003

Jasmine's Pov 

“You…” her voice cracked into a stabbing fury. “You're pregnant? What, you think being pregnant is going to keep him?”

I shrugged casually. “Told you he loves me, but sure, keep trying to convince yourself if that helps you sleep at night.”

Melody's face darkened at my retort. 

“Then you will go to hell before I let that happen!” Before I could blink, her fingers tugged at my hair and yanked it hard enough to make my scalp catch fire. 

Panic surged through me and I instinctively wrapped my fingers protectively around my stomach. Using that as an opportunity, she shoved me, hard. My hands flail around trying to grab something. My body pitched forward, tumbling down the stairs until my abdomen slammed against a sharp edge. 

Pain shot through me. Warm blood gushed between my thighs as my vision blurred, the world tilting in sickening waves. 

Above me, Melody descended with the slow grace of someone savoring a victory, her eyes cold and triumphant.

“I told you,” she hissed, her voice dripping venom. “Don't think you're something just because you're pregnant. Take this as a warning. Pack your things. I'm back now, and you're done.”

“Pl-please, help me,” I gasped for air, darkness closing in. 

Just when I thought she'd finally walk away, she pivoted sharply, drew back her leg, and drove the heel of her shoe straight into my stomach. 

Pain shot through me and for a moment, the darkness disappeared and I saw shiny stars. 

“Never forget this moment, how you begged for my mercy and how forever beneath me you'd be,” she spat in a chilling tone, looking down condescendingly at me just as a voice echoed from above. 

“Melody?”

Enoch. 

Finally, a ray of hope. Before I could call out, Melody slapped herself hard, then collapsed beside me, fake tears spilling as if her world had crumbled. 

“Oh my God, what happened?” In a blink, Enoch was at her side, crouching and frantically searching her body, like I was nothing but air. “Are you hurt? Are you alright?”

“I only wanted to thank her for being a dutiful wife,” Melody sobbed, voice trembling like a saint. “But she pushed me down the stairs… and now I think she hurt our baby.”

His head finally turned towards me. I expected shock, or rage at the sight of blood pooling beneath me. But his eyes were glacial, cold enough to freeze the surrounding air. 

“What did you do?!” he thundered. “How could you be so vicious towards a pregnant woman? Do you even realize you insult me by hurting her?”

“I didn't—” I wanted to say, but the denial caught in my throat, swallowed by a groan of pain. I was bleeding fast, dizzy and slipping. “Please… h-help me,” I choked out. 

But Enoch didn't move. Instead, he scoped Melody into his arms, holding her like something precious. 

“Reflect on yourself,” he said, each word like a cruel blade. “And when you're ready to apologize to her, maybe I'll consider forgiving you.”

He turned and carried her away, her face twisting into a triumphant smirk the moment his back was to us—one last silent dagger as my world finally bled beneath me. 

*****

Everything hurts. My skull throbbed like a war drum, and every time I tried to open my eyes, it felt like I was wrestling the devil himself—until the darkness yanked me under again. 

This time, the darkness loosened its grip. I woke up to the sting of antiseptic in the air. 

White pristine walls. Blue curtains, and the steady rhythmic beeping of a machine told me I was in a hospital. 

“You're awake,” a voice called softly, threaded with relief and worry. “It was the doctor that called. I thought I'd lost you.”

Lost…

My hands flew to my stomach before I could think, and I felt an immediate sense of loss. An icy dread crawled up my spine. Did I lose something? 

“My baby,” I rasped, panic clawing at my throat. “How's my baby?”

Derek's face tightened, his eyes lowering as he shook his head. “I'm… I'm so sorry.”

My world tilted and the dam broke. Hot tears blurred everything into a cruel haze. 

Melody had killed my baby. And Enoch, the man I married, the man who vowed to protect me, had done nothing. He let her walk away? No, he walked away with her in his protective embrace and told me to reflect on myself. 

The thought sliced deeper than any wound, and the grief hollowed me out until all that remained was a cold, unbearable ache. 

A notification from my phone drew my attention. I opened it and I froze at a message from Enoch. 

“Where are you? I want to see you. Can you come over to the office for a moment?” 

I was struck, but this time with confusion. Did… did I misunderstand him? I quickly stood to my feet, groaning in pain. “I need to leave.”

“What? You can't! You just woke up!”

One look at Derek and he drew in a breath of quiet resignation. “Fine. Where are you going?”

*****

I weakly opened the door to Enoch's office, and I could feel my hope fly out the window. Melody sat perched on his desk, her hands wrapped possessively around his. 

“What's going on here?” My voice cracked despite me. “Did you ask me to come just to rub this in my face?”

Enoch barely looked at me. The casual coldness in his eyes landed harder than any slap. He wasn't the man I'd once loved. 

“What, did you think he'd be begging for forgiveness?” Melody's mockery dripped like poison. She slid off the desk with a lazy grace, folder in hand, heels clicking like tiny daggers as she sauntered towards me. “No, darling. He just wants you to sign these.”

She shoved the folder against my chest, the impact forcing me back a step. 

“What's this?” I managed, voice above a whisper. 

“Open it and find out,” Enoch finally said with a flat and emotionless voice. 

My fingers trembled as I flipped it open. “Divorce papers?!”

Melody smirked. “Why so shocked? It's been two years. Have you forgotten about the contract?”

My eyes whipped towards Enoch. “You told her?!”

“So what?” 

“But I thought you'd forgotten—” my throat tightened. “I thought you were starting to care about me. To love me.”

Right after our rushed wedding, Enoch had handed me a contract—neat, cold and clinical, a simple two year agreement meant to compensate me for the chaos of becoming his wife. 

He felt he'd troubled me, but it was the best trouble I had ever found myself in. Head over heels in love with him, I'd remained invisible until that day, when Melody jilted him on the altar. 

“God! Can you stop thinking and sign the damn papers?!” The chill in his tone cut me to my bones, but I refused to break. 

“Did you know I was pregnant?” I suddenly asked, forcing the words out. “And that I lost the baby because Melody pushed me?”

“Stop accusing her of pushing you down the stairs! I clearly saw you push her and why would I believe you're pregnant?” He said coldly, “when you've been busy cheating on me?”

“What?” The words scraped from my throat. “I would never cheat on you!”

“Then explain this!”

He hurled another folder at me. Photos taken from different angles scattered across the floor, of me hugging my brother the day I lost my baby. To a stranger, it looked like something else. 

“You didn't just fake an accident,” Enoch continued, voice like a blade, “you’re also sleeping around while accusing me of infidelity?”

“I didn't cheat on you!” My voice cracked with a mix of fury and despair.