a war begins

When I stepped outside Arroyo Verde Hospital, I flagged down a cab. My body was still trembling as I climbed into the backseat, clutching my phone like a lifeline. Mia’s texts were waiting for me, buzzing nonstop with unread messages, but I couldn’t bring myself to open them.

“My baby…” I whispered, watching the hospital’s large sign disappear as the car pulled away.

I tried not to cry. God, I tried. But the tears came anyway. It was silent and endless. My hand rested on my stomach. It was flat. Empty. Hollow.

“Fucking bastard,” I breathed. “I’ll never forgive you for this.”

The pain wasn’t just physical. It felt like something had been ripped out of me, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever feel whole again.

Now I understood real heartbreak. Not the kind people whine about after a breakup. The real kind, the kind that cracks something open deep inside you… and leaves it bleeding.

I remembered my dad losing his mind after my stepmother miscarried five times before she overdosed. I didn’t care back then. She was a monster. But now?

Now I understood. And I hated that I did.

“Mom…” I whispered, wiping at my cheeks. I missed her so much. If she were here, maybe it wouldn’t hurt this bad.

My phone buzzed again. Mia’s texts lit up the screen.

"Call me. Please, Lila. I’m worried sick."

I didn’t respond. I just couldn’t. My eyes caught on an unread email from Wesley instead.

His offer stared back like a lifeline.

"Join my team, Lila. We need you."

And Damian’s voice echoed in my head:

“Stay the hell away from Wesley.”

But he didn’t get to decide anymore.

Not now. Not ever again.

I typed: "I’m in." Then hit send.

Almost immediately, a new message popped up. Unknown number.

"Bad move, Lila. You can’t run from me. But you can run from him. Don’t be deceived, Lila. Come back to New Orleans."

I froze.

“What the hell…” I whispered.

My heart thundered in my chest. I looked out the window... just traffic. Nothing suspicious. But the feeling was there. I felt like I was being watched.

“Everything okay back there, ma’am?” the cabbie asked, catching my eyes in the rearview mirror.

“I’m fine. Just drive,” I muttered.

I rolled down the window. Wesley’s email still glowed on the screen.

“Did I just walk into something worse?” I murmured.

Then, without another thought, I hurled the phone out into the street.

I would get a new one. A clean slate. I couldn’t afford to be tracked.

Not anymore.

---

The cab dropped me off at my place in Beverly Crest; one of the most exclusive residential areas in Los Angeles. Again, thanks to that jerk Damian, I got to live in such a golden place. But now that we were over, I knew I would have to start preparing to move out. The last thing I wanted was anything tied to him.

It was dark and cold, but I didn’t care. I limped into the apartment, my coat wrapped tightly around me. The hospital gown still clung to my skin underneath.

My body ached. But my heart? It hurt worse.

Mia’s texts flashed on my new phone, but I couldn’t answer. Not yet.

"Lila, what the hell is going on?? You’re freaking me out!"

I sank onto the couch, biting back a cry. My arms instinctively wrapped around my stomach.

There was supposed to be a baby in there. I’d already started dreaming about tiny clothes… a nursery… life.

Now? Nothing.

I opened Wesley’s email again. His words were kind and warm. I wanted to believe them.

But Damian’s voice echoed louder in my head.

Was he the one sending the creepy texts?

No. Damian wouldn’t use an unknown number. He would just show up.

Then I looked down.

Blood.

“Oh shit…”

I stood slowly and pulled down my underwear. The pad was soaked, heavy and thick. Definitely not normal. Then I remembered something about postpartum bleeding after a D&C. I guess this was it.

Still, it made everything feel that much more real.

I limped to the bathroom, tossed the pad in the trash, and turned on the hot water in the tub.

“Shit!” I gasped as I lowered myself in.

My body screamed at first, then slowly, the pain began to ease.

After the bath, I dried off and inserted a menstrual cup. It hurt like hell, but I needed to feel in control of something... anything.

Wrapped in my robe, I walked carefully to the big study next to my bedroom and sat down. My hands once again cradled my stomach.

“You’re not doing this alone,” I whispered to myself. “Go get him hard, Lila.”

Damian thought he could erase me. That he could take my body. My baby. My future.

He thought I would disappear.

He was wrong.

I was coming for him.

For that fucking hospital.

For everything.

Then my new phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

"You think Wesley can save you?

You think trashing one device is enough to hide?"

My blood ran cold.

"No fucking way…"

This was a brand new phone. I just bought it. How the hell…?

My fingers trembled as I typed:

"Who is this?"

But I didn’t send it. I deleted it instead.

Someone was watching me.

Tracking me.

Somehow, they knew everything.

Even that I’d thrown my old phone away.

This was insane.

“Lila,” I whispered. “Get your shit together.”

I stood up. My hands were shaking, but my heart was hard. I had to distract myself before I completely lost it.

Damian Holt had started a war.

He just didn’t realize it yet.

I wasn’t backing down.

I opened my laptop and typed into the search bar:

"Top LA lawyers for medical malpractice."

I didn’t know if I stood a chance against Damian; he had money, power, connections. But I had to try.

For my baby.

For me.

One name stood out:

"Victor Grayson."

Ruthless. Direct. No-nonsense.

Perfect.

I fired off an email, my fingers were trembling as I typed: "I need help. My ex authorized an abortion without my consent. I want to sue." Then I hit send.

My heart started racing. Damian’s words rang again in my mind: "You were nothing before me. And you’ll be nothing after."

Bullshit. He had no idea who I really was.

Then another text came through: "You’re making this worse, Lila. Don’t sue. You’ll never win. Everything happens for a reason. Come back to New Orleans. Never return to LA."

I froze.

“This again?”

I jumped to my feet, forgetting how much my body still ached. I rushed to check all the locks; front door, back, windows. Everything was locked.

But I could feel eyes on me.

I peeked through the curtain… and immediately stepped back.

A black truck was parked across the street. A man dressed in all black leaned against it. His cap was pulled low, a mask covering half his face. But his gaze was fixed... right at my window.

My chest tightened.

“Is that him?” I whispered.

I shut the curtain. Fast.

"Should I call security? The police?

What the hell do I do?”

---

End of chapter 6

---

Author's Note: Chapter 6

Hello incredible readers,

This is the chapter where something breaks in Lila, and something else begins.

She’s grieving. Shaken. But beneath all that pain, something fierce is waking up. The fear is still there… but now it’s consumed with fire.

The text messages. The man outside. The black truck. Is it paranoia, or is someone really watching her? In Lila’s world, trust is slipping fast, and survival is starting to look like vengeance.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for staying in this with her. But hold on tight. She’s not backing down.

Love always,

[Moan Lounge]