Chapter 47

BENEDICT’S POV

The moment the doctor finally stepped aside and motioned for me to see her, my chest constricted so tightly I could barely breathe. My legs felt like they were made of steel as I approached Louisa’s hospital bed.

She lay there looking pale, her hair matted against her cheeks, her eyes half-closed. The room smelled faintly of antiseptic, but the scent couldn’t mask the despair radiating from her. Machines beeped steadily, but the rhythm only made my panic worse. I wanted to reach out, to pull her into my arms and beg for her forgiveness, but all I could do was stand frozen at the foot of the bed, watching her chest rise.

My heart broke anew with every glance. I crushed my hands together and whispered to myself over and over that I should never have walked out. I should have stayed. I should have never left her side. Each repetition was a hammer striking my chest.

Sabrina’s voice cut through the haze again, low but sharp. “You have to understand, Benedict… she wasn’t thinking clearly. She was… desperate. She… she said she would get rid of the child if you ever left her.”

My mind recoiled violently. I knew Louisa. I had seen her at the orphanage, playing with children as though each one was the center of her world, giggling, teasing, making them laugh until their eyes shone. She was naïve and foolish but cruel? Sinister enough to destroy her own child? That was impossible.

But there was Sabrina. She had never lied about anything so intense before. Not sure what to believe anymore, my thoughts spiraled and my stomach twisted, nausea rising. How could I trust either of them? Louisa would never do that. But Sabrina… could she be lying to manipulate me?

I willed myself to stop thinking. Focus on Louisa. Nothing else matters. I knelt beside her bed, brushing the hair from her face, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath my trembling fingers. Her hand was limp in mine, and I held it tightly. She stirred faintly but didn’t open her eyes.

A commotion outside the ward drew my attention. I rose from the bedside, heart hammering, and moved toward the door. Pushing it open, I found a sight that made my chest tighten even further.

My mother, father, and brother were there. They were comforting Sabrina, their expressions soft, almost sympathetic, but the sight of them here filled me with unease. What were they doing here? How had they even known to come?

The moment my mother saw me, she rushed forward and enveloped me in a tight embrace. “Benedict…” she whispered, her voice laced with sympathy. “I’m so sorry about the baby…”

I froze in her arms, feeling the grief in her words, but it twisted into anger when she added, “But how could that dumb girl be so cruel as to take the life of her own child?”

My jaw tightened violently. Fury ignited in me. Sabrina had fed them the same twisted lie I had barely processed myself. I opened my mouth to argue, but my mother’s next words stopped me cold.

“Don’t you dare blame Sabrina. She barely said a word to us,” she explained. “We’d just gotten home from the office when the maid came running in, explaining everything. How Louisa screamed that she’d get rid of the child if you ever left her. Sabrina was only trying to make her see reason. You shouldn’t blame her, Benedict.”

Shock and disbelief collided in me. My mother continued, her voice scolding now: “You should never have married that street rat in the first place. She pretended to be foolish, innocent, but in reality… she’s pure evil.”

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms. Rage mixed with grief, almost suffocating me. My chest heaved. I opened my mouth to defend Louisa, to tell them they didn’t know her, but my father’s hand on my shoulder silenced me. His eyes were dark and unreadable, his lips pressed in a grim line.

Then Justin spoke, his voice smooth, almost bored. “Benedict, she made advances at me. I brushed her off, but—”

I whirled to glare at him, cutting him off. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He held up his hands, smirking as though my fury amused him. “Don’t be so defensive. She’s mentally ill, Benedict. She’s reckless, irrational, dangerous. She needs to be locked up before she truly hurts someone.”

My mother’s sharp voice cut through the tension, backing him up instantly. “He’s right, Benedict,” she said, her tone firm, leaving no room for argument. “You married a street rat, pretending to be innocent and naive, but her behavior proves it now. This… this is what I’ve been warning you about. She’s unstable. Dangerous to herself… to others. You need to accept that.”

Her words hit like stones. Mentally ill… dangerous… reckless… The refrain echoed in my skull, louder each time. It was as if their accusations were chiseling away at the image of Louisa I carried.

I thought of Louisa at the orphanage, laughing with children, holding a baby on her hip like it was the most natural thing in the world. I thought of her awkward smiles, her clumsy ways, the way she’d look up at me like I was something she couldn’t quite believe she had. That Louisa and the one lying pale and broken in a hospital bed; they couldn’t be the same person they were describing. Could they?

I felt my throat tighten painfully. For the first time, doubt slithered in like a snake. Was there something I hadn’t seen? Something wrong in her mind that she’d hidden behind that wide-eyed innocence?

I pressed my palm to my forehead, shutting my eyes. Everything inside me wanted to scream, to tell them they didn’t understand her at all, but I couldn’t. The words wouldn’t come. Their voices had become a low, buzzing hum, and my chest felt hollowed out.

Justin said something else, but I barely registered it. All I could hear was my mother’s voice repeating, “She’s unstable… dangerous… you need to accept that.”

I took a step back, my hands trembling at my sides. The air in the corridor felt stifling, every glare from my mother and father pressing down like a physical weight. The smell of antiseptic from Louisa’s room mixed with Sabrina’s perfume and my own sweat, turning my stomach.

I tried to draw in a breath, but it came out ragged. The faces around me blurred. My father’s cold stare, Justin’s smirk, Sabrina’s fragile expression all swirled into a haze I couldn’t bear to look at any longer.

The only certainty I had, the one thing I could cling to amid everything that unfolded, was that Louisa wasn’t herself. Something had snapped inside her. Mentally, emotionally… she wasn’t in control. And I had to figure out how to deal with that, even if I didn’t know who to believe anymore.

I turned sharply on my heel, pushing past Justin, ignoring my mother’s voice calling after me. I didn’t want to hear another word. I didn’t want to see their faces, or Sabrina’s trembling act, or my father’s judgment.

I pressed my back against the cold wall outside, trying to draw in deep, ragged breaths. My chest heaved and my mind spun, a chaotic storm of images and words. I slid down the wall, crouching with my elbows on my knees, hands gripping my hair. I didn’t even notice the passing nurses who glanced at me with pity. I felt utterly lost.

I should go back to Louisa’s room. I should hold her hand. I should tell her she isn’t alone. Instead, I sat there in the hallway, staring at the floor tiles, unable to move. I didn’t know what was true anymore. I didn’t know who Louisa really was.

All I knew was that what we were starting to build was gone, and the woman lying in that bed wasn’t the Louisa I’d thought I knew. She was dangerous.

_____