that man no longer loved you.
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed.
The sharp scent of disinfectant stung my nose and blurred my vision.
‘Miss Belle, you’re awake.”
The doctor’s voice was firm, almost emotionless.
“I regret to inform you we couldn’t save your baby.”
“What…”
My voice was barely audible. I stared at him blankly, then lowered my gaze to my abdomen.
312
6.89
“There… was a baby?”
I hadn’t even known it existed.
I never heard its heartbeat. Never felt it move. Before I could even learn to love it, it was already
gone.
My phone chimed. I grabbed it instantly. I wanted to tell Miguel. I needed to tell him.
But the screen lit up with a video from Saoirse.
In it, she stood close beside Miguel, holding up tiny baby clothes.
She tilted her head thoughtfully. “One pink, one blue… it’s so hard to choose.”
Miguel stood slightly turned from the camera, his expression unreadable. His voice, however was soft and coaxing.
“Then take both.”
That one sentence snapped the final thread holding me together.
I broke down.
Tears fell like shattered pearls, streaming endlessly down my face.
That same afternoon, Miguel finally heard the news from Lori and rushed to the hospital.
The doctor’s disapproving gaze landed squarely on him, this man who claimed to be the father. “Your wife lost the baby, and you didn’t even know?”
