"Belle, don’t be afraid. I’m here."
"From now on, you will be my one and only wife."
I had thought my heart had long turned to ash, yet just remembering those words brought a fresh, unbearable ache to my chest. My throat tightened as though invisible hands were squeezing, leaving me gasping for air.
"Axel, I don’t want you anymore."
The next morning, I walked out of the house, my mind already set. I scheduled the abortion and immediately reached out to a lawyer to start drafting divorce papers.
Axel’s apology message came soon after.
[Honey, there were some issues during the project discussion. I stayed up all night with the team and didn’t have time to tell you.]
Moments later, a sum of money appeared in my account.
For a brief, sickening second, I felt utterly ridiculous. Was I nothing more than a problem he could solve with money?
Still, I accepted it. My response was a cold, indifferent "hmm."
Sensing something was off in my tone, Axel quickly followed up.
[Alright, sweetheart, I’ll come home tonight. I’ll stay with you, okay? Don’t be upset. It hurts me to see you like this.]
I had never realized just how skilled he was at playing the part.
Unable to hold back, I asked, [Axel, were you really discussing work last night? Or is there something you're hiding from me?]
His reply came quickly, almost too quickly.
[Belle, have you gone mad from all the pregnancy preparations? If I wasn’t discussing a project, what else would I be doing, playing with other women? Stop saying things like that; it’s bad for us!]
A cold laugh escaped my lips. I was about to shut my phone off when another message pinged.
[Honey, I see how hard you’ve been working. Why don’t we consider adopting a child instead?]
I felt my brows knit together, a dark feeling creeping into my chest.
I didn’t respond right away. Instead, I typed a curt "do as you like."
After I got into the car, a file arrived from the detective I had hired to investigate Axel’s assistant.
The deeper I delved into the file, the heavier my heart grew.
As I’d suspected, they already had a child. Axel had even bought them a house just a few streets away from ours.
No wonder Axel had developed a "habit" of late-night runs. He had been sneaking away to meet his mistress.
Fury bubbled within me, my hands shaking as I sped off to the hospital.
After explaining my intentions, the doctor hesitated. "You’ve been trying for so long. Don’t you think it’s a waste to give up now?"
"Reconsider, Belle. This is a life we’re talking about, a living, breathing future."
I stood firm, my decision unshakable and finally, she reluctantly registered me for the procedure.
But to my shock, I noticed her discreetly dialing Axel’s number.
Moments later, my phone lit up with a flurry of calls and messages from him.
Frustrated beyond belief, I silenced the phone and marched into the doctor’s office.
"This is my body, my choice. Why would you contact him behind my back?"
"I’m doing this for your own good," she said, her voice filled with concern. "With your age and past injuries, going through with this could be your last chance to have a child."
No one could understand my pain more than I did.
I had endured years of heartache and endless struggles, all for a glimpse of motherhood.
I had longed for this child’s arrival, dreamed of the moment I would hold them close. But I couldn’t let the baby become the chain that bound me to the suffocating misery of my life.
"Forget it. If your hospital can’t help me, I’ll just find one that will."
At the second hospital, everything moved immediately, staff arranged the procedure with a sense of urgency.
As the anesthesia began to pull me under, I thought I heard Axel’s voice, faint but unmistakable, calling my name.
