Chapter 1 One

Amelia

Our argument escalated in the car as we drove home from a party, with Declan's anger and insult pouring out. "You think the world revolves around you, but it doesn't." He sneered at me, his words dripping with venom.

"Have you seen yourself? Look at the other women you accused me of ogling. You are fat, ugly, and bloated."

I felt a stinging pain in my chest as he hurled those hurtful words at me. "Declan, my body changed because I gave birth to our daughter. That doesn't give you the right to flirt with other women, especially when they look uncomfortable around you," I snapped, trying to shield Amy's ears from the argument. She was too young to witness this, but she had grown used to our yelling matches.

Amy was sitting beside me in the backseat, and Declan behind the wheel. As he continued to berate me, his eyes suddenly drifted away from the road, locking onto a woman standing on the sidewalk.

I thought he had already forgotten about our conversation, then he responded. "You are the one who is insecure," he shot back. "If you had aborted the pregnancy like I asked, you wouldn't look like a worn out woman feeling threatened by younger women. You look like a woman in her fifties."

I felt a wave of pain wash over me. "You deserve to rot in hell, Declan. You deserve the deepest part of hell," I repeated, my voice shaking with rage and hurt.

How could he say such vile things with our daughter right there? He didn't even flinch, his gaze drifting back to a woman on the sidewalk.

In that same moment, a truck horn blared, and before Declan could refocus on the road, the vehicle swerved violently. A massive truck slammed into us, and our car spun out of control, crashing into another vehicle. Instinctively, I wrapped my body around Amy's, shielding her from the impact. The world seemed to slow down as glasses shattered. I remembered Declan's desperate cry, his hand forcing the door open, and then everything went black.

I woke up to the beeping sound of a machine. I looked around slowly and realized I was in a hospital. The sheets, the bright lights, the smell, everything felt unfamiliar. The last thing I remembered was Declan and I arguing in the car on our way back from a friend's party. He had been openly flirting with a lady right in front of me at the party, and that led to the fight. After that, everything went blank.

The door opened, and a doctor walked in, followed by a nurse.

"You are awake," he said. The tag on his coat read Dr. Reuben. He gave me a small, relieved smile.

This is not our regular family hospital because he doesn't look familiar. My throat felt dry, but I managed to speak. "How long have I been out?"

"One week," he replied, checking the monitor beside me. "You have been unconscious since the accident."

The word "accident" made me pause."What happened? And where is Declan, my husband?" I asked.

Dr. Reuben exchanged a quick look with the nurse before answering.

"Your husband didn't experience any severe injuries," he said slowly. "Not long after he was treated, he left and he hasn't been back since."

I blinked at him, confused. What does he mean Declan left the hospital a week ago?

He didn't come to check on me? Not even once?

I know Our marriage had been falling apart, and he wasn't the man I fell in love with anymore but would he really hate me enough to leave me here unconscious and just walk away with no explanation? The thought made my chest feel tight.

The doctor hesitated again. "Ma'am, what surgery did you do recently?"

I gave him a confused look. "What do you mean, what surgery? You can see the bandage on my stomach. Practically, you are the one who treated me."

I tried to push myself up, one hand instinctively clutching my healing stomach. The dull pain made me wince. "So tell me, what surgery did I do?"

The nurse quickly stepped closer. "Please don't strain yourself, ma'am."

"Easy, ma'am," the nurse said, trying to help me lie back down.

I looked at the doctor suspiciously. "Is anything wrong with me?"

"I am only asking to be sure," Dr. Reuben replied. "Because I discovered some abnormalities in your body."

That made my heart skip. Abnormalities? From what? The only surgery I had recently was an abortion.

"I had an abortion a few months ago," I said quietly.

Dr. Reuben sighed. "And a hysterectomy as well, right?"

I frowned. "A what?"

"A hysterectomy," he repeated, watching my reaction.

I shook my head slowly. "I don't know what that is."

The doctor paused, then asked, "The doctor who performed the surgery didn't explain anything to you?"

"No," I said.

He exhaled deeply and finally told me, "It means your womb was removed during the procedure. You can't have children anymore."

I went completely still. My mind emptied, my breath caught in my throat. I froze, unable to say anything.

"What do you mean I can't have children? I only had an abortion. I never asked for my womb to be taken out," I said, still in disbelief.

Declan must have done this.

He was against me getting pregnant early in our marriage, but I insisted on keeping the baby. The second time, he demanded an abortion. Out of loyalty, and because I was desperately trying to save what was left of our marriage, I agreed.

Now it made sense. That wretched excuse of a human being must have gone behind my back and told the doctor to remove my womb. This was beyond cruelty, I had married a man who hated me, a man who mocked me, my body, my choices, every chance he got.

He didn't even like our daughter....My daughter.

I looked up sharply at the doctor. "Please, did he leave with my daughter too?" I asked, my voice barely steady. I knew Declan would rather dump her with my parents or a friend than take her home with him.

Dr. Reuben's expression changed from serious to sympathetic.

When they brought you all in," he said quietly, "your daughter had lost a lot of blood. We tried everything, we even begged your husband to sign a document for emergency surgery, that we could save her if the surgery was carried out, he refused at first but later agreed, by the time we brought the document for him to sign, your husband had disappeared. We lost her."

For a moment, I didn't understand what he said. It was like the words didn't land.

I felt my breath leave my body. I stared at him, waiting for him to take it back, to explain it differently, to say she was in another ward or with another doctor. .But his expression didn't change.

"No..." The word slipped out of me, "No, she was fine. She was fine when we left the party, she was at the back when the accident happened, it shouldn't affect her much."

My baby girl was gone, I had no womb, and Declan had dumped me like I meant nothing.

All of it hitting me in the same day felt unreal. I broke down completely, loud and uncontrollable.

I cursed myself for ever saying yes to him. I cursed the day I agreed to marry him, the day I thought love meant enduring whatever he threw at me.

After everything I had done for him, supporting his fashion dream, using my savings to help him start, standing by him when everyone else doubted him. The best he could do was turn around and stab me in the back?

I cried harder, shaking, my hands covering my face.I was crying for my little girl.My sweet baby I would never see again.

✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿

Two weeks later, I sat on the couch in the living room, staring at nothing. My mind wandered everywhere at once. Since the day I left the hospital, there had been no sign of Declan. None of his friends claimed to know where he was and I have been grieving the loss of our daughter alone.

I hoped he kept running forever, because if I ever got my hands on him, I am going to murder him on spot. .

My phone buzzed on the table. I blinked out of my thoughts and picked it up. The message was from an anonymous number.

It contained only an address and a short sentence:

"Your husband is here, go check."

My heart hammered, I stood up immediately.

If this was real, if he was actually there, then Declan wouldn't see me coming. Today would be his last day walking freely on this earth.

Author's note: Amy😭, Amelia my love, Men🏃