1

When I opened my eyes, the surgical lights were off.

A deep ache kept rolling through my stomach. It hurt so much I could barely breathe.

Julian stood at the foot of the bed with bits of colorful confetti from the amusement park stuck to his suit jacket.

Owen leaned against the doorframe, holding a bag of medication.

Ryan stood by the window, looking at his phone.

All three of them were in the room, but it felt like they'd only come to confirm the surgery was over.

"See? You're fine." Julian glanced at the chart by the bed. "Didn't the doctor say the surgery went smoothly?"

I stared at the confetti on his jacket. My voice came out tight. "You went to an amusement park?"

He paused. "Chloe had a bad scare. I took her out to get her mind off it."

"What about me?"

Tears welled up. I bit down hard on my lip and fought them back with everything I had.

Julian frowned. "You've got plenty of people looking after you here. It's not like I could've operated on you myself. Besides, Chloe's all alone. How could I leave her?"

Owen set the medication on the table. "Take your painkillers on schedule. Don't start complaining about the pain again."

Ryan finally looked up. "The baby's gone. We're all upset. What more do you want from us?"

I looked at them, my voice shaking as I remembered how scared I'd been. "I was on that operating table, and the pain was almost more than I could take."

The room went quiet for a few seconds.

All Julian said was, "The doctors were right there. No matter how much it hurt, the surgery's over now. There's no need to make such a big deal out of it."

"Just go, all of you." I wiped my face. My eyes were still red. "I'm not asking you to stay anymore."

Julian should have known that what hurt most wasn't my body. It was being abandoned by all of them.

He looked at me. "Another tantrum?"

"No."

Owen reached for the bag of medication, and I looked up at him.

"Did the nurse tell any of you how I'm supposed to take these?"

He frowned. "Why do you always depend on us for everything? Can't you even remember your own medication instructions?"

I stared at the medication box, and the tears finally spilled over.

I did want to lean on them. But every single time, they chose Chloe.

"None of you were here when the nurse went over everything. I was in so much pain I nearly passed out. How was I supposed to pay attention?"

Owen hesitated, but in the end he just dropped the medication on the nightstand.

"It's all in the instructions. You can handle something this small yourself."

I clutched the medication box and didn't say another word.

Julian's phone rang. Chloe's name lit up the screen.

He answered immediately.

"Julian, I'm home by myself, and I just heard something outside the window. I'm so scared."

Julian's face softened. "Don't be scared. I'm coming over right now."

He hung up and frowned at me.

"Something's going on with Chloe. Get some rest, and don't throw a fit."

"Something's going on with me too." My voice shook. "Can't you see that?"

He pressed his lips together. "You've already had the surgery."

I watched him turn to go and called after him. "Julian, take the baby's things with you."

I opened the bottom drawer of the nightstand and pulled out a pair of baby socks I'd bought before the accident, still in their original packaging.

He didn't take them. "Keep them. There's no need to deal with this now."

"Didn't you say we could always have another baby? Then this one shouldn't matter."

His expression finally changed.

After a moment, he shoved them into his briefcase.

"We'll talk when you've calmed down."

The door closed, and I was alone in the room.

The nurse came to take out my IV. "Are they all family?" she asked quietly.

I looked at the closed door for a long time before I answered. "They used to be."

The day I was discharged, I handled all the paperwork on my own.

It was drizzling outside the hospital. I texted Julian, "I'll cover my medical bills and follow-up appointments myself. None of you need to worry about the baby anymore."

It took him a long time to reply. "Do you really have to draw such a hard line between us?"

Another text came right after. "Get yourself home tonight. I have a meeting. Don't hold dinner for me."

I stared at the screen, and the tears came again.

When the car pulled up outside our building, I looked up at the familiar window.

That was where Julian and I had lived since we got married. It was the home I'd wanted to give my baby.

I took a breath and got out of the car.

This time, I was going back for my things.