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Chapter 2

Author: Dulcie Rose
last update publish date: 2026-10-12 15:52:09

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the smell.

Antiseptic.

Then came the pain.

My head throbbed, my body felt heavy, and even moving my fingers took effort. I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain stopped me.

"Elena?"

I turned toward the voice.

Ethan sat beside my hospital bed. His hair was messy, and his eyes looked tired. The moment he saw me looking at him, he stood.

"You're awake."

I stared at him, confused.

The last thing I remembered was the railing giving way beneath my hand. Then the ground rushing toward me.

I lifted my hands and signed, *What am I doing here?*

Ethan pulled his chair closer.

"I found you lying lifeless on the floor. You weren't responding, Elena." His voice broke slightly. "For a moment, I thought I'd lost you."

My hands trembled.

I remembered the warehouse. The gun. Adrian standing between Victoria and me.

*Victoria.*

I swallowed hard and looked around the room.

Then I signed, *Where is the nurse?*

"One minute."

Ethan hurried out.

I lowered my hands to the blanket, trying to understand how I had survived the fall. My whole body hurt, but there was something else. An uncomfortable feeling deep in my stomach that made my heart beat faster.

I placed a hand over my belly.

Something was wrong.

The door opened, and Ethan returned with a doctor.

"Good morning, Elena," she said gently. "I'm glad you're awake. How are you feeling?"

I couldn't answer, so I signed instead.

*My stomach hurts. Is something wrong?*

The doctor pulled a chair closer to my bed. Her expression changed, and I knew before she spoke that something terrible had happened.

"I'm sorry, Elena."

I stared at her.

"Your injuries were serious, and the fall caused you to lose your pregnancy. I'm so sorry. We lost the baby."

For a moment, I didn't understand what she had said.

My hand remained on my belly.

My baby?

No.

No, that couldn't be right.

I shook my head, tears filling my eyes. I pressed both hands against my stomach as if I could protect the tiny life that had been there.

Then a sound tore from my throat.

"NO! MY BABY!"

The words came out broken and rough, but they were words.

The doctor reached for my hand.

"Please, take heart. I know this is painful, but you need to rest. We're here to help you."

I barely heard her.

My baby was gone.

The little life I had carried without telling anyone. The one secret I had kept to myself because I didn't know what Adrian would say.

Now I would never get to tell him.

I covered my face and cried. My shoulders shook, and I couldn't stop. I had survived the fall, but I couldn't understand why I had to lose my baby.

"E... Elena?"

I looked up.

Ethan was staring at me, his eyes wide.

"You can talk now?"

I touched my throat.

I could.

After five years of silence, I had spoken.

The doctor smiled gently, though sadness remained in her eyes.

"Sometimes, severe emotional trauma can trigger a change in a person's ability to speak. It's possible that this experience has helped her voice return. However, she may need speech therapy to regain fluency. She shouldn't force herself. It will take time and practice."

Ethan let out a shaky breath.

"Elena, you can talk again."

He sounded so happy.

I wanted to smile for him. I wanted to feel grateful that something I had lost was finally coming back.

But all I could think about was the baby.

When the doctor left, Ethan sat beside me again.

He reached for my hand, and I held his tightly.

After a while, I wiped my face and looked at him.

"Adrian?"

His expression changed.

It was only a small change, but I noticed it.

"Elena..."

"Has he come?"

Ethan looked away.

I waited.

"He hasn't been here."

The room seemed to grow colder.

I looked down at my wedding ring. It was still on my finger, just as it had been when Adrian stood in that warehouse and chose Victoria.

He hadn't even looked back.

And now, while I lay in a hospital bed grieving the child he didn't know existed, he still wasn't here.

I had spent three years wondering what it would take for my husband to choose me.

I had finally learned the answer.

Nothing.

There was nothing I could do to make him love me.

I wiped the tears from my cheeks and looked at Ethan.

"Help me," I whispered, my voice barely holding together.

He leaned closer. "With what?"

I looked at the ring on my finger.

"I want to leave my husband."

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    The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the smell.Antiseptic.Then came the pain.My head throbbed, my body felt heavy, and even moving my fingers took effort. I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain stopped me."Elena?"I turned toward the voice.Ethan sat beside my hospital bed. His hair was messy, and his eyes looked tired. The moment he saw me looking at him, he stood."You're awake."I stared at him, confused.The last thing I remembered was the railing giving way beneath my hand. Then the ground rushing toward me.I lifted my hands and signed, *What am I doing here?*Ethan pulled his chair closer."I found you lying lifeless on the floor. You weren't responding, Elena." His voice broke slightly. "For a moment, I thought I'd lost you."My hands trembled.I remembered the warehouse. The gun. Adrian standing between Victoria and me.*Victoria.*I swallowed hard and looked around the room.Then I signed, *Where is the nurse?*"One minute."Ethan hurried out.I lowered my ha

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