That night, I heard my baby crying somewhere in the dark. I ran toward him, calling his name, begging him to stop, but Owen was there, looming over him.
“You think this baby’s yours? You cheated on me. That child isn’t even mine. From the moment he was born, his fate was to die.”
I screamed, “No! Stop! He's your child! Don’t say that! Don’t do this!”
Before I could reach them, he tossed my baby to the fire like he was nothing. Kelsey stood beside him, and laughing.
“Go ahead,” she jeered. “Run faster, scream louder. It won’t change anything.”
I ran, I begged, I tried to grab him but my feet felt like they were glued to the floor, then I woke up.
The lights of the hospital room burned my eyes. The smell of disinfectant clawed at my nose.
For a moment, I didn’t know where I was. Then the memory of the dream and everything else hit me, and my chest tightened again.
The doctor was standing by my bed, scribbling on a clipboard. He cleared his throat. “Mrs. Ashford… you really shouldn’t move around yet. If this happens again, you might not be able to have children anymore.”
I stared at him, numb. “Tell me something... How much did he give you?”
He blinked, confused. “I’m sorry?”
“How much did Owen pay you to take my baby’s stem cells… and let him die?”
His hand froze in midair. “Mrs. Ashford, that’s not—”
“Don’t!” I cut him off. “Don’t you dare lie to me.”
He looked down, pale. He didn’t answer. That silence said everything I needed to know.
“Give me the papers,” I said flatly. “I’m leaving.”
He hesitated, then handed them to me. My hands shook as I signed.
“You should stay a few more days,” he said quietly. “You’re not strong enough—”
“I don’t care,” I said. “I just want out of this place.”
He didn’t stop me again.
I pulled the blanket away and stood up. The pain hit me immediately, but it wasn’t nearly as sharp as the memory of the dream. My legs trembled, my vision blurred, but I kept going.
…
When I finally reached the mansion; the same one I’d picked out for Owen on our first anniversary... my chest felt like it was being crushed. Every corner, every curtain, every stupid little color choice… I’d imagined this as our family home, where our kids would run and laugh. Now it just felt… dead.
I pushed the door open. The sound of laughter hit me like nails.
Mrs. Ashford was in the living room, hovering over Kelsey with a teacup in her hand. She was fussing like a mother hen, telling the maid to bring food, insisting Kelsey eat, insisting she drink tea.
I stepped forward, “Looks… cozy in here.”
Mrs. Ashford’s gaze snapped to me, sharp and cold. She set the teacup down with a deliberate clink. “Why are you back now? Your child is dead. All because of your clumsiness, that stupid elevator fall. Honestly, I don’t know why you even bother showing your face.”
I froze, my blood turning to ice.
“Mother, don’t blame my sister.” Kelsey leaned back on the couch, her swollen feet sticking out, her hands resting on her belly. “She’s always been clumsy ever since we were kids. It’s not her fault. She tried…”
I wanted to speak, to scream that it wasn’t true, that Owen had killed my child but before I could get a word out, the front door opened.
Owen walked in, carrying a cake that Kelsey’s favorite. My stomach twisted, bile rising, rage burning. He froze when he saw me.
“What… why are you here? You’re supposed to be in the hospital,” he frowned as if I had interrupted his perfect little world.
“Why? So you could pretend I don’t exist?”
He stepped closer, narrowing his eyes. “Don’t start. Kelsey’s pregnant. You should just… stay out of the way.”
My voice went cold. “You… you let her take my baby.”
He flinched, a shadow of guilt crossing his face before he hardened it into anger. “Stop. If you weren’t so… fragile, maybe your child would still be alive.”
The words hit me like a fist to the chest. My knees threatened to buckle, but I turned my back so he couldn’t see me shaking.
“I’ll be gone soon,” I muttered, more to myself than to him. And I meant it.
…
When I reached the top of the stairs, I stopped in front of the nursery.
My hand hovered over the door. The smell of baby powder used to linger here—soft, warm, safe. I’d painted clouds on the ceiling myself, laughing when Owen told me I was too obsessed with the details.
I pushed the door open.
And everything inside me went still.
The room wasn’t mine anymore.
The crib was new. The curtains were pink. The walls that used to be baby blue were now painted white with gold stars. And above the new twin cribs were names I didn’t even recognize: “Baby Jaxton” and “Baby Jasmine.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
I stepped inside, slowly, my hands shaking. Everything I had built, every tiny dream I had stitched into this room? It was gone. Just gone.
Then I saw it, my baby’s ultrasound photo lying on the floor, the glass frame cracked. I knelt and picked it up carefully, brushing the dust away.
“My sweet boy… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry—”
Something in me snapped.
I grabbed the pink curtains and yanked them down. The rods hit the floor. I tore the name sign off the wall, ripping it in half. The sound echoed. A scream tore out of my chest, raw and broken.
I kicked the crib until it cracked. I didn’t even care that my hands were bleeding, that glass was everywhere. I just wanted all of it gone. Every piece of them out of his room.
That’s when I heard it, Kelsey’s shrill, fake cry from the doorway.
“Oh my God! What are you doing?!” she screamed, clutching her stomach. “You’re going to hurt the babies!”
