Chapter Three

The first sound I hear as I regain consciousness is the steady, rhythmic beeping of a machine beside my head. A pained moan escapes me as I open my eyes, only to close them back when a harsh, bright light overhead greets me like an abrupt slap to the face. I wince, lifting my hand to shield my eyes but the tug of an IV in my wrist stops me. Giving it a moment, I blink my eyes open again, adjusting to the light while the pungent scent of antiseptic fills my nostrils, mingling with a metallic tang in the back of my throat as I notice the various machines connected to me. 

My brows furrow in confusion and just as I reach the conclusion that I'm currently at the hospital, I hear a familiar voice speak up beside me. “Selena, you're finally awake.”

I turn to see my best friend, Yemaya, watching me, her chocolate brown eyes glistening with concern and unshed tears. She moves closer, taking my free hand and squeezing it in hers. “You have no idea how terrified I was, sweetheart. I thought I'd lose you,” she rasps. “How are you feeling now? Does anything hurt? Should I get the doctor? She left just a few minutes ago. I'm sure she's closeby—”

“M-Maya,” I croak, interrupting her nervous rant.

Yemaya takes a deep breath and exhales shakily, her chin wobbling as she apologizes, “I’m sorry. The last thing I should be right now is a mess. It's just— God, I'm so sorry, Selena. So fucking sorry. I should've been there. Shouldn't have left you all alone with those fucking wolves.”

I frown, momentarily confused but before I can ask her what she means, the fog in my mind clears and the onslaught of memories that immediately floods my mind has me gasping loudly as I stiffen.

The pictures. Stella's betrayal. My husband. 

I jerk upright in bed, ignoring the pain that shoots through my entire body and the wave of dizziness that hits me. My actions are panicky as I grab onto Yemaya, asking, “D-Daniel? Where's my husband? I need to see him, Maya. Need to explain to him. I didn't do it. It was all Stella. She–she planned it.”

“Lena, you need to calm down. Please. Listen to me.” My best friend says, trying to calm me down as the heart monitor goes haywire in time with my heartbeat. But despite her efforts, my panic climbs higher and I make a move to yank the IV injection out of my hand—pain be damned, when she jerks me suddenly, yelling at me to stop. 

“Just listen to me, Selena!” My frantic movements come to an abrupt halt, leaving both of us heaving as we try to catch our breaths. The erratic beeping from the heart monitor starts to slow and Yemaya crouches, staring me dead in the eyes then said, “I’ll be damned if I let you leave this hospital until you're a hundred percent healthy again, cupcake.”

A noise of protest leaves my mouth but my best friend simply shakes her head, her eyes resolute yet her voice sounding pained as she continues, “You were unconscious for two days, Selena, you had to go through an emergency surgery, battled for your life and yet, your so-called husband,” she says with obvious contempt, “didn’t even visit. Not for one second. All I care about is your well-being, Lena. I don't give two fucks about those pieces of shit.”

I shake my head, holding onto Yemaya’s forearms. “You don't understand, Maya. I-I need to speak to Daniel. I didn't do any of it. I didn't cheat on him. You have to believe me.”

“I do,” Yemaya says, palming my wet cheeks. “I do believe you, darling. You're my best friend. I know you. You don't have to prove anything to me or to anybody else either, especially your husband, who oughta know and trust you the most. If he decides to believe fabricated fucking pictures over his own wife, then it's either he never truly loved you or…” she pauses, seemingly gauging my reaction before she continues in a cautious tone. “. . .maybe Stella wasn't acting alone.”

Her words send a chill down my spine, but I shake my head forcefully, refusing to believe Yemaya. He wouldn't do that to me. My husband wouldn't do that to me. I tell my best friend exactly this. 

Yemaya sighs, settling in front of me. “Selena, you had suspicions about Daniel cheating on you with someone. What if that someone…had been Stella? Try to think about it, sweetheart.”

“No!” I cry adamantly, my body shaking from the force of my sobs. “Daniel wouldn't do that to me. Not with my foster sister. I know you aren't a fan of him, Maya, but please don't try to drive us even further apart. I need my husband now more than ever. If not for anything, then at least for the sake of our unborn baby.”

I notice Yemaya stiffen, her expression darkening at something I said before she quickly looks away. Her body appears to suddenly thrum with anger, her hold on me turning rigid. My voice is soft and tentative as I probe her. “Maya, what's wrong? I'm so sorry if I said anything to hurt you. I love and appreciate you very much, you know that, right?”

A minute passes before she faces me again and I'm startled by the sight of tears streaking her face. My best friend sniffles then speaks, “Never doubted it for a second, sunshine, and you mean the whole damn universe to me. That's why it kills me to see you being treated this way when all you deserve is love, happiness and for those bastards to worship at your feet after everything you did for them.”

I frown, wondering what she's talking about, even as an inexplicable unease makes my heart begin to pound. “Did anything else happen, Maya? I don't underst—”

I freeze when something she said earlier suddenly registers, and then it's my turn to grip tightly onto her. “Just now, you said I underwent s-surgery, right? Why? What for?”

Yemaya hesitates to respond, merely staring at me and it worsens the sinking feeling in my stomach. Impatient and anxious, I shake her, getting right up in her face as I prompt her. “Answer me, Maya. What was it for?”

My best friend looks away from me as she delivers the bad news that shatters what's left of my world. “For the b-baby,” she whispers, her words echoing in my mind. “You’d already miscarried by the time you arrived at the hospital, Lena. The doctor had to do an immediate surgery to remove any residual pregnancy tissue to ensure you were totally out of danger.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut, and I was still reeling from the news when Yemaya delivered another blow. “But that's not all. The doctor said she’d found something in your bloodstream when you wouldn't stabilize even after the operation was successful.” She meets my eyes then, her own pair brimming with both tears and hatred. “It was poison, Selena. In such high doses that you'd have d-died if you'd been brought in any lat— Lena? Selena!”

I lost my baby. I was poisoned. I was almost killed.

Those are the thoughts that keep repeating in my head as I give in to the surrounding darkness once again.