When the darkness swallowed me whole, I seemed to see that snowy night from three years ago again—the faint breathing of my baby inside the incubator, flickering, weakening… until it went completely still.
When I opened my eyes again, all I saw was the stark white ceiling of the hospital.
The sharp scent of disinfectant pierced my nose. Instinctively, my hand went to my lower belly.
A doctor noticed that I was awake and spoke softly.
“Congratulations. Your baby is safe for now, but you need to rest. You mustn’t be stressed again, or you might lose your baby.”
I placed my hand over my belly. The faint rise and fall beneath my palm felt fragile.
“Thank you, Doctor,” I murmured, then glanced around the room, searching for the person I desperately hoped would be there.
But apart from the doctor who had just left, there was no one else.
A bitter smile tugged at my lips. “So it wasn’t him. Maybe the housekeeper brought me here.”
I laughed at myself. “Well, that’s better anyway. One less favor I’ll owe him.”
Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, my phone buzzed on the bedside table. The screen displayed two messages from two different senders.
The first was from Gifford. His words were curt and commanding.
[Send over your Grandma’s moon necklace. Dakota likes it. Send it over right now.]
My chest tightened, the air catching in my throat.
That necklace… It was my grandmother’s dying gift to me.
[Gifford] I typed, my fingers trembling. [You know perfectly well that necklace was left to me by my grandmother before she passed. And yet, for Dakota’s sake, you’re asking me to hand over the last keepsake of the only person who truly loved me the most.]
I stared at the screen for a long time. Then, one word at a time, I deleted the message until there was nothing left but silence.
The second message was from Devon Ulmann.
I vaguely remembered calling him when I was half-conscious, begging for help.
I’d thought that after rejecting his proposal, we’d never cross paths again.
But in my most desperate moment, I didn’t expect that it was his number I had instinctively dialed.
[Sorry, I couldn’t stay to see you wake up. But don’t worry. Your baby is safe. If you need anything, call me anytime, and I’ll come to you immediately.]
[And hey, about what I said before? It still stands. If you ever change your mind, I’ll be waiting to marry you.]
My fingers hovered above the screen, unsure if I should reply.
Devon and I had grown up together, two children of powerful families, who everyone believed were destined to become in-laws one day.
But in the end, I chose Gifford—a man with nothing to his name—and turned down Devon’s proposal.
After our marriage, I secretly used my family’s influence and resources to help Gifford build his business empire.
Whenever he faced financial trouble, I’d invest in his company under someone else’s name.
It was no exaggeration that everything he had today… had been built on the sacrifices I made without him knowing.
Suddenly, the door burst open with a crash from a heavy kick.
“Austria! Are you dead or what?!”
Gifford stormed in, his voice full of anger.
His eyes darted to the phone in my hand, though he didn’t bother to see what was on the screen.
“It was just a necklace!” he shouted with a scoff. “You couldn’t even bother to reply? Don’t tell me you didn’t see my message!”
“I’m hospitalized,” I said hoarsely, my voice weak. My lower belly throbbed faintly with pain.
“Hospitalized?” He gave a cold laugh, his gaze sweeping over the bed with disdain. “Putting on a show for who, exactly? Dakota’s been crying from chest pains ever since you refused to give her the necklace—”
“That necklace,” I interrupted, my voice trembling, “is my grandmother’s heirloom, Gifford. You know exactly how much it means to me.”
“It’s just a necklace,” he dismissed. “Once you hand it over to Dakota, I’ll buy you a few others, whichever ones you like.”
He stepped closer, towering over me. “Listen to me. Have someone send it to her now. You owe Dakota that much. After all, you’re the one who set fire to her place.”
He gave a derisive snort. “And to think you’d go so far as to fake an illness just to stalk me to the hospital? Your shamelessness makes me sick.”
I didn’t argue this time. I only stared at him—the urgency in his eyes, the coldness in his voice.
That look… It was the concern he had for Dakota, and the indifference he had for me.
“So you knew I was here all along,” I muttered. “And even knowing that, you’d rather believe I’m pretending, just so you can force me to hand that necklace over to another woman, is that it?”
He nodded impatiently, then sneered. “Haven’t you used enough tricks over the years? You think I’d still fall for them?”
A sharp pain tore through my belly again. This time, I had to grip the blanket tightly.
I knew then that if I didn’t give Dakota the necklace, Gifford wouldn’t let me go.
That was exactly why, all these years, that woman had the nerve to taunt and provoke me.
“As you wish,” I said finally, my throat dry, the words scraping out between clenched teeth. “I’ll send her the necklace.”
Giving in to what they wanted wasn’t surrender. It was survival… for the sake of the life still growing inside me.
“It’s in the bottom drawer of my vanity. Have someone pick it up.”
He froze for a moment, surprised by how quickly I gave in. Then, a smug smile flashed across his face as he turned to leave.
“Get out,” I said quietly, my tone calm but final. “Once she has it, tell her never to appear in front of me again.”
He paused at the door, glaring back at me. For a second, it seemed he wanted to say something. But instead, he just scoffed and slammed the door behind him.
Finally, silence returned to the room.
I picked up my phone again and quickly typed a message.
[Five days from now, come pick me up. I’ll have the divorce papers ready by then.]
After a pause, I added another line.
[You meant what you said, right?]
The moment I hit the send button, the pain in my belly seemed to ease a little.
Devon’s reply came almost instantly.
[I meant it. I’ll wait for you.]
At that moment, sunlight filtered through the window, falling warm and golden on the back of my hand.
‘This time,’ I told myself, ‘I will never look back again.’
