I will Never Forgive You

ADRIENNE

I saw Lydia shift towards Eddie and whisper something in his ear. Seconds later, he looked towards where I stood, his jaw clenching as a sudden frown perched on his face. His steps carried him to where I stood, his eyes raking all over me.

“What are you doing here?” he spat, grabbing my arm violently. His nails dug into my skin but the pain didn’t matter. Nothing mattered right now than getting out of here. I had an appointment and I couldn’t be late.

“I have somewhere to be, Eddie.” I answered stiffly. “Where I am and where I go doesn’t concern you. We’re no longer together.”

Eddie opened his mouth to speak but the crowd didn’t give him a chance. Somehow, reporters had managed to sneak into the hospital under the guise of patients and they flashed camera lights in our faces.

“Miss Hanson, dis you come because you found out Eddie and his fiancée would be here? Are you jealous of their relationship?”

Another reporter shoved his mic in my face. “What do you think of their Lydia’s pregnancy? What are you planning to do about it?”

I shook my head, trying and failing to remove Eddie’s grip from my arm. I needed to get out of here. If I was here another second, I was going to lose it. And why were reporters in here? It was against the rules.

When the reporters saw I wasn’t answering, they turned towards Lydia who seemed ready to entertain them with her victim act. “Do you feel like you came in between them? After all, you’re the third party who made her fiancé choose you because you got pregnant.”

Eddie suddenly turned to me, his eyes glowing fury. “Adrienne!” he roared. I knew what he wanted. Like always, he wanted me to defend his dear Lydia, to tell the press that she didn’t come between us. To accuse me of driving the narrative but I was over this.

Somehow, I managed to shake his grip off and began walking away. I had no reason left to stay here and watch this stupidity. If those two wanted to entertain the media then they could be my guest.

Just as I pushed past Lydia, she staggered back while gripping her stomach hard. Eddie’s face hardened, flashing with far and concern as he rushed to hold her up. “What is it? How are you feeling? Hang on, I’ll get us to a doctor now.”

Cameras flashed wildly, capturing the act from every angle.

“She – I’m sorry,” Lydia cried, still holding her abdomen. “I didn’t see her in the way.”

Eddie immediately turned to me, his eyes glowing fury. “What? Adrienne Hanson! Did you push her?”

I tilted my head, wondering how he came to that conclusion. Arlene pushed forward, meeting his cold stare with a look if pure anger and rage. “Do you have no eyes? It’s very clear what happened but yet again, you’ll let someone else influence your judgement. Nothing’s wrong with her, but the time you spend standing here is enough to rush her to the ER, because it’s obvious she needs to get her head checked!”

Eddie lunged but I stepped between them before he could reach her. I realized my mistake when I felt the impact of his fist on my abdomen. Pain shot through me and my feet staggered back.

“Adrienne? Are you okay?” she asked, pulling me back. Her eyes went to my stomach and widened. “Oh my God, did he hit you?”

“Hit her?” Edie scoffed. “I didn’t touch her. But Adrienne is a drama queen. If you think you can do this to get away from a apologizing for what you did to Lydia then think again.” He walked back to Lydia’s side, pulling her to his side. “I expect you to apologize to Lydia before we leave this hospital. Or else –”

“Or else what?!”Arlene shouted, cutting him off. “Are you that daft, Eddie? Adrienne is the one carrying –”

“Arlene!” I called out, shooting her a glare that deflated her immediately. “We need to leave.”

Thankfully, Eddie was already leaving with Lydia. I watched his back, at the way he cradled her softly. At the way his arms wrapped around her waist like it belonged there. Maybe it did. Maybe he and I were never meant to be together. Maybe this was a sign and it was time I listen.

“Arlene, I’ve told you – you can’t let…” I trailed off as I felt warmth pool between my thighs. I glanced down just in time to see red liquid roll down my legs. My heart jumped just as a sharp pain shot through me.

“What is it?” Arlene began to ask. Her eyes follows mine until she saw the red trail of blood following down my legs. “Oh my God!” she jumped in front of me almost immediately, shielding me from the view of the reporters who were still busy trying to get to Eddie and Lydia.

“Arlene, I –” I had an appointment, but the pain wouldn’t let the words leave my mouth. Arlene caught me before I fell, pulling her phone out of her pocket simultaneously. I didn’t hear her dial a number, didn’t hear the words she said into the phone.

But in the blink of an eye, people appeared around me and I allowed the darkness that was swarming in take me.

When I woke up, I was in a hospital room, on a bed and Arlene was reading a book beside me. She looked up as I moved, abandoning the book in her hand on the small desk in front of her.

“You scared me.” She said softly, taking my hand and squeezing it gently. “How do you feel?”

I closed my eyes, cataloguing the pain in my head and abdomen. It wasn’t that bad, only a gentle pulse. “Fine, I guess.” My hand moved to my stomach, as if touching it would tell me if I’d lost the pregnancy or –

“You’re still pregnant.” Arlene said, as though she’s just read my mind. “The doctors said you were fortunate the incident happened while you were here. If we had wasted any more time, you could have lost it.”

I sighed, pinching my brow.

“Look, Adrienne.” Arlene started, drawing closer. “I know you want to end this pregnancy, but –”

The door opened and Eddie stormed in. His blazing eyes went from Arlene and stopped on me. “You want to end her pregnancy? You’d that far? Is that why you did it? Is that why you pushed her? ANSWER ME, ADRIENNE.”

I looked at him coolly, surprised at the fact that I felt nothing for the man who stood in front of me right now. No emotion, no anger, and no resentment.

“To think I was coming here after hearing that you collapsed in the hallway.” He continued. “I thought I may have hit you and was coming to apologize. But it’s all an act, isn’t it? You’re doing all this just so I’ll take pity on you and take you back?” he laughed. “That is never going to happen and you should be thankful Lydia didn’t lose the pregnancy. I would never have forgiven you for that.”

With that, he turned around and left, slamming the door behind him.