Chapter 4

Alex pointed at the shredded divorce papers in the trash and let out a mocking laugh.

"You want a divorce? Autumn, what the hell is wrong with you? How many times do I have to explain that there's nothing going on between Savvy and me—"

His phone rang at the worst possible moment.

Alex frowned as he glanced at the screen. When he looked back at me, his eyes shifted uneasily.

"Mochi's gone missing."

I searched every street in the neighborhood and checked every place she might have gone.

In the end, I found her at the end of an alley. It was the same place where I'd found her three years ago. Now, it had become the place where she would rest forever.

Numbly, I gathered her into my arms. She felt smaller somehow, smaller than the day I'd first brought her home.

There was almost no weight to her at all. It felt as though she were only sleeping.

The new ID tag I'd recently bought still hung around her neck. Now it was stained with blood, the lettering no longer visible.

My eyes stung, and tears spilled down my cheeks. All the grief and anger I'd been holding back finally broke free.

Alex's expression stiffened, and guilt flashed across his face.

Instinctively, he reached for my hand, but I pulled away.

"Alex, this is what you meant when you said she'd be fine? What gave you the right to give her away without asking me? If you didn't want her, I would've taken her and left.

"Alex, why won't you leave me alone? Do you enjoy playing with me? Or is this just another one of your twisted games?"

For the first time, Alex had no response as he looked at my red-rimmed eyes.

I looked down at Mochi's cold body and suddenly felt so exhausted. I sniffed back my tears and refused to look at him again.

"There's nothing left to discuss. Sign the divorce papers as soon as possible."

The moment the words left my mouth, all my strength vanished. Everything went black.

...

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

Alex wasn't there. Only a young nurse sat beside me. When she saw I was awake, she handed me a medical report. There was sympathy in her eyes.

"Your family really should've been here after something this serious..."

I didn't hear the rest as my attention locked onto a few lines on the report.

My breathing turned ragged. Panic surged through me. I wanted to leave, but I stumbled out of bed, nearly falling as my legs gave out beneath me.

Every step felt like I was walking on cotton, weightless and unsteady.

Even my thoughts seemed to drift in and out of focus.

Outside the obstetrics department, Alex had an arm around Savannah as he carefully helped her onto a chair in the hallway. Joy practically radiated from his face.

Before I could stop myself, I dialed his number. I watched him walk to a quiet corner before answering.

"Alex, where are you?"

"Something came up at the firm today. Since you're awake, grab something to eat. I hired a caregiver to look after you."

Then he glanced back toward Savannah, as though he'd just made a decision. His voice softened. "Actually, never mind. Wait for me in your room. I'll come see you as soon as I'm done here."

"Okay," I murmured, clutching the medical record in my hand, looking at it repeatedly for a long time.

The words remained unchanged: "Late-stage cancer. Recommendation: terminate the pregnancy and begin treatment immediately."

Every word pierced straight through my heart.

I wandered the hallway in a daze until eventually, I walked straight into someone's chest.

The report slipped from my hand and fell to the floor. Robbie bent down and picked it up. He opened his mouth several times before finally speaking, "Are you really not going to tell Alex?"

I looked at him across the corridor and took a slow breath.

It wasn't that I hadn't considered telling him, but the truth was that none of this mattered to Alex anymore.

"Forget it. I just want to leave him as soon as possible. I want to spend whatever time I have left actually living."

"Dr. Carpenter, please keep this between us."

The words had barely left my mouth when a familiar voice sounded behind me.

"What are you asking him to keep secret?"