We're Done, Olivia.

“What the hell are you talking about, Liam?” My laugh was jagged, it was too close to a sob. “Divorce? Here? In the hospital?”

My voice cracked, but I forced it louder. “This is my reward? Sixteen hours of excruciating labor to bring your babies into the world, and you thank me with this? Tell me you’re joking. Please… tell me you’re fvcking joking.”

But Liam’s face didn’t so much as twitch. His jaw was stone, and his gray eyes were colder than the snowstorm howling outside the windows.

“I’m taking full custody of the twins,” he said flatly. “You’re not their mother. Never were.”

The words sliced through me sharper than the contractions that had ripped my body apart.

He lifted the car seats, one in each hand, as though carrying nothing more than groceries. And then he turned toward the door.

My body went cold.

“No.” My voice was barely air. Then it broke into a scream. “NO!”

I ripped the IV from my arm, and hot blood started dripping down my wrist. The monitors shrieked as I staggered off the bed, my stitches tearing fire through me. I nearly collapsed, but I clawed at the bed rail, forcing myself up.

“Liam!” My scream tore my throat raw as I stumbled after him. “Wait! Please!”

Nurses rushed in, their hands grabbing at my arms.

“Mrs. Smith, you can’t get up–”

“You’re not strong enough–”

“Get away from me!” I shoved them off, my hospital gown falling open as I staggered forward, blood streaking down my thighs.

“Liam! Bring them back!” I screamed, each word slicing me apart. “They’re my babies! You can’t take them! Please, don’t do this!”

He didn’t stop. Didn’t look back. His long strides carried him farther from me, while my body failed with every step.

“They’re mine!” My cry cracked into sobs. “I carried them, Liam! I bled for them! You can’t erase me like this!”

At last, he stopped at the hospital exit. Slowly, he turned, and his eyes met mine one final time. But they were empty. Merciless.

“We’re done, Olivia,” he said, his voice was like ice. “Sign the papers. Call me when it’s finished.”

Then he walked out, my babies were swinging in his grip.

Something inside me shattered.

“No!” My scream echoed down the sterile hall as I stumbled after him, my bare feet slapping against cold tile.

Blood soaked my gown, nurses shouting behind me. None of it mattered.

“Liam! Stop! Please, stop!” My sobs strangled my lungs as I chased him into the parking garage.

The bitter air slammed into me like knives. My vision spun, but I kept going. I threw myself against the black Rolls-Royce as Vincent pulled open the door.

“Liam, please!” I pounded the hood, my palms stinging. “Don’t take them from me! I’ll do anything... anything you want... just don’t take my babies! They need me!”

He ignored me, strapping them in with steady, careful hands.

“Liam!” I slammed the window as he slid into the driver’s seat. “Talk to me! Tell me what I did! Please... I was a good wife! I stayed even after you and Evelyn–”

The engine roared, drowning me out.

And then he drove off.

“Bring back my babies, you bastard!”

My legs gave out. I collapsed to the concrete, the cold cutting through my skin, my blood pooling beneath me.

Gone. He had taken everything.

My hands pressed against the hard ground, I was trembling so hard I couldn’t even push myself up. My sobs echoed in the cavernous garage, it was wild and broken.

“No… no, no.” I shook my head violently, choking on tears. “He can’t do this to me. He can’t take them. Not from me.”

But the echo of the Rolls-Royce had already faded, leaving nothing but silence.

And that silence was worse than death.