After the Divorce, My Ex-Husband Repents Behind Bars for Life

The grief, and the sheer weight of my broken body, finally dragged me under, and I blacked out.

Half-conscious, I heard Leon talking to Mia.

"Don't beat yourself up. I never wanted the kid anyway. If anything, you took care of a problem for me."

A problem.

He'd actually just called our own child a problem.

But I remembered it so clearly, the way his whole face had lit up when the pregnancy first showed.

He'd told me the baby and I were the two people he loved most in the world.

And in almost no time at all, his heart had turned.

"So how are you going to reward me?"

"What do you want?"

"I want... you."

"Easy, you little minx. We're in a hospital."

"You promised me a reward... and I want it right here, next to her."

The sounds that came next, the breathing, the bodies, kept echoing in my ears, and I couldn't shut them out.

My nails bit into my palms, and the fury rising in me was so total that I wanted to pull a gun and end them both on the spot.

But in the end, I forced the urge back down.

Because I heard Mia tell him, "I'm pregnant. One month along."

No one knew that in that shootout three months ago, a single round had torn into Leon's stomach, and that round was why he could never father a child again.

A mafia Don who couldn't sire an heir would have been finished.

So to shore up his standing in the family, I'd buried the truth.

And now that Mia was pregnant, it was the sweetest punishment he could possibly get.

You didn't want your own child, Leon? Fine. Then you could raise someone else's.

I couldn't wait to see the look on your face when you learned the truth.

When I woke the next morning, only Mia was left in the room.

The collar of her white coat hung open on purpose, showing off the kiss marks on her collarbone.

Then she smiled and asked me, "Did you enjoy the show last night?"

I dug my nails into my palm and slowly sat up.

"The miscarriage. You did it on purpose, didn't you."

Her lips curled. "And what if I did? You still think Leon's going to help you, Elodie? Don't be naive. The injury was to your arm. Anyone can see this was no accident."

"Besides, you heard Leon yourself last night, didn't you? He called that little brat a problem. So really, you should be thanking me. At least now the kid won't be born just to be despised by its own father!"

That was when I lost it. I stepped forward and slapped her across the face, hard.

Mia let herself drop with the slap and started sobbing like the wronged one. "I know you're hurting right now. If killing me would settle it, then do it. A life for a life. I won't stop you."

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, and right then the door to the room slammed open.

Before I could react, a hard shove sent me sprawling to the floor.

"Elodie, I already told you it was an accident. You keep clawing at it. What exactly do you want?"

Leon crouched down by Mia, his face full of concern.

Mia leaned into his arms, eyes red, all timid and fragile. "Don't blame her. When it comes down to it, I'm the one who killed Elodie's baby. I should pay with my life."

"It was just a lump of dead tissue. Not worth a life."

Dead tissue?!

How could he call it dead tissue? It already had a heartbeat!

"Leon! That was our child! Don't you understand? That was the only one we'd ever—"

"Enough." Leon cut me off, irritation flat in his voice. "This ends here."

I wanted to say more, but a stabbing pain shot through my lower belly and took the words away.

"Leon, I..."

"Elodie? What's wrong?" Leon let go of Mia and started toward me.

Just then Mia clutched her stomach in pain. "My belly... it hurts so much..."

Almost on instinct, Leon retreated back to Mia's side, lifted her up, and carried her away.

"Leon... save me..." I used the last of my strength trying to keep him there.

But even as the blood spread red around me, he never once looked back.