After You Betrayed Me, I Never Looked Back

After five years of IVF, Whitney Thorne went into early labor at twenty-eight weeks. The bleeding wouldn't stop. Her life was in danger. Her husband, Sebastian Cole, who'd always loved her more than anything, had vanished. So had Brenda Gardner, the college girl he'd been keeping around as a backup blood donor. Whitney tried to ask where he was, but another contraction hit her hard. The pain was so intense that it felt like her body was being torn apart. "Sebastian... where's Sebastian?" Arielle Thorne, her younger sister, watched her face go pale as a sheet. Through tears, she called Sebastian thirty-two times. Yet each call went straight to voicemail. "She's got a rare blood type, and we're running out. Her blood pressure's still dropping. What about Mr. Cole? He was supposed to have the backup blood ready. Where the hell is he?" the doctor shouted. Arielle's voice shook as she faced his anger. "I can't get through to Sebastian..." Before anyone could respond, another wave of pain hit Whitney hard. Right before she blacked out, she looked toward the operating room door one last time. Sebastian still wasn't there. When Whitney finally woke up, she didn't know how long she'd been out. Her hand went to her stomach. It was empty. Panic and grief crashed over her like a wave. "The baby..." She tried to sit up, frantically looking around for her child. All she found was Arielle, eyes red from crying. "Whitney... I thought we lost you..." "The baby... Where's my baby?" Whitney's voice was weak as she grabbed Arielle's sleeve. Tears spilled down her cheeks. "The doctor said they couldn't save the baby. Things got so bad—if they hadn't done the C-section, you wouldn't have made it either..." "Where's Sebastian?" Arielle's face went tight. "I've been here three days straight. He never showed up." The room started to spin. Whitney's heart clenched so hard she thought she might pass out. She had cherished every moment of those twenty-eight weeks, dreaming of the life growing inside her. Now that life was gone—gone before she could even open her eyes to see the world. Sebastian had wanted this child so badly. He talked about it all the time. But now? He hadn't even bothered to show up. Whitney sucked in a shaky breath and dialed his number again. This time, his assistant Zane Stone picked up. "Where's Sebastian?" she asked. Zane hesitated. "Mr. Cole is... busy..." Something about the way he stumbled over the words made Whitney's blood run cold. "Tell Sebastian to get to the hospital. Now." She hung up, wiping the tears from her face. Arielle stayed with her when she went to the morgue. There, in that cold, sterile room, was her baby—a tiny girl. Whitney leaned down and breathed warm air onto her daughter's little hand. "It's okay, baby. Mommy's taking you home." She carried the baby out and headed straight for one place—the apartment where Sebastian had been keeping Brenda. 'Sebastian needs to see his daughter. Just once.' But when she reached the door, she stopped cold. Inside, Sebastian was soothing Brenda, who was crying softly in his arms. His voice was incredibly gentle. "Hey, hey... stop crying. If you're scared, we don't have to go, okay?" Brenda looked up at him, eyes red. "I wanted to go. I really did. I was just so scared..." Sebastian nodded. "That's my girl. Don't be afraid. We'll stay right here." Whitney stood frozen in the doorway. It felt like a thousand knives were piercing her heart, each breath a struggle. While she'd been fighting for her life, the man she loved was busy comforting another woman—a younger woman. The Sebastian who once would have died for her was gone. Sebastian had almost died for her—three times. At eighteen, he'd shielded her for three days in an earthquake's rubble, insisting she be rescued first. He'd nearly died waiting. At twenty-one, he'd walked into a kidnapper's hideout to save her and taken three bullets. The last one stopped a millimeter from his heart. Seven days in the ICU, and somehow he'd pulled through. At twenty-five, when everyone opposed their marriage, he'd taken the Cole family's punishment without flinching. He had five broken ribs, just so they'd accept her. After they married, Whitney had treasured every moment. So when Sebastian said he wanted a child, she gave it everything she had. IVF, over and over, until finally—finally—she was pregnant with his baby. Once she was pregnant, he doted on her constantly. He'd even found a college girl with the same rare blood type and set her up in an apartment, just in case Whitney needed a transfusion during delivery. Whitney had questioned it at the time. But he'd just smiled and brushed off her concerns. "Still jealous, even carrying my baby? Don't overthink it. She's just insurance. I want you safe when you bring our child into the world." She'd believed him. And now her baby was dead. Whitney said nothing. She just held the cold bundle tighter and walked out, straight to the funeral home. Only after watching her daughter being buried did she make the call she'd avoided for years. "Janet. It's been a while. Can I still come back to the opera troupe?" Janet Voss paused, then laughed warmly. "Of course, darling. The Swan Opera Troupe always has a place for its leading lady." Whitney's voice caught. "Thank you, Janet." Once her return was settled, she called her lawyer, filed for divorce, and then started moving assets. "Everything should transfer within a week of the agreement taking effect." Whitney looked at the small gravestone. Buried there wasn't just her daughter. It was the heart she'd once given to Sebastian. Five years of marriage... Finally, she was awake. Maybe it was time to go.