Pain was the first thing that greeted me when my eyes finally opened.
It spread slowly, crawling through my body like fire under the skin — a dull, throbbing ache in my arms, a sharp, biting agony in my leg. I tried to push myself upright out of pure instinct, but before I could, a nurse hurried to my side and gently pressed a hand against my shoulder.
“Easy,” she said in a calm, steady voice. “You were in an accident. Your ankle is fractured, and you’ve got a few other minor injuries. You shouldn’t be moving yet.”
An accident?
The word echoed in my head.
And then everything crashed back in — Damien. Bianca. The paper in her hands. My brothers laughing. The way my chest felt like it was tearing itself apart. Running. The sound of a horn. Blinding lights.
The truck.
My throat tightened as I swallowed. “How long… have I been here?”
“Almost twenty-four hours,” she replied while checking the machine beside my bed. Then her movements slowed. Her eyes softened. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”
My heart started to pound harder. “What is it?”
She hesitated only a second. “You were about two months along. I’m so sorry… the impact caused you to lose the pregnancy.”
The words didn’t make sense at first.
I stared at her. “Pregnant…?”
She nodded and gave my hand a small, careful squeeze.
“I didn’t even know,” I whispered. “I had no idea…”
My mind went strangely quiet, but inside my chest, something cracked open again — worse than before. In one single day, I’d lost everything I never even got a chance to hold.
“Would you like me to contact someone for you?” the nurse asked gently.
My thoughts went to Damien. My “husband.” The man who had just registered a marriage with my sister. Then to Marcus and Elliot — the brothers who used to swear they’d protect me, who had laughed about disposing of me like I was trash.
But I couldn’t bear to be alone.
“I… need my phone,” I said hoarsely.
She placed it in my hand, and the first number I dialed was Damien’s.
No answer.
I tried again.
“The number you have dialed is unavailable…”
Again.
Nothing.
The tears came without warning. He wasn’t coming. None of them were. Bianca was back — and I had already been erased.
The nurse returned a little while later and set a small basket on the table.
“Someone left this for you,” she said softly. “Food, some flowers. He said he was a friend… a doctor who helped bring you in.”
I frowned. “A doctor?”
She nodded. “He didn’t want his name mentioned. Just asked me to tell you to rest.”
After she left, I stared at the tray. My stomach turned at the smell of food, and I pushed it aside. Instead, my fingers moved to my phone. I opened social media, desperately searching for… something. Regret. Worry. Proof I hadn’t been completely abandoned.
That’s when I saw it.
Pictures.
Videos.
Marcus. Elliot. Damien. Bianca.
All smiling like nothing in the world was wrong. Cotton candy in their hands. Churros. Bright lights. In front of the Disneyland castle like some postcard-perfect family.
The caption read:
“Finally a real family trip. Long overdue!”
My chest tightened so hard I thought I might stop breathing.
Real family?
Then what had I been all these years?
I cried until my eyes burned, until my voice turned raw, until there was no strength left in me.
By morning, the buzzing of my phone pulled me out of an exhausted, empty sleep.
Damien.
I stared at his name for a long moment before answering.
“Talia!” His voice sounded frantic, almost panicked. “Why didn’t you tell us you were in the hospital? Why didn’t you say something?!”
Us.
Before I could respond, the door opened.
Damien walked in, with Marcus and Elliot right behind him, all three wearing carefully crafted expressions of worry.
“We came as fast as we could,” Elliot said, moving to my side and adjusting my pillow as if he’d always been there.
“I only saw your missed call last night,” Damien added. “You should’ve kept trying.”
I looked at them quietly. “Where were you?”
“Business,” Damien answered too quickly, barely meeting my eyes. “You know how it goes.”
No, I don’t.
Because it was our anniversary.
Because you married my sister.
Because you replaced me without a second thought.
But I stayed silent.
“I’m here now,” he said more softly, brushing my hair back from my face. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I turned my head away. “I need the restroom.”
“You can’t walk yet,” he said immediately. “I’ll help you.”
He carefully lifted me into his arms, and for a brief, dangerous second, it felt like I was back in the past — like the man I had once loved hadn’t disappeared.
Then the illusion shattered.
Marcus burst through the door.
“Hey! Help!” he shouted. “Bianca fainted!”
Damien’s entire body went rigid.
“What?”
“She collapsed,” Marcus said again, louder this time.
And just like that, Damien’s arms loosened.
He let go.
I hit the floor with a cry, my back slamming hard against the cold tiles, my injured ankle screaming in pain.
He didn’t look back.
Not even once.
He ran straight out of the room, already calling Bianca’s name.
I curled inward, shaking, humiliated, and broken, until a different pair of arms carefully lifted me from the floor.
I blinked through the tears and looked up —
Dark hair.
Warm, familiar brown eyes.
“Julian…?” My voice came out as barely a whisper.
The doctor I once knew. The one who once cared. The one who vanished without explanation.
A soft smile touched his lips.
“Still tripping over things?” he murmured gently.
My throat tightened. I couldn’t speak.
He brushed a loose strand of hair away from my cheek.
Then, quietly, earnestly, he said, “Talia… do you want to disappear with me?”
