Xavier picked up the divorce papers in disbelief, flipping through them again and again. His gaze finally landed on my signature, but he still shook his head.
"No. Not possible. Tell Maggie to come say it to my face."
Renata rolled her eyes. "She doesn't want to see you. Either sign, or wait for a court summons."
She turned to leave, but Xavier stopped her.
"Wait. Tomorrow. I want to see her at the place we first met."
"Tell her to bring the papers."
Renata didn't even look back. "I'll pass it along."
After Renata left, Tilda finally spoke up. "Xavier, Maggie must have misunderstood something. Let me go talk to her tomorrow and clear things up."
When Renata got back, she threw her arms around me, her voice cracking. "Maggie, I really thought you were happy. I had no idea Xavier was such a piece of garbage."
She pulled back, steadying herself. "He said he'll sign tomorrow, but only if you bring the papers yourself. To the place you two first met."
"Are you going?"
I went quiet for a moment, then nodded. "I'm going. He has to sign."
The next day, I arrived to find Tilda sitting alone on a park bench. The moment she spotted me, she walked straight over.
"Maggie, how could you just divorce him like this?"
I took a step back. "Where's Xavier?"
A flicker of amusement passed through her eyes. "He'll be here any minute. Just wait."
The next second, Tilda grabbed my hand and threw herself to the ground, clutching her ankle and crying out in pain.
The force of it sent me crashing into the park bench. My stomach slammed against the edge.
My face went white. I pressed both hands to my abdomen and looked up to see Xavier cradling Tilda, his face twisted with fury as he glared at me.
"Maggie, I never thought you could be this vicious!"
I didn't answer. My hands were shaking. I pointed at the divorce papers.
"Sign... them...!"
Xavier froze for a beat, then snatched up the papers in a rage, scrawled his name across them, and hurled them at my face.
"You've gone too far this time, Maggie. Don't you dare expect me to forgive you!"
He turned and strode away with Tilda in his arms. Over his shoulder, I caught Tilda raising an eyebrow at me, a smug taunt written all over her face.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. I pulled out my phone and dialed 911, then pressed my palm gently against my lower belly.
"I'm sorry, baby. Mommy can't let you be born into a family like this..."
I couldn't hold on any longer. Everything went dark.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital bed with an IV drip in my arm. Xavier sat beside me.
His expression was complicated, unreadable. He spoke softly.
"The baby's gone. It's gone. We can have another one later."
"Just come with me now and apologize to Tilda. I'll forgive you. We'll pretend today never happened."
I let out a cold, scornful laugh.
"Xavier, you're delusional. I'm never apologizing, and I never want anything to do with you again."
Xavier shot to his feet. He grabbed the IV needle and ripped it out of my arm. The sharp sting tore a cry from my throat, but he didn't care. He yanked me up from the bed in one rough motion.
"Tilda's been crying ever since she got back. She keeps blaming herself, saying it was all her fault. She swallowed her pride and went to find you first, and you can't even do the same?"
I struggled with everything I had, but Xavier didn't so much as glance at me. He dragged me down the hall to Tilda's room and threw me to the floor.
"Apologize!"
My eyes burned red. Tears pooled but refused to fall. I clenched my teeth.
"She fell on her own. Why should I apologize?"
Something flickered in Xavier's eyes, a brief crack of hesitation. But then Tilda burst into tears on the bed, and before anyone could speak, she slid off the mattress and dropped to her knees in front of me.
"Maggie, I'm so sorry. If it weren't for me, you and Xavier would never have ended up like this. Once my foot heals, I'll leave. I'll go far away from you both."
"Please don't divorce Xavier. Please?"
I stared at Tilda in utter disbelief. Whatever flicker of hesitation Xavier might have felt vanished in an instant. He grabbed the back of my head and slammed my forehead into the floor.
"Apologize to my stepmother, Maggie!"
"You have no respect. No matter what, Tilda is my stepmother. She's our elder!"
I struggled, but it was useless. My body was growing weaker by the second from the miscarriage. Blood streamed down my forehead from where it had struck the ground, and just as consciousness began slipping away, a voice cut through the room, shaking with fury.
"Xavier. Touch her one more time. I dare you."
