Here is the refined English translation, faithful to the emotional tension and novel tone, without adding unnecessary words and without any forbidden symbols:
I couldn’t help but throw a punch, but my body was covered in injuries. I was no match for her.
In an instant, she had me pinned to the ground.
She stepped on my chest and leaned down, her lips brushing my ear.
“If you insist on being disobedient, I’ll make sure you learn your lesson. Your father died in prison because of you.”
I struggled and raked my nails across her ankle, leaving a deep scratch.
Seeing Caleb about to come out, Heidi immediately clutched her forehead and let herself collapse onto the floor as if she had been shoved.
Caleb saw her fall, and the bowl in his hand shattered against the ground with a sharp crack that tore through the air.
He rushed toward us, screaming, his fury twisting his face into something monstrous.
“Julia! How dare you touch Heidi? Can you afford to compensate for the child she’s carrying? You and your father’s lives wouldn’t be enough!”
He charged forward, grabbed my shoulders, and shoved.
I was thrown hard, my back slamming into the sharp corner of the entryway like a heavy hammer striking me.
Pain exploded in my chest. My vision went black. I staggered, then collapsed.
I heard Caleb’s hysterical roaring, Heidi’s fake frightened sobs, and the murmurs of people around us.
The noises tangled together, stabbing into my ears like countless needles.
I tried to push myself up, but my body refused to move.
My consciousness cracked open, leaking away rapidly.
In the last moment before everything went dark, I saw Caleb glaring at me with a frown, yet still holding Heidi protectively, terrified that she might be startled.
Then the darkness swallowed me completely.
When I opened my eyes again, the first thing that hit me was the sharp smell of disinfectant.
The white ceiling swayed slightly in my vision. I tried to move my fingers, but they felt weighed down by something heavy.
The curtain was pulled aside. A doctor stepped to the bedside, his expression calm.
“You’re awake?”
I nodded. My throat burned as if scraped raw by sandpaper.
The doctor sighed, speaking as gently as he could.
“Julia, when you were brought in, you were experiencing massive bleeding.”
My heart clenched, but I forced myself to ask, “So…?”
He paused for a moment before answering.
“The baby is gone.”
My breathing caught in my chest, unable to move.
“The baby…?”
I repeated softly, as though confirming something I had never imagined.
The doctor continued, “You were three weeks pregnant. It was too early to detect. But your injuries were severe, and the embryo couldn’t continue developing. We have already completed the procedure.”
My fingertips slowly turned cold.
So I had been pregnant.
In the middle of their blows, their insults, all the despair… I had been carrying a tiny life.
And now he was gone.
Because of their push.
Because of their violence.
Because of their cruelty.
Seeing me silent, the doctor added in a low voice, “Your injuries were caused by assault. We have reported it according to protocol. Once your condition stabilizes, you’ll need to give a statement.”
I closed my eyes. My chest felt as if it had been torn apart.
Images flashed through my mind: Caleb’s indifferent shove, Heidi’s triumphant smile, her words about letting the old man die in prison.
Each one cut like a blade.
The baby was gone.
And the marriage I had fought so hard to hold together collapsed completely in that moment.
I opened my eyes. My voice was cold as a winter night.
“There’s no need to continue with the police report. Please help me preserve all medical records, emergency documents, and surgical reports.”
The doctor paused, surprised.
“Of course, but you need rest.”
“Don’t worry.” My tone was calm, yet so firm it allowed no refusal.
The doctor could only nod and leave.
