Blind Devotion, Bitter End

Before pushing me down the stairs, my younger sister, Reina York, smiled sweetly and said, "My dearest Eloise, you're just using your baby to keep Xavier by your side, right? That's just too bad—Xavier doesn't want your child. Keeping it around would just be an eyesore."

The world spun as I tumbled down the stairs, a sharp pain stabbing through my stomach. Reina did not stick around to watch. Instead, she just walked away, leaving me bleeding on the floor.

My husband, Xavier Morales, was nowhere to be found when I needed him the most.

The baby was too small, and all that was left after the cremation was a tiny handful of ashes. I placed them in a clear glass vial, holding onto the only thing I had left of her.

When I returned to the house, it was eerily empty, with barely any trace of Xavier ever living there. He was hardly home, and I had spent my time there alone.

The blood from that night had dried on the living room floor. There were still the baby clothes and toys I had lovingly picked out on the sofa, but my precious little girl was gone. Tears streamed down my face as I packed everything away, erasing every trace of myself and my daughter.

Just as I was about to leave, Xavier walked into the house with Reina by his side. I stood by the stairs, but he acted like he did not even see me.

Then, his eyes landed on the dried bloodstain, and for the first time, he seemed to remember a third person in the house. His gaze shifted to my suitcase, his tone ice-cold.

He growled and said, "Eloise York, is this another one of your games? Running away from home now?"

He did not even notice anything different about me, nor did he realize that the baby was gone.

Reina, as if she had not tried to kill me just the night before, clung to Xavier's neck and looked at me innocently. "Eloise, I'm sick. Xavier said he'd take care of me. You don't mind, do you?"

I watched as Xavier gently set her on the couch, opened the medicine kit, pulled out a thermometer, and handed her a glass of warm water. He was so considerate, so careful—so unlike the man I knew.

The same man who had ignored me when I burned with fever, who had sighed in irritation when I begged for help.

"It's just a fever. You're not going to die. Stop being dramatic."

I had always known that Xavier never loved me.

I said, "Xavier, you got what you wanted. Let's go our separate ways."

We were separating, not divorcing. After all, there had never been a wedding, and we had never registered our union. Legally, we were not even partners.

Xavier did not even look up. He assumed I was only throwing a tantrum over Reina again. He said mockingly, "Are you trying to play the long game now? Last time, it was stomach pains. Now that you can't use your baby against me, you're trying to threaten me with leaving?"

The mention of my child sent a sharp pain through my heart. The night before, I had felt no movement inside me, no kicks or flutters. No matter how hard I tried, I could not lift myself off the floor.

With no one by my side, I had to call 911 myself, and had to sign the surgery papers alone. I watched as the doctors took that tiny, lifeless body out of me. I had to watch as she never even took a breath.

She had already lost her heartbeat inside my womb.

From the moment I got pregnant, Xavier had never once been there. He never believed me. He thought I was lying, that I was using the baby to trap him.

After nearly 15 years of knowing each other, he still saw me as nothing but a manipulative woman.

Reina chimed in again, saying, "Xavier said he was supposed to go to the hospital with you, but I got sick, so he stayed to take care of me. Eloise, are you mad about that?"

Xavier patted her hand, his voice full of warmth. "Why would she be? It's just a pregnancy. That's nothing compared to you being sick."

A cold laugh escaped my lips. Not wanting to argue anymore, I held the vial with my daughter's ashes and walked toward the door.

That was when Xavier finally noticed something was wrong. He grabbed my arm and shoved me back.

He snapped and said, "What is your problem?"

His words cut off the moment his eyes fell on my stomach. "You've already given birth?"

He looked around the room, searching for something—or someone. "Where's the baby? Where did you hide her? Eloise, is this your latest stunt?"