Chapter 10 Baby
ANNA'S POV
We had done the scan, and now I sat waiting for the doctor to return with the results. My fingers intertwined tightly on my lap, the pressure almost numbing my knuckles. I tried to focus on anything but the storm inside me. My eyes darted around the office, tracing the dull white walls, the shelf filled with dusty medical files. Anything, to keep my mind from thinking the worst.
The ticking sound of the clock on the wall echoed louder with every passing second, and my stomach twisted. Every minute felt like an hour. I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, staring blankly at the floor.
Then the door opened.
The sound made both my mom and I spring to our feet at once. The doctor walked in holding a brown folder, the kind that suddenly felt like it held my entire future. I couldn’t even sit anymore. My pulse raced as my eyes stayed fixed on him, searching for something on his face — hope, relief, anything but all I found was weariness.
“Doctor, how’s the baby?” my mom asked before I could form words.
The doctor cleared his throat, adjusting his glasses as he sat behind the desk. He didn’t look at me immediately, and that alone made my chest tighten. His expression wasn’t lively. His tone carried a weight that made my knees weak before he even said a word.
“Before I say this…” he began softly.
“Before you say what?” I interrupted, my voice trembling. “Is my child fine?”
The doctor exhaled slowly. “The way you landed that day, Mrs… it was too fatal, that very much explains the bleeding you told me about, that bleeding was as a result of when you lost the child, I’m sorry.”
My heart sank. Just hearing that was enough to take the air from my lungs. I stumbled back a step, my hand instinctively reaching for the edge of the desk to steady myself.
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “No, don’t say that.”
His eyes lowered, avoiding mine. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “but the baby didn’t make it.” He placed the file gently on the table as though handling something fragile.
Those words shattered through me like glass. My throat went dry instantly, and tears welled in my eyes faster than I could blink them away. My mom covered her mouth, a small gasp escaping as she froze beside me.
“No… no, this can’t be happening,” I stammered, stepping closer to the desk. “My child is fine, this has to be a mistake.” My tears fell freely now, hot and uncontrollable. “My child is still alive, waiting to be born. Please, check again. Please!”
The doctor’s eyes softened, but his voice stayed steady. “I’m sorry, but you lost your baby.”
Hearing it the second time broke me in ways I didn’t think were possible. The pain gripped my chest so tightly that I could barely breathe. My head spun, and I closed my eyes, trying to will it all away but when I opened them again, the world seemed to tilt.
The walls leaned sideways, the lights above blurred. I blinked hard, but everything only spun faster. My hand went to my temple as the sound in the room faded into a low hum.
“Anna, are you okay?” the doctor asked, his voice faint.
But I couldn’t answer. The last thing I saw was my mother rushing toward me, her arms outstretched as my knees gave way. The floor seemed to vanish, and then everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on a hospital bed. My head felt heavy, and my body weak. I turned my head slightly and saw my mom sitting in a chair beside me, fast asleep with her head leaning on the wall. A man sat on the other side, his eyes closed too.
I must have fainted. Again. The second time this week. Both times from the same thing — too much pain, too much stress.
My chest felt tight as I looked down at my hands resting on the blanket. My eyes were swollen and raw, and when I remembered the doctor’s words, the tears came again without hesitation. I covered my face with both hands, my quiet sobs filling the silent room.
How could I have made such a mistake?
This was my first chance at being a mother, my first chance to love something unconditionally and I lost it. My baby was gone because of me.
If only I hadn’t gone to see him.
James.
His name alone felt like poison. Everything started falling apart from that moment. Would I have known things would get that violent? No. But I shouldn’t have gone. I shouldn’t have tried to talk to him after everything he had done.
He was the reason this happened.
He killed our baby and doesn’t even know it. He embarrassed me in front of everyone, took credit for my research — my work, my blood and sweat, and made the world think it was his genius. Then he emptied my savings, every cent I had worked for, and left me broken.
And after all that, when I went to see him, all he did was destroy the only thing I had left — our child.
Now, while I lay here drowning in grief, he was probably out there celebrating. Enjoying his newly acquired wealth built from my formula, laughing with his new fiancée, Melissa. The thought alone made my stomach twist.
I pressed my palm against my chest as if I could hold my heart together before it broke completely.
What did I ever do wrong to deserve this kind of pain?
I’ve been the good one. The loyal girlfriend. The dependable best friend. The obedient daughter. The caring sister. I gave love to everyone who asked for it, even those who didn’t deserve it and this is what I got in return. Betrayal. Lies. Cruelty.
My tears soaked into the pillow beneath my head, and I could taste the salt of my grief on my lips.
James took everything from me. Everything.
He took away my first chance at motherhood. And the universe knew — oh, it knew how much I loved children. How much I dreamed of holding my baby in my arms one day, of whispering lullabies, of seeing them smile. But that dream was gone, ripped away because of him.
I sat up slowly, my breaths uneven but my heart shifting from sorrow to something colder. Something sharper.
James couldn’t walk away from this. Not this time.
He had crossed a line he could never come back from.
And Melissa, his precious fiancée, wasn’t innocent either. She was part of this. They both were.
They would both pay for what they did to me.
I wiped my tears away with the back of my hand, my eyes red but burning with a different kind of fire now.
“Enjoy all you can, James,” I whispered under my breath, my voice trembling but firm. “Because I’m coming after both you and Melissa.”