Chapter 6—The Blame is on Me

MONIQUE

“You shameless bitch!” 

Laurel’s slap cracked across my face the moment we reached the hospital. “What did you do to my son? What the hell did you do to him, Monique?!” She seized both my arms, her short nails biting into my skin.

“L-Laurel!” I broke down completely, sobs tearing out of me uncontrollably.

My eyes had been swollen for hours. My body felt hollow, drained. From the instant the truck struck Maxwell until this moment, I still couldn’t stop crying.

His blood stained my clothes from when I’d tried to help him right after the crash. Passersby had rushed over the second they saw us. The hospital was only steps away, so he was inside almost immediately. The doctors and nurses still hadn’t come out of the operating room.

My knees buckled. I dropped to the floor in front of Laurel. “M-Maxwell, he.. I don’t want to lose him… I can’t accept this. I'm sorry!”

“This is your fault he’s in there right now!” she shouted. “Because you’re so desperate, this is what happened! All that talk about accepting the divorce was just an act. If it wasn’t, how could any of this have happened, Monique?!” 

She pounded her fists against my head, rage pouring out of her.

“No! That’s not what happened!” I shielded my head with my arms and crumpled under the blows. “The divorce was enough for me… I accepted that Maxwell chose Elise. He’s yours now—I can live with that. But I can’t live with him being gone forever! Laurel, please… save him! Please!”

I clung to her legs, desperate. “I don’t want it to end like this… please, save him…”

“You worthless—” Laurel yanked at her own hair, her face flushed crimson. “Damn it! Why did this have to happen?!”

“Maxwell! Where is Maxwell?!” Elise’s voice echoed down the hallway, running. “Monique! What did you do to Maxwell? What did you do to my husband?!”

Husband? Are they already..?

Elise started kicking me. I gasped in pain, but even as my chest felt like it was caving in, I pushed myself up and wrapped my arms protectively around my belly. 

Through blurred vision I looked up at her. 

“It was an accident, Elise! I was the one who was supposed to get hit—Maxwell saved my life—”

“You animal! So it really is your fault!” She lunged forward and yanked my hair so hard the hallway spun. “You wanted to kill him, didn’t you? You’re a monster, Monique! You’re evil! We were finally living in peace, about to get married! But you went too far—you wanted to take Ambrose's father away from us! You’re horrible!”

No one tried to stop Elise. Not Laurel, not Derrick.

“Stop! Please stop!” I screamed through my tears as she slammed my back against the wall. I never let go of my stomach. “I didn’t want this to happen to him… please believe me. I don’t want him gone! Elise, please… I never wanted any of this!”

When she finally let go, I panted and wiped my tears away

Elise pointed at me, her face twisted with hatred. “I will never forgive you for this, Monique. I don't want to do anything with a murderer!”

“E-Elise, it was an accident—”

“Really? Then why were you even with Maxwell in the first place? Isn’t this all an act? Did you call him so you could do this to him?!”

“I said that's not what happened!"

“Stop pretending to be innocent, Monique.” Derrick cut in sharply. “You must have had some plan. That’s why it ended up like this.”

I buried my face in my hands and cried. A heavy lump lodged in my throat, choking off any defense I could offer. It felt as if my heart were being crushed.

I had seen the blood pouring from Maxwell’s body. I had seen the deep gash on his head. I was terrified the doctors would walk out with the worst news.

Yes, I had cursed him for what he did to me. Many times I had wanted to hurt him—in my mind, in my heart. But never like this. Never to the point of death. It would be fine if he wasn’t with me anymore. 

I could live with that. But the thought of him leaving this world completely… I couldn’t bear it.

The man I had loved for years, the man who had once been my entire life, how could I ever accept losing him this way?

No… I could never accept this.

–

A few hours later, the waiting area had grown quieter, but the tension still hung thick in the air. I sat slumped in a corner chair, exhausted, my arms wrapped protectively around my belly.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached.

“Mon!”

Chelsea rushed toward me, her face filled with worry. She dropped to her knees and pulled me into a tight embrace.

“Oh God, Mon… I came as soon as I received your text. Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

I broke down again in her arms, fresh sobs shaking my body. Chelsea held me tighter, rubbing my back in slow, soothing circles.

“Shhh… breathe, sweetheart. It wasn’t your fault,” she whispered firmly. “None of this is your fault. You hear me? It was an accident. Maxwell chose to save you. You didn’t push him in front of that truck.”

She pulled back slightly and cupped my tear-streaked face with both hands, forcing me to meet her eyes. “You need to go home for now. The Lohr family is out for blood. If you stay here, they’ll just keep beating you—physically and emotionally. You can’t take much more of this, especially not in your condition.”

“B-But, Maxwell..”

Chelsea leaned closer, lowering her voice to a soft whisper. “Do it for your baby, Mon. Think about your child. You can't stay here anymore. Not like this.”

I stared at her through blurred vision, her words slowly sinking in through the fog of grief and exhaustion.