Martin shook his head violently, his voice breaking. “No, Rosie. Please forgive me. I’ll make it up to you. I won’t sacrifice you again…”“Martin,” I said his name softly to cut him off.“I won’t ever forgive you. I don’t want your compensation either. If you truly care for me, please leave me alone. When I see you, all I can think of is our dead child!”My words left him speechless. His shoulders slumped as if someone had drained the life out of him, and he went limp and hollow.After a long while, he pulled himself up from the ground, lips trembling.“I’m sorry.”I looked down and didn’t give him another glance. Without a second thought, I walked past him.I never saw Martin again after that day. Still, I knew he hadn’t entirely let me go. There were the cigarette butts at the corner, footprints on the path, and roses appearing on my doorstep on my birthday. I chose to ignore them all, leaving the flowers to wither in the corner.Even my newfound friends noticed the qui
I went home after leaving the hospital and grabbed only my ID and bank cards.Then, I took a taxi to the airport and left on the next flight to Auralia. Because of who he was, Martin could never leave the country, so he would never be able to find me.In Auralia, I got a new SIM card, cut all ties with my old life, and started anew. It took six months to rebuild my health before opening a successful bakery in a small town.I didn’t contact any of my old friends. The only person I stayed in touch with was the lawyer who’d helped arrange my ticket. Before he could even deliver the divorce papers to Martin, he and his family were already trending in the news. Even I, halfway across the world, read it all.Martin had locked Tricia in a basement, tortured her, and sold his own sister to the black market. However, Clara escaped and went to Tricia’s family.The Gambinos, the only family that could stand up to the Bresses, went ballistic when they learned Tricia had been imprisoned
Martin’s face grew darker by the second. Every line they spoke fed his anger until finally, he slammed his cup down so hard that it shattered with a loud crack.“Enough! You did all this just to target Rosie? What did she ever do to you to deserve this?”He stared at Clara, each word deliberate. “I’ll ask you one more time. Was that pregnancy report fake or not?”Clara shrank back, too frightened to answer.So Martin picked up his phone and ordered coldly, “Pull every contact in Clara’s phone. Interrogate them using any method. I want no mercy.”“Wait, no! I’ll tell everything! I don’t have any doctor friends. I lied to you.” Clara collapsed at his feet, wailing.Martin staggered backward, dizzy.“So you mean Rosie’s pregnancy report was real?”Clara nodded, then shook her head frantically. “I don’t know! That report wasn’t done at our hospital. How would I know if it were real?”“You said it was fake,” Martin spat, teeth gritted. He trembled as he barked another order.“Find
Faced with Martin’s grim stare, Tricia scrambled to defend herself, panic in her voice.“Martin, don’t listen to her… She must have been bribed by Rosie to say that! I couldn’t possibly have the power to buy people off!”Seeing Martin’s expression soften a fraction, she pressed on.“Rosie is your wife. People listen to her. Rosie must have put that nurse up to it to frame me! Ever since my husband died, she’s been picking on me, making life hard. I put up with it for the family’s sake, but now she’s gone too far. She’d even falsely accuse me like this!”As Tricia cried, Clara rushed in, breathless.“What’s going on? Weren’t they in emergency surgery? Why is everyone just standing here?”“Clara, Martin doesn’t believe me. He thinks I’m faking my injuries.” Tricia leaped into Clara’s arms like she’d found salvation, tears streaming down her face.Clara’s eyes flashed. She stepped between Tricia and Martin and snapped, “Martin! Don’t make a scene. Tricia is pregnant. Why would she
Martin suddenly asked, “How do you know that pregnancy test was fake?”Clara froze, and a trace of awkwardness crossed her face.“A doctor friend told me.”“Which friend? Show me what they said.”Martin reached for Clara’s phone, but she pulled back protectively, indignant.“Martin, you don’t trust me? Now you want to check my phone? I’m so disappointed in you, questioning your own sister for an outsider!”Martin withdrew his hand. “That’s not what I meant. Conrad said Rosie had a miscarriage. I just wanted to confirm.”“A miscarriage?”A flash of pleasure crossed Clara’s face, which was quickly replaced by guilt.“She must be lying. You know she’s a liar. Ever since Sam passed, she’s been giving Tricia a hard time. The house staff all say she does it for attention.”Despite hearing it from his sister, Martin’s unease only grew. He called Conrad again, but this time, he couldn’t get through. “Damn it! Why is he not answering?”He phoned his secretary, Aaron, to ask about C
Martin slapped Conrad across the face.“What are you talking about? When did my wife get pregnant? This is just one of her little attention-seeking stunts! You’ve all been fooled by her!”Conrad trembled, terrified.“B-but the doctor said it himself. He and Madam were outside the ER, but you refused her use of the room. She transferred hospitals. In the end, the baby couldn’t be saved…”Martin fell silent. Uncertainty flickered in his eyes.At that moment, Tricia spoke up. “Rosie was pregnant? She just asked me for sanitary pads the other day…” She put a hand over her mouth as if she’d caught herself saying too much.“Did I say something wrong? Maybe Rosie really was pregnant and just didn’t want us to know.”Martin’s face darkened like soot.“Good work. Which part of her is even true? She’s been lying to me and now to the doctor, too. All because I had her give blood to Tricia. Did that make her mad? How many people are in on this huge lie?!”He kicked Conrad to the floor.