The air turned suffocating, thick with something heavy—dread, betrayal, something I couldn’t name. Susan’s grip on my wrist tightened as if she could physically stop me from stepping any further, from taking another breath in this house that suddenly felt like a stranger’s.Her face was etched with desperation. She was pleading with me now. “Miss Anastasia, please—please just turn around and leave.”But I couldn’t.Something inside me had already cracked. A wound had been carved open the moment she said that name.Zarina.I repeated it in my mind, like a slow, cruel mantra, willing it to make sense. But it didn’t. Nothing did. My stomach twisted violently. A cold, sickening sensation spread through my limbs, making me feel like I was floating—disconnected from my body, from reality. My fingers tightened around the ultrasound picture in my palm. I thought I had prepared myself for everything. For heartbreak.But this?This wasn’t just rejection. This was erasure. This was them taking t
Regan’s body jerked upright. He turned sharply, his expression twisting in shock. His eyes—filled with something that shattered me even more. Calm.For a single, fleeting moment, I saw something else. Something raw.But it was too late. Too fucking late.I didn’t feel the tears running down my face until my vision blurred. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would shatter through my ribs. The room spun, reality hitting me in full force. The betrayal. The humiliation. The absolute cruelty of it all.Regan scrambled to move, grabbing the nearest piece of clothing, and hastily wrapping a sheet around his waist. He started toward me.“Anastasia, what the fuck are you doing here?”I took a step back, my fingers tightening around the ultrasound picture—until the delicate edges crumpled under my grip.Something inside me snapped.With all the strength I had left, I hurled the picture across the room. The tiny, fragile proof of the life growing inside me, the life he never gave a damn ab
I shoved him away with all the strength I had left, my body trembling as I grabbed another shard from the broken vase. My fingers clenched around the glass so tightly I felt the skin break, blood dripping onto the floor. I didn’t care.I couldn’t care. All I could see was her. Zarina. The woman who stole everything from me.She let out a terrified shriek, scrambling backward on the floor, her hands raised as if that would stop me. But before I could move—before I could strike—a force crashed into me. Regan’s arms wrapped around me, pinning mine to my sides. His grip was so strong I couldn’t move.“Stop it, Anastasia!” he roared, his voice shaking with something I couldn’t place.And then, with the force of a sledgehammer, the words that would haunt me for the rest of my life fell from his lips."She’s pregnant."Everything stopped. My vision blurred, and my heartbeat slowed into a painful, suffocating rhythm.Pregnant.Zarina was… pregnant.A deafening ringing filled my ears, drowning
The words escaped me in gasps, strangled and desperate. I needed him to stop hurting me. To stop choosing her. To stop breaking me every time he looked at me like I didn’t matter.I gripped him harder, my fingers trembling against his chest. “Why, Regan?” I choked out, “Why did you let it get this far? Why didn’t you—” I couldn’t finish. I couldn’t get the words out. The truth was suffocating me.I lifted my head, looking up at him through the tears streaming down my face. My heart was pounding in my chest, so loud I thought it would burst. My hands shook as I cupped his face, but he didn’t meet my gaze. His eyes were focused somewhere past me, distant. Empty. I didn’t know this man anymore. I didn’t know the man I had loved, the man I had trusted with everything.“I don’t want to hurt anymore, Regan. Please… just make it stop. Please.” My breath hitched, and I clutched him tighter, pressing my forehead against his chest, wishing that I could somehow make it all go away. “I loved you.
