Chapter 4

I watched them, a silent observer of their childish, cruel game. My heart felt like a black hole, sucking all the light and warmth out of the room.

Kaden finally relented, leaving with Cali. As he walked out, he turned back, blowing me a kiss. "I'll be back later, sweetheart."

Cali shot me a look of pure venom before she followed him out.

The moment they were gone, she came back. She must have told Kaden she forgot something.

She walked to my bedside, her face a mask of contempt. "You really are pathetic, you know that?"

She leaned in close, her voice a low hiss. "You think having his baby will make him love you? He'll never love you. You're just a placeholder."

She reached out and pinched the IV tube in my arm, hard.

A sharp, fiery pain shot up my arm. "Stop it!" I gasped, trying to pull away.

Cali's expression shifted in an instant. Her eyes filled with tears, her lip trembled. "You hurt me!" she cried out, as if I were the one attacking her. "Why are you so mean to me?"

She turned and ran out of the room, sobbing theatrically. In her haste, she collided with a nurse who was carrying a tray. A small, insulated container clattered to the floor, popping open.

It was the container with the... remains. The hospital had collected the tissue from my miscarriage for testing. It was all I had left of my child.

The nurse, a kind, middle-aged woman, gasped in horror. "Oh, dear Lord! The sample!"

Cali was surrounded by the grieving family of another patient in the hallway. The family was there to collect the ashes of their loved one. Cali had knocked over their urn in the collision.

"You monster!" a woman screamed, her face streaked with tears. "You desecrated my father's ashes!"

Cali, seeing she was cornered, pointed a trembling finger at me. "It was her! She pushed me! I saw her talking to the nurse, she must have done it on purpose!"

The grieving family's rage turned on me. They surged into my room, their faces contorted with pain and anger.

A man grabbed my shoulders, shaking me violently. "You did this! You will pay for this!"

I was weak, dizzy, and drowning in my own grief. I couldn't fight back. I was a rag doll in their hands.

Through the chaos, I saw Cali slip away, a fleeting, triumphant smirk on her face.

Kaden arrived moments later, drawn by the commotion.

The family explained what they thought had happened, their voices choked with sobs. Kaden's face grew dark.

Cali, who had reappeared, now stood behind him, peering at him with a look that was both stubborn and challenging. It was a silent dare: Whose side are you on?

I met Kaden's eyes across the room. I saw a flicker of doubt, a moment of hesitation. A tiny, foolish part of me hoped he would see the truth.

But then his gaze hardened. He turned to the grieving family, his voice smooth and authoritative.

"This is a terrible tragedy," he said. "It was my wife's fault. She has been... unwell lately. I will take full responsibility. I will compensate you for your loss."

He was trading my dignity for a price tag.

"No," I whispered, the word barely audible. "Kaden, she's lying."

He shot me a look that silenced me. It was a look of pure, cold fury. "Be quiet, Joyce."

He then outlined his "solution." I was to be discharged immediately. I would personally apologize to the family. And he would write them a very, very large check.

His security guards flanked me, their hands on my arms, ready to drag me away. I was a prisoner.

As they led me out, my head spinning, I heard Kaden's voice, soft and tender, speaking to Cali.

"Are you okay? Did they scare you? Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."

Her reply was a faint, satisfied murmur.

The world blurred. The hallway, the faces, the fluorescent lights all swam together into a nauseating vortex of pain.