Something died inside me

~ Loise ~

It had been exactly a week since I met Alex Morgan, and somehow, in just seven days, my life had changed more than it had in the past few years. He had moved me into a beautiful new apartment and assigned some of his subordinates to take care of me and the baby, making sure I had everything I needed, and for the first time in a long while, I could wake up without immediately worrying about money, food, or where I would sleep.

So far, life had been perfect.

That morning, after freshening up, I decided to return to my old apartment and collect the rest of my belongings. I hadn't expected to find anyone there, but the moment I stepped out of my car, I noticed Tony leaning against his, looking like he had been waiting for someone.

And that someone was apparently me.

The moment his eyes landed on me, he straightened and hurried toward me, and I couldn't help but notice how different he looked from the man I had seen at the bar a week ago. The cold indifference was gone, replaced by an expression that almost looked like genuine concern.

“Babe…thank goodness you're here.” His voice softened as he approached me. “I was wondering what happened to you. You disappeared for a whole week. I thought something had happened to you.”

My brow arched.

Babe?

After everything he had done, he still had the audacity to call me that?

“What do you care where I've been?” I asked, unlocking the door. “We're over.”

A fleeting look of annoyance crossed his face before he quickly masked it.

“Eleanor deceived me,” he said, reaching for my hand. “Believe me, babe. She seduced me. I never meant for any of that to happen.”

I looked down at his hand around mine, then back at him, a mocking smile slowly forming on my lips before I pulled away.

“You're just a lying piece of shit who can't keep his cock to himself, Tony.”

His expression changed instantly.

“Bitch, how dare you insult me?”

Before I could react, he shoved me through the now-unlocked doorway.

I stumbled forward, my heart jumping into my throat as I instinctively wrapped an arm around my stomach, terrified that I would fall directly onto my belly. Thankfully, I managed to steady myself before hitting the floor.

When I turned around, Tony was laughing.

There was something almost frightening about the sound, as though the man who had been pretending to care only moments ago had finally dropped the mask.

“You really think you're all that great, huh?” he sneered, stepping toward me. “I'm giving you another chance and you still don't want it? Which man would want you, Loise? Which man would want a worn-out—”

“Don't.”

My voice shook, but I refused to let him see how deeply his words hurt. He continued anyway.

“Which man would want your worn-out pussy?”

My hand moved before I could think.

Slap!

My palm connected with his face so hard that his head snapped to the side, a small cut appearing at the corner of his mouth.

For a moment, we both stood there in silence.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't love this man once. I'd be lying if I said I had magically stopped caring about him simply because he had broken my heart. I'd spent the entire week trying to convince myself that I was over him, when the truth was that I was still hurting.

And now he was standing in front of me, taking every wound I had been trying to hide and pressing his fingers directly into them.

His hand suddenly shot toward me.

“Bitch, how dare you lay your filthy orphan hands on me?”

He grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me.

“Ah!”

Pain shot across my scalp as I struggled against his grip.

“Shut up!”

He dragged me toward the floor, and I reached desperately for his wrist, trying to free myself without putting pressure on my stomach. Then he leaned closer, his breath hot against my ear.

“You think I don't know who the father of that child is?”

I froze just before his grip tightened around my hair again. 

“You think I don't know what you're planning?” he continued, his voice dripping with bitterness. “You found yourself some billionaire, and now you're going to get rich off him and leave me in the dust?”

My heart pounded furiously in my chest. So that's why he was here. He had somehow found out who the baby's biological father was.

“Have you forgotten,” he continued, “that there never would've been any mistake if I hadn't convinced you to become a surrogate in the first place?”

My eyes burned with tears as I finally understood what was happening.

Tony wasn't here because he missed me, he wasn't here because he regretted cheating on me, he was here because he had discovered Alex Morgan. And now he wanted something from me.

I tried desperately to pry his fingers out of my hair, but he only tightened his grip, forcing me closer to the floor as a cruel smile slowly spread across his face.

“Since you don't appreciate all the help I gave you,” he whispered, his eyes dropping toward my stomach, “why don't I get rid of the baby myself?”

My entire body went cold. My eyes widened as I followed his gaze toward my belly. 

“Tony…”

My voice came out as a trembling whisper.

He smiled.

Then, without warning, he released my hair.

I barely had time to wonder what he was about to do before his foot slammed into my stomach.

“Ah!”

Pain exploded through me, so sharp that my scream caught in my throat. I curled instinctively around my belly, but before I could even recover, he kicked me again.

And again.

“Please!” I cried, shielding my stomach with both arms. “Tony, please stop!”

But he didn't.

Then suddenly, I felt it.

A warm liquid trickled down my thighs.

My entire body went still.

No.

My eyes widened as terror rushed through me, my hands trembling as I looked down at the growing stain beneath me.

“God, no…”

My baby. Please. Not my baby.

I looked up at Tony, desperately searching his face for even a trace of the man I had once loved with my entire heart, body, and soul, but there was nothing there. The person standing before me looked like a complete stranger, someone I couldn't recognize despite having spent years believing I knew him better than anyone.

“Tony…” I choked out, tears spilling freely down my cheeks. “Please. Save my baby.”

He stared at me for a moment, his expression completely empty.

Then he simply turned around.

He walked toward the door as though he hadn't just destroyed the only thing I had left.

“Please!” I sobbed, trying to crawl after him, but another wave of pain ripped through my stomach, forcing me back down. “Tony, please don't leave me!”

He didn't even look back.

I was left alone on the cold floor, trembling uncontrollably, one hand clutching my stomach while the other reached helplessly toward the door.

“Somebody…”

My voice barely came out.

“Please…”

I murmured as everything around me slowly faded into darkness. The pain, the tears, the cold floor beneath my body…even the sound of my own sobs seemed to drift farther and farther away until there was nothing left. Something inside me died.