Chapter 8

Heather’s POV 

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the silence.

It didn’t feel unsettling. It was just… quiet. 

The kind of quiet that made me wonder how long I’d been asleep. 

I blinked slowly, my eyelids still heavy.

Come to think of it, when did I even fall asleep? 

A yawn threatened to escape me as I rubbed at my eyes with the back of my hand.

And why was I still so tired? 

Slowly, my foggy memory began to return, and I remembered falling asleep after crying my eyes out on this very bed. 

Was I tired because I’d just given birth? Or was it whatever medication these people kept feeding into my veins?

My gaze drifted to the IV taped securely to the back of my hand.

Maybe it was that. I honestly didn’t know anymore.

With a quiet sigh, I turned my head toward the large window.

The bright morning sunlight that had greeted me earlier was gone. Instead, the sky had been painted in warm shades of orange and fading blue.

Evening. It was actually evening. 

Christ, had I actually been asleep for that long? 

A frown pulled at my lips as my eyes wandered around the room until they landed on the clock hanging neatly above the door.

5:17 p.m.

Huh. I had slept through almost the entire day. Well, that’s surprising. 

For a brief moment, I considered getting out of bed. But the thought barely lasted a second before reality came crashing back.

Right. I couldn’t use my legs.

The dull ache in my chest returned, but I immediately looked away. “…Hello?” My voice sounded embarrassingly small.

There was no response. I then cleared my throat and tried again. “Is… anyone there?”

A few moments later, the door opened, and the same older maid from earlier stepped inside, a gentle smile immediately appearing on her face. “Miss, you’re awake.”

I gave her a small nod. “Um, please, what day is it?” I didn’t even let her enter the room fully before throwing the question at her. 

She looked slightly surprised by the suddenness of my question. “Oh. It’s the eighteenth, Miss.”

The eighteenth…

My brows slowly drew together as my lips parted slightly. 

Oh wow. Four days.

It had been four days.

Four whole days since I’d given birth. Four days since my life had fallen apart. Four days since I’d last seen… my child. 

I lowered my eyes, swallowing the lump that formed in my throat.

“…Miss?”

I blinked myself back to the present. “I…” My voice came out quieter than before. “Can I see one of those men from this morning?”

The maid tilted her head, and I frowned, trying to remember, but it only gave me a headache. “Um… The one with the glasses? What was the name again… Ryan?”

The maid smiled politely. “You mean Young Master Ryder?”

“…Right, right. Ryder, I meant”

She gave an apologetic smile. “I’m afraid the young masters stepped out a while ago.” She paused for a moment before she continued. “They asked me and my colleagues to look after you until they return.”

She hesitated before adding gently, “Perhaps you would like something to eat first? Before they return, of course.”

Something to eat.

I recited the words in my head. 

The thought about food made my stomach tighten, and it was only then that I realized that I couldn’t even remember the last proper meal I’d had. 

The hospital, the delivery, my escape, everything after that had blurred together.

I slowly nodded. “…Yes, I would love to have something to eat.” Then another thought crossed my mind. 

“But before that…” I looked back at her. “May I borrow your phone?”

The maid’s smile faltered. “My… phone?”

“I just need to make one call,” I told her. 

She hesitated. “I don’t think Young Master Dominic would—”

“I wasn’t asking Dominic.” The words came out more sharply than I intended, and when I noticed her shoulders stiffen, I took a slow breath, softening my voice. “Please. I just need to make one phone call.”

She looked torn, her fingers tightening around the edge of her apron as she glanced toward the door, and for a second, I thought she was going to refuse. “…I’ll be right back.”

I could feel the instant relief washing over me. 

A few minutes later, she returned with a phone resting carefully in her palm, and I accepted it with trembling fingers, thanking her. 

She then quietly excused herself, leaving me alone once again, and for some reason, the room suddenly felt much smaller.

I stared at the unfamiliar screen, considering the possibilities of Adrian answering my call. 

I just wanted to talk to him. I wanted to hear what he had to say about this. I wanted to know if this was all Vivienne’s doing or if they both planned this together. 

I just wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

My thumb hovered over the keypad before slowly typing the only number I still knew by heart.

And then, the phone rang.

It rang and rang and rang, but Adrien didn’t pick. 

I tried calling him again and again, but it didn’t seem like he wanted to answer my calls. I wasn’t even sure if he was seeing it in the first place. 

I mean, there was no way he’d know it was me; I was calling from an unknown number for crying out loud. Unless… he was still at work, but it was past five now. 

Maybe I should just try calling one last time. 

If he answered… I would listen to him. I would let him explain. Whatever the truth was… I deserved to hear it from him. 

I pressed call again. And this time the line barely rang twice before someone answered. “Hello?”

Just the sound of the voice made my heart leap in my chest.

Adrian.

Before I could say a word, I heard laughter in the background. 

It was a woman’s laughter, and I knew perfectly well whom it belonged to. 

“Babe,” Vivianne called playfully. “Are you still on the phone?” A small pause, then, “I’m about to make dinner. What would you like for me to make you?”

There was the faint sound of footsteps. Then… I heard him answer. “I’ll eat whatever you make, baby.”

There was a smile in his voice. One I’d spent years believing belonged to me.

Vivianne laughed again. “Who is it?”

There was a brief pause, then came his reply. “I don’t know, I’m still tryna find out.” His tone was light and stripped of any sign of worry or anything that would give me a hint that he missed me. Or that he was guilty about the fact that he hadn’t seen the woman that he had claimed to love for three years for a while now. 

“Hello?” His voice came again from the other end, calm and slowly getting impatient. And completely unaware of who was listening. 

My lips parted, but I couldn’t get any words out. 

Everything I’d wanted to ask him, every explanation I’d hoped for, every tiny piece of hope I’d desperately clung to…

It all disappeared.

Because… he sounded… happy. 

A broken breath escaped my lips as my thumb slowly moved across the screen. 

Then I stared at my blank screen before me. 

I had ended the call.