1. Room 1243

Serena’s Point of View

I sat outside the gynecologist’s office, staring at the clock nervously. It was almost 11:30, but Rowen was still not here.

I checked our chat again, but there was no reply; he hadn’t even seen my messages.

I called him. It took so long before he finally answered. 

“Serena?” He sounded distracted. Traffic hummed in the background.

“Rowen… are you nearby? It’s almost our time,” I asked softly.

A pause.

“Oh! The appointment,”

For a second, my heart stopped.

Had he forgotten?

“Listen, baby… I can’t make it today. I’m on the way with Michela for a very important client meeting.”

My fingers tightened around the phone.

“But you promised even this morning,” I said quietly. 

“Look, baby… I’m really sorry. This meeting is very important. I couldn’t say no,” he said.

But there wasn’t even a hint of regret in his voice.

“This appointment is important too…”

“You know how long we’ve waited to get this appointment.”

“Just go today and tell me what the doctor said. Next time we’ll go together. I promise.”

Promise.

When was the last time you kept your promises, Rowen?

“You know I can’t go alone.” My voice was getting slightly unsteady. 

“Serena, don’t be so childish. Michela really needs me here.  I can’t say no just because you want to see a doctor.”

Michela.

Why is it always her?

Why do all our important plans get canceled because of her?

“Rowen… you’re not the only manager working under her. “ I said. “ But here… do I have a husband other than you?”

“Serena! Stop talking nonsense. You know how much I owe her. If she needs me. I have to be there.”

Then what about me, Rowen? Don’t I desperately need you here, too?

Can you, just this once, choose me?

“I am already late. Let’s talk later.”

The call ended, just like that. 

Once again…I wasn’t his priority.

“Mrs. Gilbert?”

“The doctor will see you now.”

I forced a small smile and stood up.

“Coming.”

______________________________________

The consultation lasted less than ten minutes.

But they were probably the most humiliating minutes of my life.

The moment the doctor saw me, his first question was,

“Where is your partner?”

“He… has an urgent meeting,” I replied quietly, lowering my tear-filled eyes.

“If you have something more important than meeting me, then why did you make this appointment?” he snapped.

I had heard that the doctor was an expert in his field, but also a ruthless man.

Now I was experiencing it firsthand.

“Do you expect to have a baby alone, without a partner?” he continued coldly.

Heat rushed to my face.

I wasn’t the one who made the mistake… Yet I was the one standing here alone.

I felt utterly wronged.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Do you know how many couples are waiting months to see me?” he continued. “You just wasted time that someone else could have used.”

“I’m sorry,” I repeated.

______________________________________

When I finally walked out of the room, my legs felt weak.

I don’t know how I managed to leave the hospital building and end up sitting on a stone bench in the hospital garden.

It was the middle of winter.

The cold stone felt like ice.

But I didn’t care.

When my life had lost all its warmth, what did a little cold matter?

I should have been used to this loneliness.

This humiliation.

After all…

I was an orphan.

I had always been alone. Always struggling.

But everything changed when Rowen came into my life.

He was warm. Certain. Steady in a way I had never experienced before.

For the first time, I felt like I mattered.

Slowly… deeply… I fell in love with him.

And since then, I had forgotten how to exist without him.

After we got married, we built our life step by step. Everything was going well. Until Rowen joined Henrix Properties.

One of the biggest companies in the country.

His talent was recognized. Promotions came quickly. So did the salary increases.

But he also became busier.

Late nights. Weekends.

Sometimes, he didn’t come home at all.

Last year, he convinced me to quit my job and take care of our home.

I agreed. Because I trusted him. Because I wanted him to come home to a warm meal and a peaceful space.

My phone vibrated, pulling me out of my thoughts.

A message.

My heart skipped.

This wasn’t the first time I had received messages from this number.

I didn’t know who was sending them. But they were always warning me about the same thing. Three messages in a month.

Each one confirmed the uneasy feeling I had been trying to ignore.

Telling me my instincts were right.

But until now… I had ignored them.

Because I loved him. Because he was my only family.

Because I wanted to believe those messages were lies.

But today…

Today, I couldn’t ignore them anymore.

If something was wrong… I needed to see it with my own eyes.

If I turn back now… I’ll never know the truth.

Twenty minutes later, I was standing at the reception desk of the luxurious Grand Hotel.

Maybe this was all a mistake. Maybe I was overthinking everything.

From the bottom of my heart, I prayed.

“Good afternoon,” the receptionist said politely.

I swallowed.

“I’m Serena Gilbert,” I said, just as the message instructed.

The woman handed me a key card without asking anything.

“Room 1243, ma’am. Twelfth floor.”

My heart began to race.

Holding the card tightly, I walked toward the elevator.

The ride felt endless. Room 1243 was at the far end of the twelfth floor. Each step felt heavier than the last.

I stopped in front of the door.

My hands trembled so badly I almost dropped the key card.

I scanned it. The lock clicked.

The door slowly opened.

And then,

I heard a woman’s low moan.

“Rowen… so… good…”

“Deeper…!”

“Fu**!”

Then, a voice I knew better than my own heartbeat.

Rowen.

My husband.

My feet moved before my mind permitted them.