Chapter 3 Fainted

Amy's eyes fluttered open, her pulse pounding like a drumbeat in her head.

She felt disoriented, the world around her spinning in dizzying circles.

The smell of antiseptic and the sterile whiteness of a hospital room surrounded her.

She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fog from her mind, but everything felt heavy.. too heavy to comprehend at once.

The first thing she saw was Liam's face.

He was sitting by the bedside, his hand resting lightly on the edge of her mattress, his eyes fixed on her with an expression she couldn't read.

It was a mixture of concern and something else.. a flicker of guilt perhaps, but she couldn't tell for sure.

The sudden rush of memories hit her all at once, slamming into her like a tidal wave.

The letter. Her father's will. The betrayal. The anger. Celine. Her best friend. Liam in their bed.

Everything.. it all flooded back in a whirlwind, and the sharp sting of it nearly knocked the breath out of her.

Her body tensed, panic rising in her chest. Why am I here?

She tried to sit up but felt a wave of dizziness sweep over her. She collapsed back into the pillows, her vision swimming.

"What... what happened?" she rasped, her voice raw from the strain of her emotions. She looked around, the sterile room still confusing her. "Why am I here? What did you do to me?"

Liam's eyes flickered with something she couldn't place, but he didn't answer right away.

His lips parted, but he hesitated, as though unsure what to say.

His fingers twitched, like he wanted to reach for her but didn't dare.

"Amy," he finally said, his voice tight. "You fainted. You..."

"Fainted?" she interrupted, her voice rising in disbelief. "You didn't let me die, did you? You didn't have the decency to let me go?" She glared at him, feeling the venom in her words rise like bile. "Why did you bring me here? Why didn't you just let me be?"

Liam seemed to shrink under the weight of her gaze, but he didn't say anything more.

His silence was like a slap to her face, a confirmation of everything she already knew.. he never cared.

A soft knock at the door interrupted the moment, and a nurse entered with a clipboard in hand. Her presence was a welcome distraction, but the news she brought with her hit Amy like a ton of bricks.

The nurse's smile was gentle, but there was something cautious in her eyes.

She turned to Liam before speaking. "We've run the final tests, Mr. Hawkes. The results... I'm sorry, but we've confirmed that she's lost the baby."

The world tilted beneath Amy's feet.

The nurse's words didn't fully register at first.. couldn't register.

It was like she was hearing them from a distance, through a fog.

Baby? What baby?

She stared at the nurse in disbelief, her pulse hammering in her ears. Her stomach clenched, and for a moment, she felt the room spin around her again. Her hands trembled.

"What do you mean, baby?" she whispered, her voice cracking as she looked between Liam and the nurse. "I wasn't.. no... I couldn't be..."

Liam's eyes softened, his lips parting as though he was about to say something..

The nurse took a step back, her discomfort obvious. "I think she should rest, Mr. Hawkes. It's been a traumatic experience."

"No!" Amy shot up in bed, her head spinning, the room tilting around her. "I'm not staying here. I'm leaving. I'm not your prisoner."

"Amy, please," Liam's voice was strained, desperate even, but Amy wasn't having any of it. She shoved the nurse's hand away when she tried to help her sit back, her strength rising out of sheer defiance.

"I'm fine," she hissed. "I don't need your pity. I don't need anyone's pity. Not from you, not from her..." She shot a pointed glance at the nurse before staggering to her feet.

The world around her was still spinning, but the need to escape.. the need to get out of this hospital, away from Liam, away from the constant reminder of what he had done to her.. drove her forward.

She could feel the blood pounding in her temples, her vision growing hazy with each step, but she pushed it all aside.

She didn't care.

She wasn't going to let Liam or anyone else control her anymore.

"Amy, stop please!" Liam's voice rang in her ears, full of urgency, but she kept walking, her feet unsteady as she made her way toward the door.

"Do not dare touch me!" she screamed, whirling around to face him. The words burned her throat as they left her lips, her entire body trembling with the weight of her fury.

Liam froze, his hand outstretched, but he didn't try to stop her again.

The look in his eyes, a mix of regret and helplessness, only fueled her anger more.

"Funny," she muttered bitterly, "how everything you've done to me, Liam, happened on our anniversary. And on my 28th birthday, too." She laughed darkly, shaking her head. "You really have no shame."

Without any more pushed through the door, her feet dragging against the floor as she stumbled out into the corridor.

She was so consumed by her anger that she barely noticed the sharp pain in her lower abdomen, the tightening that signaled something wasn't right.

She was halfway down the hall when she heard a soft voice.. one she never thought she'd hear again. It was Celine.

"I'm sorry," Celine's voice was quiet, almost too quiet, but Amy heard it clear as day.

Amy's stomach churned with a combination of rage and disbelief.

Sorry? Sorry for what? For betraying her? For sleeping with her husband?

Amy whirled around, her face burning with fury, her pulse rushing in her ears.

"Do not," she spat, her voice low and dangerous, "do not ever show your face in front of me again."

Celine opened her mouth, as if to explain herself, but Amy couldn't bear to hear it.

With every ounce of strength she had left, Amy turned and continued down the hall, ignoring Celine's meek apology.

But as she reached the exit doors, outside the hospital, the blood from her abdomen started to pool.

Her vision blurred, her knees buckled, and she felt herself losing control.

She staggered out into the cold air, her body shuddering with the effort to stay upright.

But the world around her was going black. Her legs gave out beneath her, and she collapsed forward into the street.

An oncoming car screeched to a halt, but it was too late.

She couldn't see the face of the driver or the car's make as the world went dark, but she could feel the impact.

And then... nothing.