Chapter 5
857 Words
A piercing beeping filled the air.
Slow. Beating.
Aria's eyelids weighed a ton, her body too heavy to shift, as if she was sinking into the hospital bed.
Her fingers jerked, antiseptic and the faint smell of bleach choking her lungs. Her throat parched, raw, as if she had swallowed glass shards.
A muffled distant murmur surrounded her. Quiet. Far away.
She blinked.
The ceiling overhead was blank white. The harsh fluorescent lighting seared her eyes. The air was too chill, sending a shiver racing down her spine.
Then it hit her.
The hospital.
The baby.
Her breath caught. Her hand flew to her stomach.
Something was wrong.
The bump beneath her hand—it was different. Smaller. Empty.
No.
A dreadful, gut-twisting panic tore its way up her throat.
"You're awake."
A voice. Soft, uncertain.
Her head jerked to the side. A nurse was standing there, clipboard clutched in her hand, her eyes shrouded in something Aria couldn't quite identify.
"Where is my baby?" Aria's voice was rough, barely above a whisper.
Silence.
The nurse avoided her gaze, lips compressing into a thin line.
Aria's chest constricted.
No. No, no, no—
Her fingers gripped the blanket as she forced herself to sit up, every movement sending a sharp pain through her body. "Where is my baby?" she demanded, louder this time, panic lacing her tone.
The nurse hesitated. "Miss Santos—"
"Tell me!"
The nurse’s lips parted, but the words didn't need to be spoken.
Aria saw it in her eyes.
Felt it in her bones.
Felt it in the hollow ache in her stomach.
Her baby was gone.
The walls receded, her ears ringing with a deafening silence.
A sob tore through her throat, raw and broken.
It wasn't supposed to end this way.
She had fought so hard. She had suffered everything—Luca's cruelty, Emily's humiliation, the burden of carrying this child alone.
For this?
Her baby—her innocent, lovely baby—had never even had the chance to live.
The pain was unbearable, twisting, suffocating. She curled in on herself, hands gripping her stomach as though she could somehow bring her child back, as though she could turn back time.
But she couldn't.
It was over.
A fresh wave of tears burned her eyes, but they weren’t just for the baby.
They were for everything.
For every time she had begged for Luca to listen. For every time she had believed he might still love her. For every moment she had held onto hope when there had been none left.
She was done.
Her fingers trembled as she reached for the IV in her arm, ripping it out. A sharp sting followed, but she didn’t care. The pain was nothing compared to what she felt inside.
The nurse gasped. "Miss Santos, you must rest—"
"But I have to escape here," Aria said, her voice empty.
"But—"
She tossed her legs over the bed, fighting the dizziness that struck her like a tidal wave. Each movement pained her, but she willed herself out of the bed.
She wasn't going to be here.
She wasn't going to be stuck in this pain, suspended between four clean walls.
She was leaving. Forever.
Luca's Office
Luca Vincenzo leaned back in his chair, fingers drumming against the mahogany desk. His jaw was clenched, irritation flickering in his dark eyes as he reread the text on his phone.
She wants to resign?
A sharp laugh left his lips. Not a f*****g chance.
If Aria thought she could walk away from him after everything, she was delusional.
She needed him.
She always had.
Without him, she was nothing.
A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.
"Come in," he barked.
The door opened.
And there she was.
Aria stepped inside, her face pale, her frame smaller than he remembered. She was dressed simply—black pants, a fitted coat—but there was something different about her. Something cold.
Her eyes.
They no longer held the fire he was used to.
They were empty.
Dead.
Luca’s frown deepened. "You should still be in the hospital."
She ignored him, walking forward and placing an envelope on his desk.
He glanced at it before looking back up at her.
"I’m resigning," she said, her voice void of emotion.
Luca’s expression darkened. "Like hell you are."
Her lips curled into a humorless smile. "You don’t have a say in this."
His jaw tightened. "The f**k I don’t. You wouldn’t last a day without me, Aria."
She met his gaze, unwavering. "Then I guess we’ll see."
The words were final.
She turned on her heel, walking toward the door.
Luca shot up from his chair, slamming his hands on the desk. "If you walk out of that door, you’ll regret it," he warned, voice sharp.
She paused.
For a second, just a second, he thought she might stop. That she might look back at him, that she might beg like she always did.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she inhaled deeply, straightened her shoulders, and stepped forward.
And this time—
She didn’t look back.
- Writer
