All Chapters of The Most Painful Keepsake: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

I scheduled an abortion. It was the second time I had found myself on an operating table.The first had been during the year Derek and I got married.He had brought a thirst-trap influencer home to join my parents and me for New Year's Eve dinner. My father was so furious that he overturned the table, sending the family dinner he had spent all day preparing crashing to the floor.As fireworks burst across the sky outside, pain ripped through my abdomen as if something inside me had exploded. Warm blood streamed down my thighs, and in the end, the baby did not survive.Derek dropped to his knees in front of my parents and me, swearing that he would never hurt me again. He even transferred all his assets into my name, and my resolve weakened.A woman's love for a man always began with the excuses she made for his mistakes.Yet after I was discharged from the hospital, Derek did not change. If anything, my forgiveness only convinced him that he could get away with even more."Ms. Sullivan

I did not regain consciousness until the following day. The bleeding had stopped, but the doctor warned that I needed plenty of rest or I could be left with lasting health problems.Grace had stayed at the hospital to look after me. Derek, on the other hand, had left while I was still unconscious, summoned away by a single phone call from Jenny. She claimed that what had happened the day before had given her nightmares all night and that she needed him there with her.When Grace saw me staring silently at the floor, she suggested asking my parents to come to the hospital and care for me."No," I refused immediately. "My father already has high blood pressure. I can't give them one more thing to worry about."No sooner had I spoken than my mother called."Zoe... your father collapsed. We're at the hospital."The calm I had struggled to maintain shattered in an instant. I rushed toward the emergency department without even stopping to put on my shoes."Why did he suddenly collapse?" I

After my father was transferred to the overseas hospital, he underwent brain-computer interface therapy. The side of his body that had been paralyzed slowly began to regain movement, though he still could not move freely or communicate clearly."I'm already grateful that he's recovered this much," my mother said, holding my hand. "Don't carry such a heavy burden, Zoe. "What happened to your father wasn't your fault, so stop blaming yourself for everything. You have to keep looking forward and leave the past where it belongs."I nodded. "I know, Mom. I've already stopped caring about either of them."Grace's jewelry design company was still finding its feet, and I naturally stepped in as its creative director."Zoe, with your talent and your eye for design, every year you spent away from the industry was a complete waste!"A knock at the door interrupted our conversation, and Grace's ex-husband, William, walked in. He was blond and blue-eyed, with a bouquet of her favorite flowers in

After Grace and William Carter decided to remarry, they held another wedding. As her only bridesmaid, I stayed by her side through every part of the ceremony."Zoe, I'm so happy," Grace said, looking at me with uncharacteristic seriousness. "I finally got to make up for one of the biggest regrets of my life.""What regret? Losing William and then finding your way back to each other?""No." She shook her head. "You're my best friend, and you couldn't attend my first wedding. I was upset about it for days."I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. "Gracie, I'm sorry..."Grace immediately pushed me away."You're not allowed to apologize! If that bastard Derek hadn't caused you to lose your baby back then, you would have flown out to be with me. None of it was your fault, and I never blamed you."Then she pulled me into another tight embrace.By the time the wedding ended, I was so exhausted that I collapsed into one of the chairs at the hotel. That was when an enormous bouquet o