Chapter 002: The Miscarriage

CLARA

A tear slid down my cheek as I stared at the massive gates of what had once been my home. Nate had kicked me out without letting me take any of my belongings.

“I bought you everything you have, and a barren woman doesn’t deserve a dime.” He had said as he threw me out and ordered the guards to lock the gate.

Where could I go from here? My parents were dead. Nate was all I had in the world, and he had dumped me. None of what had happened felt real, not even the cold slapping my face outside.

I took one step as I turned away to leave, and a sharp pain hit me in my stomach.

The baby!

Nate had pushed me. What if something was happening to my baby? Fear gripped me as I turned toward the only building I could think of: the pharmacy.

As I walked in pain, I couldn’t help but think about what had gone wrong. Two years. Two years of marriage to the man I believed was the love of my life and had come to a horrible end.

What grave sin had I committed to make Nate turn against me? I knew I wasn't perfect…by no means at all. But I was kind, caring, loyal, and supportive. Nate was my best friend, and I always put him first, above all else. And now, just like that, it had all gone down the drain.

“Oh goddess,” I breathed as the pain in my stomach worsened. “Please protect my baby.”

I practically crawled to the counter when I arrived at the pharmacy, briefly telling the clerk that I needed medical attention after a nasty fall. The lady looked irritated as she slowly raised her head to look at me.

"Cash or card?" She asked impatiently.

Nate had sent me out without a pin to my name.

"I-I don't have any cash on me right–" I said, squeezing my eyes as a jolt of pain ripped through me. “Please help…”

I opened my eyes to see the woman glaring at me. "If you want a checkup or treatment, you'll have to pay for it, miss," she said. "I don't run a charity here."

"Please," I begged. "You have to help me. I don't want to lose the baby."

She barked out a laugh. "If I had a dime for every time I've had that stupid story, I'd be rich. You want help? Let me see some cash, or better still, go and complain to the one that got you pregnant."

"Please-"

She climbed back into her seat and hid her face behind her magazine.

“I’m the Alpha’s wife!” I choked out desperately. “I’m Alpha Nathaniel’s wife. Please help me.”

She lowered her magazine and eyed me from head to toe. “Really?” She asked, slightly amused. “And why is Alpha Nathaniel’s wife crying here without money? Isn’t your husband supposed to be wealthy, you fraud?!”

“I’m not lying…ahhhh!” I clutched my stomach. “I’m scared. Please help me.”

“Get out before I call the police and tell them you’re lying and trying to get treatment for free. How am I even sure you’re really in pain, or you’re just a junkie looking for drugs?”

Tears streamed down my eyes as I stared at her cold face. She wasn’t going to change her mind. I needed to find urgent help because my stomach felt like it was on fire, and I was getting weaker every second.

I took every ounce of strength to walk out of the pharmacy and into the street. There was another human depending on me. I couldn't give up now. The pain in my abdomen seemed to multiply tenfold the more I walked until it got so terrible that I couldn't help but sit down and cry out in pain.

"Help me," I cried to the people who passed; only my voice at this point was barely above a whisper, and I doubted they even heard me.

None of them helped me despite my cries.

Some of them stopped walking past. They formed a cluster a few places away from me.

I heard one say to the other, "Is she crazy?"

I raised one hand and shouted, "I need a hospital. Please, I'm in pain."

No one moved.

I wondered if I was stuck in some sort of nightmare. How could they bear watch someone dying?

"Isn't that the Alpha's wife?" someone else asked in a loud whisper.

The small crowd broke into an excited murmur.

"Yes, she's the one," a woman said excitedly. "I saw her on the news. Her husband is going around with that supermodel, Isla."

"I heard the Alpha is replacing her. How true do you think that is? From the looks of it, that might have happened already. I mean, look at the state of his wife."

I shrunk away and tried to block out their words, but that only made the pain more prominent. Sobbing, I tried to get up.

And then I saw it – the red streak of blood flowing down my legs.

"No, no, no!" I cried, falling to the ground.

"She's bleeding," someone shouted.

The watchers scattered in every direction. I felt the strength start to seep out of me. Everything from my stomach down went numb.

The tears ran down my cheeks as I lay on my back on the cold, hard floor. I supposed this was how I was going to die, alone and in pain. My only regret was the baby I would never get to save.

A woman passing by rushed over to help me. "Are you okay?! Can you walk? Let's get you to the hospital."

She wrapped her arms around my back and tried to lift me up, but I was in so much pain that I couldn't even move an inch. I could feel my body growing weaker by the second, the world spinning around me as I bled out on the ground.

Everything else that happened after that was a blur. One second, the woman who was kneeling beside me was violently shaking me in an effort to keep me awake, and the next second, I saw a black SUV drive up to where I lay on the ground.

The last thing I remembered was seeing two hefty men climb out of the vehicle and sprint forward to help me.

And then the world went black.

**********

I woke up in a strange room that smelled like disinfectant. I took in the heart monitors and the IV in my hand.

A nurse walked in. Her eyes lit up when she saw me.

"Oh, you're finally awake. Thank goodness," she said.

"Where am I?" I asked. I hardly recognized my own voice, weak as it was. "How long have I been out?"

"You're in Memorial Hospital, ma'am. You were brought here a few days ago in a very bad state. You've been unconscious for three days." She replied.

Three days?

Slowly, bits and pieces of everything that happened began to flash through my mind. Nate's betrayal, the divorce papers…. It all came rushing back to me. When I realized that the last thing I worried about was my baby, my hand instinctively flew to my stomach.

Before I even got the chance to ask, I saw a sad look flash on the nurse's face. And that's when I knew.

"Did I…" I asked the terrifying question, although I already knew the answer.

The nurse shook her head sadly. "I am so sorry, ma'am. We couldn't save the baby. By the time you arrived at the hospital, it was already too late."

I felt something in me break. Pain, worse than anything physical, ripped through me. My lips quivered. I bit my lips to keep back a scream as the tears fell.

"Why?" I asked the nurse. "Why didn't you just let me die?"

"I understand your pain, but you have to live. You'll still have other children-"

I felt a brief spurt of anger at her words.

"NO!" Somehow, I found the strength to yell. "You don't understand! I don't want other children. I wanted this one."

The nurse hesitated, dropped her clipboard and took me in her arms. I fought her, but she held on tighter. Then I held her for a long, long time until I was all cried out.

A while later, she pulled back.

"Stop crying, okay? I have to tell the man who brought you in that you're awake now," she said. "He's been desperate for news."

I frowned. "What, man?"

The nurse smiled. "It's Alpha Edward. He brought you here."

I paused to recall if I recognized the name from anywhere. Before I could ask more questions, the nurse left the room. I was still trying to make out who this man could be when the door opened again to reveal the tall frame of a man standing in the doorway.

His formidable aura was the first thing I noticed about him. But when my eyes took in his muscular frame, his thick black head of hair, and those familiar hazel eyes, my jaw slacked in shock.

"Edward…"