Chapter 6

Haley Dickerson POV:

The car was silent, the plush leather cocooning me from the world outside. Arlena sat beside me, her hand resting gently on mine. I stared out the window, watching the familiar New York skyline blur past. It felt alien, disconnected. Everything did.

"You handled that with remarkable strength," Arlena said, her voice a soft murmur.

"Strength?" I scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "It felt like I was dying, piece by piece."

"And yet, you stood your ground. You shed the vestiges of a life that was never truly yours. That takes courage, Haley."

Courage. Or pure, unadulterated rage. I wasn't sure which. My head still throbbed from the fall, a dull ache throbbing in time with my shattered heart. But beneath the pain, a cold, hard resolve was taking root.

"I can't go back to that apartment," I said, the words heavy with finality. "Not ever again."

"You won't have to," Arlena assured me. "My team is already there, packing your belongings. Only what you truly want to keep. The rest will be disposed of."

Disposed of. The words brought a strange sense of liberation. Disposed of the memories, the broken promises, the false future. I closed my eyes, picturing the apartment, the life I had so carefully built with Devin. Every corner held a memory, every object a ghost of what I thought we were.

"I want everything that reminds me of him gone," I mumbled, my voice tight. "Burn it. Destroy it. I don't care."

Arlena squeezed my hand. "Consider it done."

Later that evening, after a warm bath and a light meal in the opulent Dickerson mansion, I found myself in a lavish suite, a world away from my old life. But the change of scenery couldn't erase the ache in my heart. The ghost of my baby haunted me. Karly's cruel smirk, Devin's dismissive gaze – they were etched into my soul.

My phone, a new one Arlena had provided, buzzed with a notification. It was a news alert. "InnovateTech CEO Devin Haynes and Influencer Karly McLaughlin Announce Engagement." A picture of them, smiling, Karly's hand displaying the ring, flashed across the screen. My old ring finger, still a bit red from where Devin had yanked off the band, throbbed.

I threw the phone onto the plush carpet. It landed silently, a stark contrast to the explosion of anger building within me. He had already moved on. Publicly. Shamelessly.

A few hours later, as I lay in the vast, unfamiliar bed, trying to sleep, my new phone rang. It was an unknown number. I hesitated, then answered.

"Haley? Thank god! I've been calling your old number, texting, going crazy!" Devin's voice, thick with alcohol, slurred through the receiver. "Where are you? Why aren't you home?"

My heart, which had been numb, now pulsed with a cold disgust. "I'm not home, Devin. I told you. I left."

"Left? What are you talking about? You're being dramatic. You always do this when you're upset." He tried to laugh, but it was a pathetic, broken sound. "Come on, baby. Come back. Karly's gone. She just went home. We can talk."

"Karly's gone?" I asked, a dangerous calm in my voice. "Funny. Her social media says she's celebrating your engagement."

A pause. Then a weak, forced chuckle. "Oh, that. Just a publicity thing, you know? For the company. You wouldn't understand. Influencers, social media, it's all fake. You know I only have eyes for you, Haley. My steady, sensible Haley."

My stomach churned. The casual dismissal of Karly's very public triumph, the pathetic attempt to paint it as a "publicity thing." And the repetition of "sensible Haley," a label he had used to manipulate me for years.

"Devin," I said, my voice flat, "I'm not 'your Haley' anymore. And I'm not coming back."

"Don't be like that, baby. I miss you. This apartment feels so empty without you." His voice dropped to a low, seductive murmur. "Come back. We'll make up. Just like old times. We can just cuddle, talk."

The thought of his touch, his breath on my neck, made my skin crawl. "There are no 'old times,' Devin. You destroyed them."

"Please, Haley. I need you. I'm drunk. I'm lonely." His voice was laced with a self-pity that was almost sickening. "I just need my Haley to come home."

"Your Haley is gone, Devin. You killed her." I hung up the phone, the finality of the click echoing in the silent room.

I stared at the ceiling, my eyes wide open. He was probably passed out by now, oblivious to the destruction he had wrought, oblivious to the woman he had created. The woman who would become his undoing.

The next morning, I woke to new notifications. My phone screen was ablaze with Karly's posts. Pictures of her at a lavish French restaurant, champagne flutes clinking. "Celebrating our future! So much love for my amazing fiancé, @DevinHaynes!"

And then, the real gut punch. A blurry photo showing Karly's slightly rounded belly. "Our little secret is growing! Can't wait to meet our InnovateTech baby!"

My breath hitched. My baby. My lost baby. Karly, pregnant with Devin's child, flaunting it on social media just weeks after I lost mine. The sheer audacity, the sickening cruelty of it, made me physically ill.

Then, Devin's post. A photo of him kissing Karly's forehead, his hand gently resting on her belly. "My future wife, my future family. So proud and excited for this new chapter. Love you, @KarlyMcLaughlin."

The world swam before my eyes. My head pounded. My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise. They were having a baby. His baby. While I was still mourning the one he denied, the one they had stolen from me.

The betrayal was a fresh wound, deep and festering. It wasn't just my life, my love, my identity they had stolen. It was my motherhood. My child.

I pushed myself out of bed, the silk sheets tangled around me. No. I wouldn't let this break me. I wouldn't let their twisted happiness consume me. My personal grief would fuel my mission.

Arlena found me standing by the window, staring out at the city, my fists clenched. "Haley, what's wrong?"

I turned to her, my eyes blazing with a cold fire. "They're having a baby. Karly's pregnant. And Devin is ecstatic."

Arlena's face hardened. "I see." Her voice was low, dangerous.

"They took everything," I whispered, the words choked with emotion. "Everything. And they're laughing about it."

"Not for long, my dear," Arlena vowed, her hand resting on my arm, a silent promise of vengeance. "Not for long. Now, let's prepare. There's an event this evening. An important one. And you, my daughter, will make an entrance they'll never forget."

I nodded, the image of Karly's smug face, Devin's proud smile, burning bright in my mind. Tonight, I would not be the broken victim. Tonight, I would be Haley Dickerson. And their nightmare was just beginning.