Chapter 3

ASTRID

Jakob made sure the only thing I left with were the clothes on my back, now drenched by the falling snow. He took everything else away from me.

The last look on his face remained, haunting me as I sat on the side walk.

Cars blurred past and people moved quickly, but the only thought I had was of the sudden cruelty of the ones I called home.

I never asked to be married to Jakob, yet somehow, they made me do it to satisfy their daughter’s selfish interests.

Along the line, I fell in love with him before he proposed to me.

It was me who fell first, and somehow managed to fall harder for him. By the time I truly made peace with it...everything vanished like a cloud of smoke.

Gone.

I splayed my blue fingers around my middle, trying to protect my baby from the blistering cold with the snow falling in earnest.

Mustering the last strength I had, I picked myself up but doubled over immediately when a crippling wave of cramps struck.

I leaned against a post, pressing my thighs together, trying to breathe through the agony.

Soon, warmth trickled down the inside of my leg. Blood.

“What’s happening?” I cried.

Just then, a thicker clot landed between my bare feet followed by a dull ache.

“My baby…” I moaned as the pain doubled, tearing into my belly with each breath. “Someone...please...help.”

But it felt like no one heard. Or no one cared.

My knees trembled, causing the ground to come up to meet me and darkness to claw at me from the edges of my vision.

I couldn’t fight it. I didn’t want to. Why should I face this lie that has become my new reality?

With a resigned sigh, I gave in.

***

The next time I woke, the first thing that registered in my brain was the potent smell of antiseptic. My eyes blinked open to blinding lights and my ears to the beeping machines by the side of my head.

It was white all over.

Where was I?

Two people draped in white walked in with smiles on their faces when they saw me. “How was your sleep?”

I tried to speak, only to be stopped by my parched throat that felt like it had not been used in years. They handed me a glass of water, asking me not to chug it down at once.

I finally found my voice. “How did I get here? Where am I?”

The door opened before the doctor could reply.

The first thing my eyes fell upon was the perfect slope of broad shoulders and the lines of finely carved jaw.

Something about the newcomer tried to free something in my mind.

Where have I seen him?

The doctor gave him a curt nod. “It’s nice to see you again, Arman.”

He waved him off. “Can’t say the same for you.” His head turned to me. “Finally, she’s awake. I thought she was gone for good or something.”

The doctor shot him a sharp look but he paid him no mind. He strolled to where I was, sat at the edge of the bed.

“How are you feeling, Astrid?”

He knew me?

“H-how do you know my name?” Looking at the doctor for help, “How did I get here?”

Arman’s brows furrowed in confusion. “You don’t remember?” When I shook my head in reply, he sighed. “You were passed out on the sidewalk, bleeding. The old man tried to save you.”

His mouth kept moving, yet I was fixed on the word bleeding. Why was I bleeding?

“How? Was there an accident?” I asked slowly, interrupting him.

The doctor moved towards me, checking my eyes and observing my heartbeat, amongst other things.

He looked...alarmed.

“What is happening?” The man next to me asked.

Shaking his head, the doctor finally addressed us. “You lost the baby. The man who brought you here said he found you bleeding on the sidewalks and passed out.”

The more he spoke, the more I tried to juggle my brain for a memory that was never there.

“I was pregnant? For who? Him?”

Arman cackled so loud I flinched. “Who do you take me for? Kaveh? Not sure I’m ready to be tied down anytime soon.”

Ignoring his dramatics, the doctor continued. “When you were brought in, we tried to keep you sedated and help you the best we can…”

His eyes darted to the clipboard and to the nurse beside him who promptly walked out. Hesitation was written all over the way he fidgeted.

The smile on Arman’s face died.

“What else happened?”

He glanced at his clipboard again. “Your body went into hypovolemic shock which sent you into a coma for two days. However, I fear something else might have happened.”

Arman snapped, losing his cool, “Now is not the time for your silly jokes. We don’t pay you to sound like a mumbling fool.”

“Maybe we should talk in my office,” he suggested.

After checking if I’d be okay by myself, Arman followed the doctor out, leaving me to wonder what was going on.

I spent the next few minutes trying hard to remember the events before I went into a coma but my brain came up blank.

The more I tried, the more pressure built into an ache that made me dizzy and breathless. Finally, I gave up trying altogether.

When Arman returned with the doctor, his face was gloomy. It made me curious. However, those questions would be for later.

For now, I was so hungry I could finish a complete full-course meal. Twice.

It was while I stuffed my face that Arman announced to me we would be going home.

I paused eating. “Where is home?”

“Home is around the people who love you. Home is where you should have been all along,” he murmured lowly, studying my face.

His words, despite the confusion, struck a chord of hope within me.

“And, where is that?”

He smiled gently, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ears as he stroked my cheek with his thumb.

“Don’t worry. You’ll see.”