Forever Loved, Like Day One

"Leonard, if Kayla ever learns the truth, aren't you afraid she'll be furious?" someone chimed in.

The man let out a derisive laugh, the ash on his cigarette glowing and fading.

"Furious? She was born craving a man's touch. I didn't even need to drug her that night. She got exactly what she wanted without any effort. She should be grateful.

"She spent the whole night under me, and I even figured out a way for Hannah to become a mother without pain. Two birds with one stone."

One of the men toyed with the small vial in his hand, his smile sharp.

"Ever since Leonard got married, this stuff has been mass-produced at the hospital. And Kayla still thinks those are the supplements customizedjust for her."

Another chimed in, laughing. "Leonard really planned it well. Planting the fertilized egg during her worst allergic flare was genius. Flawless, really."

"Exactly. As if Leonard would waste time cherishing her. Hannah is the one he's terrified to touch and just as terrified to break."

Their laughter rolled through the hospital corridor, loud enough to rattle the walls.

I stood in the dim hallway, frozen from head to toe, as if every drop of blood in my body had turned to ice.

So many accidental touches with Leonard Carter had nearly killed me over the years.

Sometimes it was just hives. Other times it was full-body swelling that landed me in the hospital.

Our families had been bound by marriage for generations, and I had always blamed myself for failing to fulfill a wife's duty.

Leonard would soothe me with calm words and tell me it didn't matter.

I learned to endure the loneliness and keep the safest distance from him.

I finally understood. All of it had been nothing more than Leonard keeping himself pure for the woman he truly loved. And I was nothing but the vessel carrying the child they wanted.

My hand drifted to my swollen belly. Nausea climbed up my throat. I wanted to vomit up every drop of the so-called supplements I'd swallowed over the years.

Around the corner, Leonard kept talking, venting to his friends.

"If I could have created some other tool to help Hannah have a baby, I wouldn't have had to stomach that night. Thinking about it now makes my skin crawl."

His friends burst out laughing again, their mockery echoing through the hall.

My eyes stung, the tears spilling before I could stop them.

I should have known. Leonard was one of the best physicians in the field. If he had wanted to cure my allergies, he would have done it years ago.

I had been too naive. I never understood the depth of his obsession with a woman he could never have.

But why was I the one paying the price?

Five years of marriage without intimacy. Five years of humiliation. Friends whispering behind my back that I was a useless ornament, a woman incapable of being a real woman.

My in-laws barred me from visiting them. The Carters would sigh and mutter that bringing me into the family was an embarrassment, a daughter-in-law who could neither be touched nor bear children.

I endured it all, sinking in the mud, clinging to the foolish hope that someday things would return to normal.

Leonard, how would you repay the five years I gave you with everything I had?

I didn't have the courage to confront him. Instead, I moved blindly down the hall until I reached the reception desk.

"Hello," I said to the nurse, my voice barely steady. "I'd like to schedule an abortion procedure."