Chapter 4

My lips moved, but I wasn't sure any sound came out before everything went black.

When I woke up in the hospital, the IV bag beside me was nearly empty. I lay there for a moment, bracing myself for Yale to appear.

So when a different man walked in behind the nurse, I startled so badly I almost sat up.

"Don't move."

He immediately came around to the other side of the bed and gently stopped me.

"I happened to call you earlier. A security guard answered your phone and said you'd passed out. He asked who I was to you..."

I stared at him blankly, then nodded. It took me a while to fully process what he was saying.

When I checked my phone, I found dozens of missed calls and messages from both Yale and Yana.

They'd gone back to the apartment, seen that all my things were gone, and wanted to know where I'd gone.

Over and over, they apologized and begged me not to be angry.

Yale promised that I was still the woman he was going to marry.

Yana swore she would terminate the pregnancy.

Then another social app pushed me an update from someone I followed.

Yana had posted:

[You're so strong, baby. Mommy's going to protect you from now on.]

Several mutual friends had already liked the post and congratulated her.

Lauren Quinn was the only person from high school I still kept in touch with besides Yana. We'd even agreed that she would be one of my bridesmaids.

She had been trying to reach me too, asking me to message her as soon as I saw her texts.

Then I read what she'd sent.

[Tessa Sinclair, doesn't it disgust you to take your best friend's ex?]

[Yale has never gotten over Yana all these years, and now Yana wants him back too. If you still insist on standing between them and force an innocent baby to die, that would be beyond vile.]

It felt as if someone had driven a knife straight through my heart.

My chest tightened until I could barely breathe.

Two days later, after I was discharged, I checked into a hotel for the time being.

That was when I saw a message from Yale's mother, Margaret Jensen.

She hadn't seen the wedding photos we'd been supposed to post, so she'd asked Yale what had happened. After forcing the truth out of him, she became so upset that she ended up in the hospital herself.

I spent the entire night going back and forth over it before deciding to visit her in the hospital where she was.

The moment she saw me, she took my hand and cried, apologizing over and over.

But it didn't take long before the conversation shifted, and she started making excuses for her son.

"Tessa, everyone makes mistakes. Yale really cares about you.

"You're the only daughter-in-law I'll ever accept. Even if that woman gives birth to his child, she'll still be nothing more than the other woman for the rest of her life..."

I stared at her in disbelief.

There was no point arguing with an older woman who was already sick, so I only said, "Please take care of yourself," and turned to leave.

The second I opened the door, Yale was standing there.

"Tessa, listen to me. Yana was born with a uterine condition. If she terminates this pregnancy, she may never be able to have children."

Yana followed him into the room, her eyes swollen from crying.

"Tessa, I know you love Yale. I'm not trying to take him from you. Please, just let me keep the baby.

"I know you're terrified of giving birth because your mother died having you. I can do it for you. The baby can belong to both of us. It can call you Mom too."

I was so disgusted and stunned that I actually laughed until tears came to my eyes.

A sharp pain suddenly tore through my lower abdomen.

I looked at Yale.

"Is that what you want too?"

He fell silent.

His mouth opened, and after everything, the only thing he could come up with was the most cowardly answer imaginable.

"Tessa, I don't want anyone to get hurt. Can't we all compromise a little?"

I nodded.

There was nothing left to say to either of them.

I turned and headed for the door, but Yana grabbed my arm.

"Tessa... don't go..."

I tried several times to shake her off, but she wouldn't let go.

A bitter smile crossed my face.

Then I raised my other hand and slapped her.

The crack seemed to echo through the entire room.

"Yana!"

Yale shoved me away at once. He turned to inspect her face before glaring at me in fury.

"What the hell are you doing?"

That was all I needed.

The final scene had played out exactly as intended.

Blood began spreading beneath me.

Holding on to the last thread of consciousness, I pulled out my phone and made a call.

"Can you come in and get me?" I whispered to my old upperclassman, Caleb Lawson.

"Yeah. I'm coming."

His voice reached me twice at once, through the phone and from just outside the hospital room.