The next morning, I drove to the hospital alone.
After finishing all the pre-procedure tests, I sat waiting. Two nurses recognized me.
Their eyes swept over me, dripping with contempt, their voices sharp enough to cut.
"Well, well. Isn't this the little canary who's been clinging to Mr. Stephens? No ring, no title, just a homewrecker."
"Yesterday Ms. Pruitt took a little fall and Mr. Stephens summoned every top specialist in the hospital for a consultation. Then she had nightmares, and he stayed by her side the entire night, coaxing her back to sleep."
"And look at this one. Here all by herself to get an abortion. Thought she could use a baby to climb her way up, but Mr. Stephens doesn't want some illegitimate child. What a joke."
Every word drove into me like a needle. My chest seized, a dull ache spreading outward until even breathing felt raw.
I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms, and held myself still.
My name was called. I was wheeled into the operating room.
I lay on the freezing surgical table, the cold seeping straight into my bones, my body trembling.
The instruments entered me, ice-cold and merciless, and pain tore through my lower body.
I felt it clearly. The tiny life inside me, slipping away. Dying.
I bit down on my lip until the taste of blood filled my mouth. Tears slid down my temples without a sound.
I lost track of time. Then, finally, it was over.
The doctor looked at me, sighed, and listed the post-operative instructions.
I nodded numbly and walked out on legs that barely held me.
I had just reached the main lobby when I saw Warren walking toward me with Georgina in his arms.
Our eyes met. The tenderness on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a hard, guarded look as he pulled Georgina closer against his chest.
"What are you doing here?"
I said nothing. I just stood there, steadying myself.
He must have noticed something was wrong. His gaze lingered on my chalk-white face, and his brow creased, a flicker of concern surfacing in his eyes.
"Are you sick? You look terrible."
He started to step toward me, but Georgina lifted her head from his shoulder, eyes rimmed pink, the picture of wounded innocence.
"Eudora, are you upset with me because my nightmares pulled Warren away from you last night? Is that why you came to the hospital today, pretending to be sick so he'd feel sorry for you?"
The concern on Warren's face dissolved the moment she spoke.
He looked at me with disappointment and anger hardening his features. "Eudora Fox, can you stop being so difficult? Georgie's health is fragile. Do you have to compete with her over every little thing?"
I pulled my lips into a thin smile. It tasted like ashes.
"I already handed you over to her on a silver platter. That's not enough?"
I turned and walked away before he could answer, and drove home.
But Warren brought Georgina back to the house.
He stood over me, his tone brooking no argument.
"Give Georgie your blessing charm. She's been having nightmares every night and can't sleep. She can wear it to calm her nerves."
My head snapped up. I stared at him, disbelief flooding through me, my entire body going cold.
That blessing charm. My mother had it blessed for me right before I was kidnapped all those years ago.
Later, when I took a knife for Warren, when I followed him into one danger after another, that charm was what kept me alive.
When I didn't move, his brow furrowed, his expression that of a man who couldn't fathom why anyone would refuse.
"It's not like it's some priceless treasure. What's the harm in letting her wear it?"
A bitter laugh scraped out of my throat. The pain in my chest was so sharp I couldn't draw a full breath, and my vision blurred at the edges.
After a long silence, I gave in. A slow, defeated nod.
"Fine. I'll give it to her."
I knew him too well. If I refused, he would simply find a crueler way to take it from me.
I dragged my body upstairs on legs that wanted to buckle.
I pulled the blessing charm from beneath my pillow and ran my thumb across its surface. A single tear fell into my palm, so hot it made me flinch.
After a long while, I went back downstairs. As I reached the study door, I heard Warren inside on the phone.
His friend's voice carried through the gap, laced with amusement.
"You actually married Georgina and Eudora didn't put up a fight? Do you really like Georgina that much?"
Warren was quiet for a few seconds. "She suffered too much trying to save me back then. I have a responsibility to take care of her."
"But Eudora's been by your side through life and death all these years too."
Warren hesitated. But then his voice came again.
"Once Georgie's baby is born and registered, I'll marry her."
Laughter from the other end.
"Eudora's stubborn as hell. Aren't you worried she'll come after you?"
Warren let out a low laugh, his tone soaked in contempt.
"Come after me? She doesn't have it in her. Besides, after all these years, I've got her completely broken in. I'm all she has. She can't survive without me."
"Even if she did leave, where would she go? A woman I've already used up. Who in this world would want her?"
My blood stopped moving. Every limb, every joint, shook with a tremor I couldn't control.
I couldn't believe it. The man I had loved for all these years had just said those words. Words that stripped me down to nothing.
Something warm and metallic surged up my throat. I clenched my teeth and forced it back down. My eyes burned red, but not a single tear would come.
Warren Stephens, I am not yours to own.
And when I leave you, there will be someone who loves me.