I felt sick. I felt so utterly sick."What if I was pregnant too?" the words came out my mouth before I realized it, my voice so soft I almost couldn’t hear myself.Regan’s head snapped toward me. And for the first time, he hesitated. For a single, gut-wrenching moment, something flickered across his face—something almost human—but it was gone as fast as it came.Then, with the same cold finality, the same knife to my throat, he answered:"Then I would ask you to get rid of it."Silence.I stopped existing. I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry. I just stopped.The world tilted. My body felt weightless, my ears ringing so loudly I couldn’t even hear my own breathing. I stared at him—at the man I had loved more than anything—standing there, looking at me as if I were nothing.I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. I wanted to hate him. I wanted to rip him apart, to throw something, to scream why why why until my throat bled. But I couldn’t do any of it. Because what was the point? He had already ma
Susan and the maids rushed toward me as I descended the stairs, their worried faces blurring as my vision swam. My legs felt like they weren’t my own, each step unsteady. The world tilted, and for a terrifying second, I thought I would collapse right there on the marble steps.“Miss Anastasia!” Susan gasped, reaching out just in time to steady me. The other maids circled around, their hands hovering anxiously, unsure if they should hold me up or let me go.I swallowed thickly, blinking rapidly to chase away the dizziness. My chest was tight, each breath a struggle against the sobs clawing their way up.“I’m fine,” I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper, but my body betrayed me as I wobbled again.Susan’s eyes filled with tears. “You’re not fine, Miss. Please, let’s get you some water, sit down for a moment—”But I shook my head, my heart hammering in my chest. No. I needed to leave. I needed to get away from this place, from him. The moment I stepped outside, the cool air hit my
When I opened my eyes, the room was bathed in pale, cold sunlight filtering through the half-closed blinds. Everything felt disorienting, surreal, and heavy—as if the very air around me pressed down on my chest. For a few seconds, I stared blankly at the white ceiling, the only sound the steady beeping of machines at my side.And then it hit me—the baby.Panic surged through me like wildfire. My hands flew to my stomach, pressing desperately against the blanket. Fear rose so fast it choked me, and I gasped, tears instantly blurring my vision.“No… please, no,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “My baby…”I glanced around frantically, my heart racing. The room was empty. Sheila wasn’t here. No nurse. No doctor. No one to tell me anything. The silence suddenly felt deafening. I couldn't wait another second. I had to know.I pushed myself up, ignoring the sharp ache that jolted through my body. Every movement felt like agony, but I didn’t care. All I could think about was my child. I swung
After Sheila left, silence flooded back into the room, heavy and oppressive. I stared blankly at the untouched tray of food she had left behind. Forcing myself, I took a small spoonful, but the moment it touched my tongue, nausea surged violently. My stomach twisted painfully, and I barely made it to the small bathroom before I doubled over the sink, retching.Tears pricked at my eyes as I wiped my mouth with shaking hands. My body felt drained like all the energy had been sucked out of me. I pressed my forehead against the cool surface of the mirror, staring at the hollow-eyed reflection that stared back at me. The weight of everything—the betrayal, the heartbreak, the loneliness—wrapped around me like an unshakable fog.I forced myself back to bed, curling into myself, arms wrapped protectively over my belly. I wouldn’t cry. Not again. I was too exhausted to cry.Just as exhaustion began pulling me under, the door burst open again, revealing my mother-in-law, and startling me awake.
I saw his expression shift instantly—surprise flashing across his handsome features, confusion knitting into the crease of his brow. Without a word, he took a few slow steps forward, each one deliberate, closing the distance between us until we stood face to face.And there we were. Breathing the same air. Yet feeling worlds apart.My palms grew clammy, fingers instinctively tightening around the soft fabric of my dress. My heart beat faster, almost painfully, each thud a wild drum against my ribs. I could feel the panic blooming quietly inside me, spreading its tremors into my bones, rooting my feet to the ground.The silence between us was deafening. Neither of us spoke. Neither of us moved.We just stared at each other, locked in this strange moment, as if any wrong move would shatter whatever was holding us together—or perhaps, whatever was left. It was the first time we had seen each other again after that confrontation in our house. The time I saw him sleeping with Zarina, the t
The car slowed to a stop at the edge of the Garden Café's private entrance.It was exactly how I had requested it. Empty. Private.The building itself was beautiful—a modern, elegant glass structure with wide-open archways leading to a sprawling outdoor yard that overlooked the city below. The afternoon sun painted the stone path golden, and a light breeze teased the white drapes framing the open terrace. The view was breathtaking, but even the beauty of it couldn’t settle the pounding in my chest.Ava killed the engine, pulling her sunglasses down and peering around skeptically. "Well. It’s a graveyard. Very fitting for whatever dramatic conversation you’re about to have."Sheila shifted nervously in her seat, glancing at me. "You sure you wanna do this alone, Stasia? We can wait inside. Hide behind a plant. Throw things if he says something stupid."I laughed under my breath, touched beyond words. I reached over, squeezing Sheila’s hand and then Ava’s shoulder. "No. I need to do th
