Chapter 5

The hospital hallway was bathed in a harsh, blinding white light.

Everyone crowded around Emma.

Declan was holding her hand, my mom was pouring her water, Henry was running back and forth to handle the bills, and my dad stood by the doorway of the hospital room, glaring at me with a grim warning.

"Stop provoking a pregnant woman."

I stood at the far end of the corridor, my wrist still throbbing with pain. The fresh wound from my recent discharge had torn open again from the rush of travel, soaking the white gauze in a patch of glaring red.

Yet nobody noticed.

I suddenly thought back to the day of my miscarriage three years ago. Back then, the hospital room held only a bowl of cold soup and the suffocating stench of antiseptic.

Declan had stood outside the door refusing to step inside. My mom had cried herself to sleep slumped over the edge of the bed, and Emma had held my hand, repeating over and over that she would stay by my side.

Back then, I thought I had hit rock bottom.

It wasn't until today that I realized the true nightmare: the only person I thought I had left to lean on was lying to me the whole time.

The doctor walked into the room, announcing that the baby had miraculously survived.

A wave of relief swept over everyone. Declan closed his eyes, his tense shoulders finally relaxing as the tension drained out of him.

My mom whispered prayers of gratitude, and Henry leaned back against the wall, expelling a long, shaky breath.

I stood behind them like a ghost that didn't belong.

When Emma woke up, the tears wouldn't stop falling. She looked up at me, her voice frail.

"Harper, I know you hate me, but the baby is innocent."

The moment those words left her mouth, Declan whipped his head around to stare at me. His gaze was cold and alien.

"Apologize."

I thought my ears were failing me.

"You want me to apologize to her?"

Declan frowned deeply, his voice sharp and severe.

"If you hadn't thrown a tantrum, her pregnancy wouldn't have been threatened."

My chest felt blocked by a suffocating weight, and it took me a moment to force the words out.

"Declan, she came to find me."

My mom hurried over with red-rimmed eyes, grabbing my sleeve.

"Harper, just swallow your pride for once. I'm begging you as your mother, stop making a scene. Emma is carrying a child right now; she can't handle you pushing her like this."

I stared at my mom.

This was the exact same person who, three years ago after my miscarriage, had pulled me into her arms and sworn she would never forgive Declan for as long as she lived.

Yet here she was, demanding that I bow my head to Emma.

Henry's voice dropped heavy and hard. "You've already killed one child. Do you want to cause another?"

The corridor went dead silent.

The blood in my veins turned instantly to ice.

"I killed it?"

I looked at Henry, my voice cracking as it rose in volume.

"Three years ago, Declan cheated, and that's what caused me to fall on the hotel steps and lose my baby."

My eyes burned with hot tears as I forced every single word out to his face.

"And somehow, in your twisted version of events, I caused it?"

Henry looked away, refusing to meet my eyes, though he stubbornly doubled down.

"If you hadn't gone crazy and tracked him down back then, none of this would have happened."

Black spots danced across my vision, and I had to press a hand against the freezing wall just to keep from collapsing.

In that exact heartbeat, I didn't want to explain myself anymore.

I looked at Declan, then down at Emma weeping weakly on the hospital bed, and the very last flicker of warmth inside my heart went out completely.

"Fine."

I heard my voice come out soft and detached.

"Let's just say I killed it."

My mom's face twisted in panic. "Harper..."

I didn't stick around to listen to the rest, turning around and walking straight out of the hospital.

Behind me, their voices called out my name.

This time, I didn't look back.

Once I got home, I dragged out the suitcase I had packed earlier. The living room was dead quiet. I set the signed divorce papers on the table, resting our wedding band right on top.

The inner band was engraved with the initials Declan had personally chosen back then. He had told me it marked our brand-new beginning.

I glanced at it once, leaving it right beside the yellowed medical records from my miscarriage three years ago.

Finally, I pulled out the plane ticket. The destination was Switzerland.

I had lost count of how many times I had told Declan how much I wanted to go there and see the snow for myself. Back then, he always smiled and said, "Once things settle down at work, I'll take you there."

I had waited for years.

Waited until my baby was gone, my marriage was shattered into dust, and even my best friend turned out to be the knife in my back.

I didn't want to wait anymore.

I was going on my own.

Just as the airport announcements chimed overhead, Declan's call cut through.

The screen flashed, then went dark. I stared at his name, letting it ring without picking up.

A second call, then a third—realizing something was wrong, he started dialing back-to-back without stopping.

I powered off my phone and handed my boarding pass to the attendant.

As the plane climbed, I looked out at the city shrinking below.

Down there were the people I used to love, and the closest friend I ever trusted.

However, Declan… Emma…

This time, I'm not choosing to destroy myself.

I'm simply choosing to leave all of them behind for good.