CHAPTER 3
1609 Words
Vanessa's POV
The first thing I felt was pain… like a dull ache pressing every inch of my body.
My head pounded, my throat felt sore and when I tried to move, I groaned, a low cry escaping my lips. My body didn't respond the way it used to. It felt weak, like it wasn't mine.
Then, this strange smell filled the room… like the smell of drugs. I blinked slowly, until the white ceiling came into view. For a moment, I couldn't tell where I was or how I got there. I could hear the sound of a machine humming near me and when I turned my head, I saw an IV line running into my arm.
I was in a hospital.
My heartbeat grew loud in my chest and the memories of what happened back at the restroom crashed in, one after the other… Nancy's smirk, Braxton silence and my fall.
I wanted to sit up, but my legs refused to move. Immediately panic filled my heart as it raced faster now. I tried again, harder this time, but pain shot through me so strong I gasped.
“What's going on with me?” I whispered, gasping.
The door opened and a doctor walked in… he looked tall with a face that looked like it had seen too many things.
“You're awake,” he said softly, moving closer to check my vitals.
My lips were dry when I spoke. “What… what happened?”
He wanted to speak but then… he paused… and to me, that moment of silence scared me.
My pulse quickened and I could barely breathe. “My baby?” I whispered, slightly raising my head. “Hope my baby is safe?”
He stopped checking the pulse around my wrist and met my gaze.
“I'm sorry,” he let out a deep breath. “You lost the baby.”
The world around me stopped. I heard no sound. Nothing, just the echo of his words filling every part of me.
My baby is gone? My hand drifted slowly to my stomach with great trembling as if hoping to feel life was still there. But all I felt was emptiness. I wanted to scream, I wanted to yell but my mouth felt tired.
Tears blurred my vision and soon they fell. “No,” I said under my breath. “No, that's not true. I was fine. I just…” my voice cracked. “I mean… I just fell.”
The doctor placed a hand gently on my arm. “Not only your baby. You also suffered some damages to your spinal cord. Your muscles were badly injured. You'll need crutches for some time… I don't know how long but it depends… as there's a chance…” he looked away briefly, as though saying it would make it more real. “There's a chance you might not fully recover.”
The words didn't make sense to me. Even though I had an idea of what he meant, I still didn't understand him.
I stared at him blinking fast. “I can't… walk. I might not be able to walk again?”
He didn't answer right away. But that was enough of an answer.
A sound escaped me… more like a sob… and I turned my face to the side, refusing to let him see more.
After a moment I forced out the question that had been raging within me since I woke. “Where's Braxton? Where's my husband?”
The doctor looked uncomfortable again. “He brought you here last night.”
“Then where is he?”
“He came with a lady and he hasn't come around since then,” the doctor shrugged.
I sniffed, tears rolled down my cheeks again. I didn't need him to say her name… that's if he knew who she was. But I already knew. It was no one other than Nancy.
The doctor left the room quietly, leaving me alone with the truth I had asked for myself. My baby's gone. I could not walk and there's a chance I might not walk if I don't follow instructions. My husband would be somewhere with Nancy, only God knows where.
The clock on the wall ticked louder and louder. Every minute that passed felt slow. I stared at the door, expecting it to open. Expecting him to walk in and hold my hand, explain everything and say he was sorry and he didn't mean for any of it to happen.
But no one came. Days turned into nights, and nights into more days. There were no visits. No messages.
The doctor who had been attending to me since day one… Dr. Cortez, he made me calm… he showed so much care… He'd sit beside me sometimes, talking about simple things and would help me to walk around using the crutches.
“You're healing,” he would say. But the truth was, I wasn't. Not in the way that mattered.
A week passed. And the pain in my body already subsided, but the hurt in my heart persisted.
One evening, I overheard the nurses talking about the CEO of Sawyer corporation, announcing his engagement to Nancy Grill, his long time-business partner and now fiance.
I called the nurse and asked to confirm and she nodded with a yes. I couldn't breathe.
I laid there and pressed my palm against the sheets, shaking. My heart broke in silence. There were no words for what I felt… only a slow realization that everything I had believed in was gone. My husband. My baby. My life. Everything had disappeared. Everything was stolen.
“Braxton… no,” I whispered at first, my voice breaking and the sound barely even left my throat. “No… he can't… he wouldn't do that.” I screamed.
The nurse held me and rushed out. I clutched my stomach and screamed again. The kind of scream that broke something inside you when there were no more tears left.
The door burst open and Dr. Cortez rushed in with the nurse behind him. His eyes went straight to me.
“Vanessa,” he said, grabbing my hand, “you need to breathe. Please… look at me.”
I shook my head, tears streaking down my cheeks. “He… he's marrying her.” My lips trembled. “My husband is replacing me… that's the reason he didn't come to see me.”
Dr. Cortez didn't say anything for a moment. He just exhaled quietly, like he was searching for the right words. Then he turned back to me and said, “Vanessa, you've been through too much already. You need to rest, or you'll hurt yourself even more.”
But I couldn't stop crying. “I lost everything, Doctor. My child… my legs… and now him. How do I rest when there's nothing left?” My words came out between sobs.
At first, he hesitated, but then, he slowly sat beside me on the bed. “I'm sorry you had to go through this,” he said gently. “You didn't deserve any of it.” He looked at the nurse. “Get me a sedative kit and some saline.”
The nurse nodded and hurried out, leaving us alone.
Dr. Cortez leaned forward slightly, studying my face as his eyes never wavered.
“I have to go home,” I said suddenly.
He blinked, caught off guard. “What?”
“I have to see him,” I uttered again. “I need to hear it from him myself.”
“Vanessa,” he shook his head sideways, “that's not possible. You're not strong enough yet. You could reopen your wounds.”
“I don't care.” I pushed myself up a little, ignoring the pain that shot through my back. “I just want the truth. If he's really doing this, I want to hear it from his mouth. Not from a television screen.”
Dr. Cortez ran a hand over his jaw. “This is not right… you can't just move around yourself.”
“Please,” I said, my eyes drenched with fresh tears. “I just need to see him.”
For a long moment, he didn't answer. And finally, he sighed. “All right. But you're not going alone.” he nodded. “I'll take you in my car. But only if you promise to stay calm. If anything happens, I'll bring you straight back here. Do you understand?”
I nodded, too desperate to think twice.
He looked at me for a while longer, then reached for my hand. His hands were warm and his grip was firm but gentle. “Vanessa,” he tilted his head to one side. “I don't know what you'll find when you go back. But whatever it is, you can't let it destroy you again.”
I swallowed hard and met his gaze. And he also stared at me. He didn't let go of my hand. He just stayed there, staring at me like he wanted to say something he couldn't.
Then, slowly, he leaned closer. His face was so neat I could feel his breath against my cheek. For a second… it felt wrong… too close, almost intimate. My heart pounded from confusion, until he made his statement.
“You're stronger than you think, Vanessa. Don't forget that… and whatever happens, don't let it be the end of you.”
I turned my face away. I didn't answer. I couldn't. Because deep down, I already knew… whatever waited for me at that house would either break me completely… or change me.
- Writer