The low sound of the engine filled the car, a background noise against the sound of traffic outside. Ava was behind the wheel, her sunglasses perched on her nose, one hand casually resting at twelve o'clock on the steering wheel. Her hair—that wild ginger bun—bounced slightly every time we hit a bump. Sheila was in the passenger seat, legs tucked up like a kid, fiddling with the radio stations every five seconds and earning glares from Ava.And me?I was curled up in the backseat, leaning against the window, staring out at the blur of the city as it rushed past. It should have been a normal car ride. It should have felt like any other day.But it didn’t.Because today...Today I was going to face Regan again."Are you sure you’ll be okay, Tasia?" Sheila asked for what felt like the millionth time, twisting halfway in her seat to look at me.I smiled faintly, "Yes, I’ll be fine."Ava snorted loudly, adjusting her grip o
Sheila laughed and shoved her playfully. "Please, I’m the life of this party. You’re the sidekick, four-eyes.""Four-eyes? Bold words coming from someone who tripped over a flat sidewalk last week!"Sheila scowled. "Did Tasia tell you that? It was uneven!""It was flat," Ava shot back without missing a beat. "Gravity personally requested you fall over to entertain the public."I couldn't stop laughing, hiding my face behind my hand as the two of them bickered like no time had passed at all. It was chaotic, it was loud, it was messy—And it was home.Sheila turned to me with an exaggerated sigh. "You see what I put up with? You should pay me hazard fees just for being friends with her."Ava rolled her eyes and leaned casually against the table. "Yeah, yeah. You’re welcome for making your life interesting."Susan and Elise were trying—and failing—to hide their giggles as they discreetly stepped
The morning light streamed through the massive, floor-to-ceiling windows of the living room, filling the space. The wide, sunlit room looked like something from a magazine spread—polished marble floors, pale cream walls lined with intricate crown moldings, and plush, oversized couches in soft champagne hues. The chandelier above sparkled subtly, catching the light.In the center of it all, a long rectangular table had been set up—draped in white linen and neatly arranged with tasting plates, tiny glasses, and silver utensils.Susan and a few of the maids bustled quietly nearby, arranging fresh pitchers of water and clearing empty plates.And at the far end of the room stood a cluster of smartly dressed individuals from Champagne and Roses Events Company, all smiling with their clipboards in hand and their nerves barely hidden beneath their professional exteriors.In the midst of it all—I sat poised at the head of the table, wearing a simple but el
I stared at the phone. The call replayed in my mind. His offer, unexpected and overwhelming. Something I hadn’t seen coming.Then—my phone buzzed again.The sound made me flinch, jarring me out of my daze. But when I glanced at the screen, my heart stuttered.Miguel Sanchez. Champagne and Roses Events Company.The one I had hired months ago for Regan’s birthday—before everything fell apart. Before Zarina. Before the accident. Before the child growing silently inside me.My fingers hesitated for just a moment before I swiped to answer."Hello?""Good afternoon, Ms. Anastasia!" the man chirped, his voice full of an excitement I couldn’t even begin to mirror. "I’m just calling to confirm that everything is set for your husband’s birthday! We’re almost ready with the setup—just wanted to ask if you’d like us to drop by your home and discuss final details like food options and guests lists!"My breath hitched painfully.
Another short silence stretched between us, and I could almost picture him standing somewhere across the world, arms crossed, watching over me the way he always used to."Why did you call, Uncle? Is there a problem?"“No, no, dear," he said quickly, reassuringly. "There is no problem.”I slumped back slightly into the chair."Oh," I exhaled, allowing the smallest smile to pull at the corner of my mouth, "that’s good to hear."But there was a pause on his end—a pause that said there was more. Much more.“I know you heard from Don Alonso,” he said finally.I stiffened, heart picking up again. Moment of truth.I swallowed. "Um, yeah… is it about the promise? Is that why you called?"There was no hesitation in his answer."Yes, it is," he said simply. "I know it must be hard to believe something like that even existed. I understand it must be shocking."I laughed softly under my breath, a dry, breathless sound.
The red velvet was rich beneath my fingertips, almost too luxurious for something that made my heart hammer with dread. The gold ribbon gleamed under the sunlight, tied so precisely it made my chest tighten.I stared at it for a moment—Just stared.As if the box itself was waiting, breathing, daring me to open it. Then, with a trembling breath, I pulled the ribbon loose and lifted the lid.Inside—Photographs. Dozens of them. Hundreds, maybe.My heart slammed into my ribs so hard it hurt. Picture after picture spilled before me, sharp and glossy and mercilessly real.Regan. Zarina.Laughing together. Hands brushing. Leaning into each other like lovers in secret. Whispering in corners. Clinging to each other in dark rooms. Moments I was never meant to see.Moments hidden from me while I played the fool. Dates were marked neatly in red ink in the corners of each photo.Some of them were recent.But
A flood of emails greeted me first—formal messages from the foundation, updates on business reports I hadn't had the energy to care about. Then, a few news articles—headlines about society events, political scandals—none of them touching my world anymore.I swiped idly through them, my mind elsewhere, my body still fighting the lingering nausea.Then I saw it.One message stood out among the floods.A simple text, from a name I hadn’t seen in months but had been waiting for without even realizing it.Ava Ramos.My assistant. My friend.She had taken a six-month leave to care for her mother abroad, but even from halfway across the world, Ava had still managed to handle the details of my business life better than anyone else could. She didn’t just work for me—she stood by me. Without judgment. Without condition.I opened the message with trembling fingers.Ava:Miss A, Just wanted to let you know my l