Goodbye, My Yesterday

I stumbled back to the hospital room, my body still trembling.

The nurse rushed over and pressed a painkiller into my hand. Just as I swallowed it, the door swung open.

Jeremy Sterling walked in with Carolina Jenson at his side. She was radiant in a red dress, her smile as bright as a summer day.

"Regina, how are you feeling? Any better?" Carolina asked, her voice all warmth, even as her fingers gave the baby in her arms a deliberate little pinch.

I stared at the baby's peaceful, sleeping face, and Jeremy's earlier words echoed in my mind. It felt like a hand was squeezing my heart.

Jeremy didn't so much as glance my way. He leaned forward slightly, his entire focus on the baby.

"Regina, you've just gone through a difficult labor. You still need some time to recover," Jeremy said. "I'm taking Carl back to the Sterling villa. The nannies will take care of him."

I had known this was coming, but hearing those words from his mouth was like having a bucket of ice water dumped over my head.

"Carl?"

My voice trembled, barely holding it together.

Jeremy paused, his expression still a mask of indifference. "I've registered Carolina as the baby's legal mother. From now on, he's Carl Sterling."

Carolina shot Jeremy a playfully chiding look before turning to me.

"Don't take it the wrong way, Regina. Jeremy's just thinking about what's best for Carl's future. I'll love Carl like he's my own, I promise."

Cold sweat broke out across my body, my hands clutching the bedsheets. "But you promised me the baby would—"

"That was then," Jeremy cut me off. "I've changed my mind."

My pain didn't register with him. His voice remained flat and detached as he said, "Carolina comes from a well-off family, and she's the principal dancer at the Aurelia Ballet Theatre. She's the best choice for Carl's upbringing and future."

He continued, "Since you've been with me for a few years, I'll make sure your living expenses are covered. Beyond that, don't get any ideas."

With that, Jeremy wrapped his arm around Carolina, and they left, the door clicking shut in front of me.

I felt my blood icing over, one heartbeat at a time.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. How could the man who had cradled my pregnant belly and whispered promises just two months ago do a complete about-face on me?

He knew perfectly well that I had gone through 18 rounds of IVF and three biochemical pregnancies to have this baby.

I had even hemorrhaged so badly on the delivery table that they had to perform an emergency hysterectomy just to save my life.

It turned out that the baby I had risked my life for—and me right along with him—was simply part of the "beyond that" to Jeremy.

The day Bryan, the Sterling family's driver, took me home, I found the layout of the entire villa had been transformed.

The table that once held my belongings now displayed Carolina's personal effects.

The walls, where photos of Jeremy and me once hung, now showcased Carolina's glamour shots from her dance performances and photos of her wrapped in Jeremy's arms.