3

3

Stella.

I woke up to the sterile hum of fluorescent lights and the faint beeping of a heart monitor. The sheets smelled like bleach, and my mouth was dry enough to feel like sandpaper. Hospital ceilings were always the same; square tiles, perfectly dull, perfectly meaningless, but I stared at them anyway because the alternative was trying to figure out why my body felt so hollow.

And then I felt it. Not pain exactly, but a dull ache in my lower abdomen that made me bolt upright before the room spun and I had to grip the rail of the bed like it might fly away.

“Stella, slow down,” came Josh’s voice, soft and close. He was sitting by my side, his warm hands gently wrapped around my icy fingers like he was trying to hold me together.

My eyes landed on him, and I noticed the shadows under his eyes, the exhaustion in his posture, like he’d been there for hours. Maybe he had.

But he wasn’t who I was looking for.

“Where’s Alex?” The question left my mouth before I could stop it.

Josh didn’t answer immediately. He just held my hand a little tighter. That silence told me everything I needed to know.

“He didn’t come,” I said flatly.

“No.” Josh’s voice was calm, but his jaw was tight. “Not even a call.”

Something sharp and cold twisted in my chest, but I didn’t let it show. Not to Josh. Not again. Still, I couldn’t stop the wave of disappointment that rushed in like a flood. After everything; the screaming, the fall, the guards... he hadn’t even come to see if I was alive.

I looked at my brother, heart racing. “The baby? Josh—”

He nodded quickly. “You’re okay. The baby is okay. A miracle, honestly. I thought—” He stopped, swallowed. “But you’re both okay. The doctor said it’s fragile, but stable.”

Relief flooded through me so violently I almost sobbed.

Josh exhaled like he’d been holding it in since I passed out. “Sis… why didn’t you show him you were pregnant?”

I didn’t answer right away. I stared at the IV drip beside me, watching it bubble softly like it held all the answers I didn’t.

“He cheated on me, Josh.” My voice came out lower than I expected. “He believed Sophie. Not me. His wife. And when I collapsed, he didn’t even come. He probably didn’t even blink when he heard.”

Josh’s shoulders tensed again. “But you loved him. You still—” He stopped himself. “You’re carrying his baby.”

I looked at him then, really looked. “And what’s that supposed to mean? That I owe him something? That I use the baby to buy back his love like it’s some damn bargain sale?”

Josh opened his mouth, but I cut him off. “If we find the driver, we prove we’re innocent, is that it? We undo the lie, and he suddenly remembers I’m not the villain?”

Josh sighed. “Yes. If we can find the guy who wrote that letter, expose Sophie—”

“It’s not about that anymore,” I said, finally. “Alex has made his choice. And now I have to make mine.”

Josh looked confused, and I didn’t blame him. I barely understood myself sometimes. But right now, I knew one thing for certain.

“My baby is still here,” I whispered. “After everything. After that fall. After the stress. My baby survived.”

I placed a hand over my stomach, the smallest curve barely visible beneath the hospital gown.

“They’re trying to tell me they want to live,” I said. “So I’m going to protect them. With everything I have. Not for Alex. Not for some grand love story. For them. And I will never, never use them to try and win back a man who didn’t even love me enough to show up.”

Josh was quiet for a long moment. Then he gave a small smile, soft and sad. “You’re just like Mom, you know.”

That made something ache inside me even more. I didn’t know if it was pride or pain or both.

“I’m tired, Josh,” I whispered. “I’m so tired.”

“You’ve been through hell.”

“I loved him. With my whole heart. But I’m not going to stay in a marriage where I’m constantly proving my worth.”

He nodded. “Then what now?”

“I don’t want him to know I’m pregnant.”

Josh blinked. “You what?”

“He’ll take the baby, Josh. If he thinks I’m unstable, if Sophie whispers in his ear, he’ll find a way. I know the Marwoods. They collect their ‘heirs’ like trophies. I won’t let That happen. Please. Don’t tell him.”

He hesitated, clearly torn, but then he nodded. “Okay. If that’s your decision… I’m with you.”

I smiled. It was small, but genuine. “Thank you.”

“I’ll help you move back to Mom’s old house,” he said. “We’ll leave this all behind. Sophie. The Marwoods. All of it. Say goodbye to the whole damn circus.”

For the first time in days, I felt something like peace. Maybe it was temporary. Maybe it was just exhaustion. But at least it was something.

And then the door opened.

Josh’s supervisor walked in with stiff posture, her blazer too tight, expression like she’d just stepped on gum.

“Joshua Harrington,” she said flatly. “You’re terminated from the hospital, effective immediately.”

Josh stood up. “What?”

“Assaulting a patient is a fireable offense.”

“You mean Sophie?” he barked. “That manipulative—”

“Assault is assault. You laid hands on a patient. Your badge, please.”

Josh yanked it off without a word and slammed it on the table. “Good. I wouldn’t work another day in a hospital owned by the Marwoods anyway.”

He gave me a small nod and stormed out to pack his things.

Alone again, I laid back against the pillow, letting my eyes fall closed. The ache in my body was fading now, replaced with something softer. A deep, bone-heavy weariness.

I drifted into sleep slowly, pulled under like the tide.

And in the dark quiet of my dreams, I was eight again.

It had been raining that day. Not a soft drizzle, but a wild storm that turned roads to rivers. I was walking home from school when I saw something, no, someone, lying in the ditch.

A boy. Soaking wet, scraped and bruised, his lips cracked. Barely breathing.

I ran to him, dropped my umbrella, shouted for help. He blinked once, and even then, I thought: he’s beautiful.

That was the first time I met Alex.

He’d escaped from a kidnapping. I didn’t know that at the time. I just knew he needed help.

After he was safe, his parents, the Marwoods, offered my mother a job. Gratitude, they said. A fresh start.

That’s how we entered their world.

And I fell in love with the boy in the ditch.

I loved him for ten years before he even noticed me. And when he finally did, I thought: this is it. The dream. The reward for waiting.

But dreams end. And sometimes they end slowly, painfully, like glass cracking under your fingertips.

Now all I had left was this child inside me, small and fierce, hanging on like they knew I needed them.

In my sleep, I felt a presence in the room. Slow and careful footsteps.

‘Josh?’ I thought, too tired to open my eyes. But something about the company told me it wasn’t him.

And then… a hand. Warm and gentle, resting on mine. Not squeezing or holding but just… there.

For a moment. Then gone like a ghost.

And I let myself fall deeper into sleep, the memory of that warmth lingering, unsure if it was kindness or goodbye.