Darius'S POV
I sat by the window, peeling an apple. The knife scraped against the skin, a slow, steady sound. The kind that filled the silence when words felt too heavy to say.
Elowen was lying on the bed, pale and quiet. Her eyes were open, watching me. I could feel her gaze even if I didn’t look up.
“Where are you going?” she asked when I stood.
I slipped the knife into my pocket, staring at the apple in my hand. “I’ll be back. Kaia hasn’t eaten anything all day.”
Elowen’s voice trembled. “She doesn’t need your pity, Darius.”
I turned to her. “It’s not pity.”
“She tried to kill me, Darius... And you’re worried if she’s eaten? You’re hurting me again.”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. So I left.
The hallway outside was cold. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that made your thoughts louder.
When I passed the nurses’ station, I heard them whispering.
“My heart broke for that woman… Kaia, right?” one said. “She looked so weak. I can’t believe they forced her to donate.”
“Yeah,” another said. “Miss Elowen was the fiancée. Kaia was just the mistress. Poor thing, I heard she was pregnant too.”
I stopped walking. My hand froze on the apple.
Pregnant?
“Two months, they said. But she lost the baby after giving blood. She lost too much herself.”
The apple slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a dull sound.
The nurses went quiet. I turned to them slowly. My voice came out low. “What did you just say?”
They looked at each other, nervous. No one spoke.
“I said,” I repeated, “what did you just say about her pregnancy?!”
One of them, the youngest, finally looked up. “It’s true, Mr. Voss. The report is still here. She was two months pregnant.”
My chest tightened. “Show me.”
She handed me the file with shaking hands.
Kaia Langford.
Pregnancy: Positive.
Complication: Miscarriage due to trauma and excessive blood loss.
I couldn’t breathe.
I read it again. And again.
Her voice came back to me—soft, desperate. “I’m pregnant, Darius. Please, don’t do this.”
I thought she was lying.
I dragged her out like she was nothing. I let them take her blood. I didn’t believe her.
My hand trembled. The file slipped from my fingers onto the floor. I pressed my palm over my eyes, but it didn’t help. The image of her face... pale, scared, begging burned into me.
I killed my own child! Fuck.
Our child.
The one thing my doctors said I might never have again.
My throat felt dry. My chest hurt like someone had punched through it.
I stood up fast. “WHERE IS SHE?”
The nurses looked at each other again, afraid.
“Where is Kaia?” I said louder.
“She’s gone, sir,” one whispered. “She checked out… we don’t know when.”
I stormed out of the ward. Called my assistant immediately. “Get the CCTV now.”
Within minutes, he had it ready. The footage played on his tablet.
Kaia walked down the hallway. She was barefoot, pale, and limping. Her hospital gown dragging slightly. Her hand on her stomach.
I stared at the screen, my heart sinking deeper with every frame.
“Sir…” my assistant said carefully.
“Send men to find her,” I said, my voice low, shaking. “Search every street, every bridge, every goddamn place near the hospital. Bring her back to me.”
He nodded and ran off.
I stayed there, staring at the screen, feeling the weight in my chest grow heavier.
She told me the truth. I didn’t believe her.
Now she’s gone. And so is our child.
.....
It was already night when I got back to my office. I told the nurse to stay with Elowen, to make sure she didn’t try anything stupid. I just needed a minute to think, to breathe.
I sat behind my desk, still in the same damn shirt from the hospital. The sleeves were rolled up, my tie gone, the buttons half undone. My eyes burned. I hadn’t slept. Couldn’t.
The phone rang. My assistant’s name flashed on the screen.
I picked it up fast. “Tell me you found her.”
There was silence first. Then his voice—hesitant, careful. “Yes, sir. We… we found Kaia.”
I shot up from my chair. “Where is she? Bring her here. I don’t care how, just bring her back to me.”
He didn’t answer right away.
“Did you hear me?” I barked. “I said bring her back!”
He hesitated again. “Boss… I sent you something. Please check your phone first.”
I frowned. “What is it?”
“Just… please, look first.”
I opened the message. It was a video. Grainy footage from a CCTV.
A bridge. Rain coming down hard. Headlights flashing by. And then her.
Kaia.
She was walking barefoot, the hospital gown clinging to her body. Her hair was soaked, her steps slow and weak. She stopped at the railing, holding it for support.
“Kaia…” I whispered.
She looked up at the sky, eyes swollen, face pale. Her lips moved, but the rain drowned everything.
My knees went weak.
She climbed the railing.
“No,” I whispered, backing away from the desk. “No, Kaia, don’t! Fucking don't!”
She let go.
The splash came a second later.
The sound hit me harder than a gunshot.
My phone slipped from my hand. It hit the floor, but I didn’t even look down. I just stared at the dark screen. My chest felt like it was caving in.
Then I snapped out of it and grabbed the phone again.
“Call the coast guard!” I yelled. “Call rescue teams! I don’t care who—just find her! Find her now!”
“Yes, sir. I already contacting emergency services—”
“Go!” I shouted. “She must still be alive. She has to be.” I slammed my fist against the desk. The sound echoed in the room. My veins burned under my skin. “Go, damn it!”
I didn’t wait. I grabbed my keys and ran out.
My driver tried to stop me at the door. “Sir, please, let me—”
“I’ll go myself!” I shoved past him and ran into the rain.
The storm hit hard, but I didn’t care. I got in the car, started the engine, and floored it.
Her image wouldn’t leave my head. Kaia standing there, her hair whipping in the wind, her face so tired.
“Hold on, Kaia,” I muttered, gripping the wheel. “Please hold on. Don’t die on me. Please.”
My voice cracked.
“Fuck, I’m such an idiot,” I said, hitting the steering wheel. “You told me you were pregnant and I didn’t believe you. I pushed you to donate. I killed our child. God, what have I done?”
The phone rang again. The nurse’s voice came through, shaking.
“Mr. Voss, Elowen’s missing!”
My blood ran cold.
