All Chapters of No Longer Starving for Anyone: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The police officer read through the incident report several times before looking at my husband, Greyson Lewis."You're telling me you want to press charges against your wife over twenty dollars? Are you sure you want to go through with this?"Greyson leaned back in his chair. "She stole twenty dollars today. Tomorrow, she'll steal two thousand. She needs to learn her lesson."The officer frowned deeply. "Your wife is twenty-two weeks pregnant. Taking twenty dollars to buy food because she was hungry in the middle of the night is a domestic dispute."And your wife says you cut off her living expenses because she gained weight during pregnancy?"Greyson immediately turned to look at me. I instinctively drew my hands back at the look in his eyes."She weighed 98 pounds before she got pregnant. Now she's over 120. The doctor said pregnant women need to control their weight. I'm only doing this for her own good."The officer was about to say something else, but I shook my head. "Forg

From that day on, a chart appeared on the refrigerator door.Breakfast: one egg.Lunch: 80 grams of lean meat and 300 grams of vegetables.Dinner: no carbohydrates.8,000 steps a day. No eating after seven in the evening.Gracie even brought me a set of smaller food containers."Fill the container so it looks full. Pregnant women are more likely to trick their brains into thinking they've eaten enough that way."I looked at the container, barely bigger than my palm. I was so hungry I didn't even have the energy to get angry anymore.On the third night, I woke up from hunger twice.On the fourth day, I crouched down to tie my shoelaces, and my vision went black. I pitched forward and hit my head against the shoe cabinet.Greyson came out of the bedroom when he heard the noise. "What happened?"I sat on the floor for a long time, too dazed to answer.He reached out, felt my forehead, and pulled me to my feet. "Is your blood sugar low? Gracie said this is normal. Your body rea

I looked at him and lowered my head to touch my stomach, which had already flattened. "The baby is gone."All the color drained from Greyson's face. "What do you mean, gone?"He rushed toward me in a few strides. "Alana, did you get an abortion?"I stared at him for two seconds before suddenly bursting out laughing. But as I laughed, tears began streaming down my face."Didn't you keep complaining that I was fat? Well, there you go. I've lost more than ten pounds all at once."Greyson reached out to grab me.The nurse immediately stepped between us. "Sir, she just had an induced delivery. Don't touch her."Greyson looked at her in disbelief. "Induced delivery?"The nurse frowned. "She suffered a placental abruption and was already hemorrhaging heavily when she arrived. We couldn't save the baby."On top of that, she'd been severely undernourished for a prolonged period and was seriously anemic. She also had obvious bruising from an impact injury."Greyson went completely rigi

Two days later, Jaylin handed me her phone. "Take a look at this."There was an article from six months earlier on Gracie's studio's social media account.The headline read: [Uncontrolled Pregnancy Weight Gain Isn't the Problem. The Real Challenge Is Getting Family Members to Be Tough.]The photos didn't show the woman's face, but I recognized myself at a glance. I was wearing the gray pajamas I'd had on when I was four months pregnant.Beside the photo was a chart of my weight, from 110 pounds to 127, then 136.2.The article said: [Case A: Poor self-control. Frequently requests additional meals, claiming the fetus needs more nutrition.][After eliminating carbohydrates at dinner, increasing daily steps, and imposing financial restrictions through family members, her rate of weight gain dropped significantly.]I stared at the screen for a long time, my hands shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone.Those days when I'd been so ashamed of myself that I couldn't bear to loo

The night I received the job offer, Greyson signed the divorce papers. When he handed the documents to the lawyer, he couldn't seem to let go."I have one more question. If our second baby were still alive, would you still divorce me?"The room fell silent for a few seconds.I nodded. "Yes."The last glimmer of hope in his eyes went out. "Why?"I suddenly remembered that night at the police station.Twenty dollars. Half a burger left uneaten. And his words: "Two nights in a cell might do her some good.""Because I'd already become afraid of you before anything happened to the baby."Greyson's expression stiffened. "Afraid of me?"I nodded with a bitter smile. "Afraid of stepping on a scale. Afraid of eating. Afraid my bank card would suddenly stop working."Afraid that if I gained a pound today, I wouldn't have money to buy anything tomorrow."Most of all, I was afraid that one day I'd get so hungry I couldn't stand it anymore, and you'd accuse me of giving in to my piggish