I awoke to an unsettling stillness.
I couldn’t remember when sleep had finally claimed me. Whether it was from tears or sheer exhaustion, I didn’t know. My limbs felt heavy, my head pounded like I’d been slammed into a wall. But pain was irrelevant the moment I registered the emptiness beside me.
Luca wasn’t in his bed.
Panic surged through me. My heart leapt to my throat as I stumbled out of the room, shouting his name.
“Luca?” I rushed through the hallway, flinging open doors. “Luca!” I checked the bathroom. The kitchen. Every corner.
Nothing.
Hands trembling, I snatched up my phone and dialed my mother.
She answered on the third ring, her tone disturbingly casual. “Ah, there you are. We were wondering when you’d wake up.”
My breath hitched. “Where’s Luca?”
“With us,” she said smoothly, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. “We’re throwing a little party for him.”
My grip on the phone faltered. “You’re what?”
“Well, you were sleeping so deeply,” she said with a sigh. “Damien and Sophie thought it would be nice to do something special. You know, to lift his spirits. He’s having a wonderful time.”
“You took my son?” My voice shook, rage bubbling beneath the surface. “Without asking me? Without even leaving a note?”
“You looked like you needed the rest. Honestly, Isabelle, we were doing you a favor.”
My jaw clenched so tightly I thought I might break a tooth. “Put Luca on. Now.”
There was a pause. Then a dismissive laugh. “Let him enjoy his day. Don’t ruin it with your… drama.”
“Drama?” I choked. “He’s my child!”
“Then stop making him suffer because you can’t handle the fact that your husband found happiness with your sister.”
I nearly screamed. “What did you just say?”
“Damien made his choice. And frankly, Sophie will be a far better mother figure to Luca than someone constantly running to hospitals or buried in work.”
I stared at the floor, trying to stay upright. “If you don’t bring my son home—”
“That’s enough.” Her voice dropped, colder than ice. “You’re being selfish.”
The line went dead.
I stood frozen for several seconds, phone still pressed to my ear. Then slowly, like a storm building in the distance, the fury took over.
I wanted to scream, to rip apart every cushion and frame in the house. Instead, I sat down and did the one thing I shouldn’t have.
I opened Instagram.
My breath caught in my throat.
The first post on my feed was Sophie’s.
A polished photo of her and Damien, their hands entwined. Her engagement ring sparkled like a crown.
“Two hearts. One destiny. Counting down to forever with you, Damien. ️”
Thousands of likes. Floods of comments.
— Match made in heaven!
— Wow, so happy for you two!
— Honestly, I always knew Damien and Sophie had something special.
— Didn’t he marry her sister first? Wild how life works out!
People who had attended my wedding were now cheering for them like this was some kind of fairy tale.
I wanted to throw my phone across the room.
But then I saw the next photo.
And I couldn’t breathe.
It was Luca.
Sitting on Damien’s lap, laughing—his arms draped around Sophie’s neck. All three of them looked like a happy, storybook family. A family I was no longer a part of.
My head throbbed. A deep, stabbing pressure pulsed behind my eyes. I stumbled toward the nightstand, clawing for the bottle of pills. My fingers shook violently as I unscrewed the cap, popped two into my mouth, and swallowed without water.
The pain didn’t ease. Something metallic coated my tongue.
My vision blurred, and I felt something warm trickling from my nose. I touched my upper lip and pulled my hand away.
Blood.
I stumbled back, chest tightening. Panic rose in my throat. I dialed my mother’s number again.
No answer.
I tried my father.
Straight to voicemail.
I scrolled frantically and tapped on Damien’s name.
The call rang once… twice… then cut off.
I laughed bitterly—weak, cracked. Of course.
Through the blur of tears, I punched in 911.
“H-Hello?” My voice wavered, breath short.
“911 emergency services. What is your emergency?”
“I—” My legs gave way, and I leaned against the wall for balance. “I need help… I can’t—”
The phone slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor.
The last thing I heard was the operator calling out my name as darkness swallowed me whole.
---
The world returned in fragments—bright fluorescent lights, the rhythmic beep of a heart monitor, the sterile tang of antiseptic. I opened my eyes and realized I was lying in a hospital bed.
Alone.
A nurse entered and froze at the sight of me awake. “Ms. Navarro, you're awake! Just rest, okay? You’ve had a rough night.”
My lips were dry. My throat felt like sandpaper. “How long was I unconscious?”
“You were brought in yesterday evening,” she explained gently. “The paramedics found you passed out. We tried contacting your emergency contacts but... no one responded. Is there anyone we should reach out to?”
Family.
The word left a bitter taste in my mouth.
I gave a faint, humorless laugh. “There’s no one left.”
The nurse hesitated, but nodded and left without another word.
The following morning, I was discharged.
I walked back into my house with slow, dragging steps. Every inch of it felt colder, smaller. Lifeless.
But then I froze.
Someone was there.
Damien.
He was seated on the living room couch like he owned the air I breathed. His posture was relaxed—ankle resting on one knee, fingers drumming rhythmically on the armrest.
I stood in the doorway, stunned. “Why are you here?”
He stood without emotion and pulled a folder from his bag. A pen clipped neatly to the front. He extended it toward me.
“Sign these.”
I stared at the papers in his hand. My throat went dry. “What are they?”
He looked me dead in the eyes. No guilt. No hesitation. Nothing.
“Divorce papers.”
I stood motionless as the words crashed into me like waves.
“Sign them,” he repeated. “Let’s not make this harder than it already is.”
