AVA'S POV
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Margaret Voss's voice cracked through the silence like a whip. Her eyes narrowed on me, her lips curling into the kind of smirk that made my skin crawl. "Sign the papers and stop wasting everyone's time."
I stared down at the divorce documents in my hands, my chest tightening until it was hard to breathe. My hand shook as I clutched the pen, but I couldn't bring myself to move it. "Divorce Agreement". The word blurred on the page. My throat ached.
"I won't sign." My voice shook, but it came out steadier than I expected.
Her smirk vanished, replaced with a sneer. "Ungrateful little-"
"I-If Adrian wants me gone..." I swallowed hard, my voice unsteady but firm, "...then let him tell me himself."
I should have known better than to defy Margaret Voss. But when she shoved those divorce papers at me, my hands trembled and my chest tightened, and something inside me screamed-"don't sign".
My heart twisted, but I held my ground. "No."
Her hand slammed the table, rattling the porcelain teacup she'd been sipping from. "You ungrateful wretch!"
"Adrian doesn't want you. Stop dragging him down with your filth. Do us all a favor and disappear." she sneered, her eyes burning into me.
Marissa, lounging on the couch with her phone in hand, perked up like a vulture catching the scent of a dying animal. "Wait, Ava, do you think you actually have a choice? Mama, she thinks she has a choice."
Margaret's face twisted. "You don't want to sign? Fine. We'll help you."
Her face went red with fury. "Hold her, Marissa."
She lunged at me. Before I could react, Marissa grabbed my arms from behind, pinning me as Margaret forced the pen into my hand. My body shook with fear, but I twisted violently, sending the papers scattering to the floor.
"Stop it!" I gasped, breaking free for a second and fumbling for my phone on the counter. My fingers barely brushed the dail button beside Adrian's name on the screen when-
SMACK.
Marissa's palm cracked across my cheek, sending the phone clattering to the tiles. Pain radiated through my jaw as she snarled, "You stupid cow. Always ruining everything!" her voice shrill with rage.
I dove for the phone. My heart pounded with one thought: Call Adrian. He'll stop them.
Will he though?
I pushed back the negative thought.
He has to.
Marissa's shadow loomed above me. The glint of metal caught my eye. A kitchen knife.
"Try that again," she hissed, the blade hovering. "Go ahead. Touch it. I dare you."
Terror shot through me, cold and paralyzing.
"Marissa, what are you doing? Please stop." she stalked closer and panic seized my throat. I had to act fast.
"Marissa, please. You don't understand-"
I attempted to distract her as I lunged for the phone.
And then I felt it.
White-hot pain exploded through my stomach.
I gasped, the air ripped from my lungs as the blade tore into me. My hands instinctively flew to my abdomen-my baby. Oh God, my baby.
A scream tore from my throat, raw and broken, as Marissa staggered back, eyes wide with shock at what she'd done. Blood pooled beneath me, warm and spreading, soaking into the tiles.
"Mama..." Marissa's voice cracked, high and panicked. "I-I didn't mean-"
Margaret's eyes bulged. She grabbed her daughter by the arm. "Idiot! What have you done?"
"She moved, I swear-"
"Shut up!" Margaret hissed, her gaze flicking to me crumpled on the floor. I pressed my hands harder against the wound, feeling life slip through my fingers with every drop of blood. Panic clawed at me. Not my baby. Please, God, not my baby.
I barely registered their voices, muffled by the rush of blood in my ears.
"What do we do?" Marissa whispered, trembling.
Margaret's lips thinned. "We can't let Adrian find her like this. He'll think we did it."
"We did do it!"
"Then we'll make it look like she ran off. L-like she abandoned him for good."
No
I wanted to scream. Did they really despise me that much? Couldn't they see that I was still here? still fighting.
Help me. But the world was tilting, spinning.
"Get some sheets," Margaret barked.
But Marissa remained standing, ramrod and frozen with fear. "Marissa!" Her mother's voice cut through the air, snapping her out of her daze
"U-uh sheets? What sheets? Sheets for what?" She stuttered out and Margaret gave her an impatient look.
"What do you mean what for? We'll wrap her body and dump her somewhere far." Margaret looked like she was loosing her mind.
Marissa whimpered. "B-body? But she's still breathing-"
"Then hurry before she isn't!"
They left the room in a frenzy, their footsteps pounding up the stairs.
My chest heaved, my breath shallow. I reached blindly, blood-slick fingers scraping against the tiles until I found my phone. My vision blurred, but I pressed it to life, scrolling shakily through recent calls until I found his name.
Adrian.
With trembling fingers, I hit dial.
The ringing filled my ear like a lifeline. Once. Twice. Three times.
Then-click.
"What?" His voice snapped through the speaker, sharp and impatient.
Relief and despair collided in me. My lips trembled as I whispered, "A-Adrian... help me... please..."
Silence. A beat of confusion. "Ava?" His tone sharpened, laced with something I wanted to believe was alarm. "What's going on?"
My throat tightened, tears streaming down my face. "I-blood-Adrian, I'm scared-our baby-"
But before I could finish, his sigh cut me off. Cold. Detached.
"Stop it, Ava. Stop this pathetic act. Haven't you humiliated me enough? Do you want to destroy my career completely? Throw your tantrums somewhere else."
"No, Adrian, I-I'm not-"
Click.
The line went dead.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe. The stab wound burned, the blood loss dizzying, but nothing hurt as much as the sharp crack that split my heart at his dismissal.
He didn't believe me.
Adrian didn't know it but, his dismissal hurt worse than the hole in my stomach.
I let the phone slip from my hand, my body trembling violently as darkness closed in around me. My palm still pressed weakly against my stomach.
"I'm so sorry, baby," I whispered, voice fading into a sob. "I'm so s-sorry...."
And then, the world went black.
