Dear Ms. Abbott, your abortion procedure has been scheduled for three days from now.
That night, I drifted into a fitful sleep.
I found myself standing in a frozen wasteland. The blizzard raged with terrifying force, the cold cutting straight to bone. My body went rigid, and just as I was about to collapse, a current of warmth bloomed from somewhere against my chest. A small, tender voice reached my ears.
"Mommy..."
I trembled and instinctively wrapped my arms around it.
The little orb of light was so small—I could cradle it in both hands—but it radiated a warmth so profound it nearly brought me to tears.
"I'm sorry..."
I whispered the apology, and then tiny, warm fingers gently brushed the tears from my cheeks.
The child's voice was impossibly soft, filled with longing and reluctance to let go. I reached for those little fingers, desperate to hold on, but the figure was already fading.
No!
My heart split open. I lunged forward, grasping at nothing, clawing against the emptiness—
"Baby!!"
I jolted awake, gasping. A dull ache throbbed low in my abdomen. Before I could gather my thoughts, a gentle male voice cut through the dark.
"Nightmare?"
Ivan sat on the edge of my bed, his face full of concern.
"What are you doing here?"
He gave a helpless smile. "This is our home. Why wouldn't I be here? Stella, you—"
A child's shrill scream cut him off.
The bedroom door slammed open, and a five-year-old boy barreled in like a cannonball. "Daddy!!"
It was Cooper Acevedo—Glenda's son. The boy had complained that not having a father made him a target for bullies, and Ivan hadn't hesitated. He let Cooper call him "Daddy" and raised the child as his own.
Cooper latched onto Ivan from behind. Ivan asked, "Didn't we agree you'd wait outside like a good boy?"
The child glared at me, his eyes brimming with hostility. "I was scared the bad lady would bully you, Daddy!"
Before anyone could react, he scrambled onto the bed, launched himself into the air, and brought his foot down hard on my stomach.
"Ahh!"
I'd barely slept the night before. My head was swimming, my reflexes shot. There was no time to dodge. His full weight drove into my lower abdomen, and a bolt of agony ripped through me. I doubled over instantly, cold sweat beading across my skin.
"Stella!"
Ivan yanked Cooper away and grabbed my shoulders, his face urgent. "What's wrong?"
I couldn't speak. The pain stole my voice, stole my vision—everything went dark at the edges. My abdomen seized with a twisting, wrenching cramp. I opened my mouth to cry for help, but a sharp female voice drowned me out.
"Cooper! Ivan—"
Glenda rushed in. She saw Cooper sitting on the edge of the bed, his face blank, and immediately scooped him into her arms. "Cooper, sweetie, what happened? Did you get in trouble again?"
Cooper burst into tears on cue. "I didn't do anything! I didn't even step on her, and she screamed that loud!"
Ivan's hands stilled on my shoulders. Glenda's eyes reddened instantly. "Ivan... maybe we should just forget about what we discussed."
"Cooper and I—we're just a widow and her boy. We can't compete with..."
Her voice cracked. Her expression crumbled into something wounded and pitiable, as though she'd endured a thousand injustices.
She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to. Ivan understood perfectly.
"Don't be ridiculous," he said immediately. "I told you I'd take care of you both. I don't go back on my word."
His gaze swung to me, cold as a blade. "Stella, are you so desperate to keep me that you'd frame a child?"
His fingers locked around my wrist and squeezed—so hard I heard the bones creak. But that pain was nothing compared to what was happening inside me.
The tiny life tethered to mine was slipping away. I thought of the dream—
