Two tough lines
1455 Words
Chapter 4: Two Tough Ties
Aubrey’s POV
Slowly, I forced my eyes open and held my head, letting out a quiet yelp.
“Ouch…”
A sharp pain throbbed deep inside my head, pounding like a forbidden prayer that refused to be answered. It only grew worse with every passing second.
The sound of the door creaking open reached my ears.
I forced my eyes open again, refusing to let them close despite the pain threatening to swallow me whole.
My gaze slowly wandered around the room.
White walls. The familiar smell of antiseptics.
A drip hanging above me. “The hospital… again?” I muttered, my face turning cold.
For a brief second, confusion clouded my mind.
Then everything came rushing back.
I remembered the wedding, the hard shove that sent me to the ground, the unbearable pain, and…
……..The blood.
My eyes widened.
“Blood!” I sprang upright so suddenly that the room spun around me.
“The blood at the wedding…”
My breathing became uneven as panic gripped my chest. I looked frantically from Henry to the doctor.
“My baby…” My voice trembled.
“Is my baby alright?”
“Ma, please calm down.”
Henry rushed to my side and gently held my shoulders before I could climb out of the bed. The doctor quickly joined him.
“Please calm down, Mrs. Aubrey,” the doctor said calmly. “You shouldn’t be moving around like this. Your body still needs to recover.”
“Heal?”
I stared at him in confusion.
“Doctor, I’m fine. I don’t care about myself. I just want to know…”
My voice cracked. “Is my baby alright?”
The doctor looked at me. Then he lowered his eyes.
A faint, strained smile crossed his lips. Hope instantly bloomed inside me.
Does that smile mean my baby is safe?
“I can’t tell you anything while you’re in this state,” he said gently. “You need to calm down first.”
I closed my eyes and forced myself to breathe.
I took one deep breath and then another.
It felt impossible, but somehow, I managed.
When I finally opened my eyes again, I looked directly at him.
“I… I’m calm now, Doctor.”
My fingers tightened around the bedsheet.
“Please… tell me. How is my baby?”
Silence sat between us for a while before the doctor looked down again.
My heartbeat quickened, and my breath hitched.
“What is it?” I asked, my voice growing smaller. “Am I… still not calm enough?”
Neither of them answered.
I turned to Henry. He couldn’t even look at me.
His head was lowered, his fists clenched tightly at his sides, and his eyes were already red.
A knot formed in my throat. Slowly… Very slowly…the hope inside me began to disappear.
I looked back at the doctor.
“Doctor…”My lips trembled.
“Please…”
My voice was barely above a whisper.
“Tell me…”
He remained silent, and for the first time since I woke up, I was terrified of hearing his answer.
“I’m… sorry, Mrs. Aubrey.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“No…” I whispered, shaking my head.
“Don’t say sorry. Just tell me my baby is fine.”
“I’m sorry…”
“No!” I snapped.
“Stop apologizing!”
His lips parted slowly.
“We… couldn’t save your baby.”
The entire room seemed to stop moving.
Even the sound of the machines around me disappeared.
Coldness spread through every part of my body.
Slowly, my lips parted.
“What… did you just say, Doctor?”
His eyes softened with pity.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Aubrey. We did everything we could… but your baby was already gone before you were brought to the hospital.”
“No…”
A shaky laugh escaped my lips.
“No… you’re mistaken.” I shook my head repeatedly.
“You must have mixed up the reports.”
“My baby was fine.”I laughed again.
“I only saw blood…”
“It doesn’t mean my baby is dead.”
I pointed at the files in his hands. “Run another scan.”
“Please… check again.”
“There has to be a mistake.”
The doctor remained silent.
“No…”
I whispered again. “This isn’t happening.”
I turned sharply to Henry, suddenly remembering he was there.
He still couldn’t look at me. His head remained lowered, his fists trembling at his sides.
A tear slipped down his cheek. I forced out a laugh.
“Henry…”
My voice shook. “Did you hear what the doctor just said?”
“Henry?” He swallowed hard.
“I’m… I’m sorry, ma…”
“No.” I shook my head violently. “Not you too!”
I jumped off the bed and grabbed the doctor’s coat with both hands.
“No! Save my baby!”
I shook him desperately.
“You have to do something! There has to be another way!”
“You’re a doctor! You save lives, so save mine!”
“Please…” My grip slowly weakened.
“My baby…” My voice broke.
“I have no one left…” The strength left my legs.
I collapsed onto the cold hospital floor.
My tears fell one after another, soaking the white tiles beneath me.
I couldn’t even see anymore. Everything had become blurry.
Almost unconsciously, my trembling hand rested on my stomach, and emptiness hit me.
Only yesterday, I had walked into that wedding believing I still had a family.
Now…
Edward was gone.
Lily was gone.
My parents were gone.
And now…
Even my baby had left me.
A broken sob escaped my lips. “I… I didn’t even get the chance to tell my baby how much I loved you…”
My shoulders shook uncontrollably. “So it has really come to this…” I laughed bitterly through my tears.
“So none of this was a dream.”
“I can’t wake up from it.” I looked at Henry again.
Without saying a word, he gently pulled me into his arms and let me cry against his shoulder.
“I’m here, ma,” he whispered, his own voice breaking. “You are not alone.” I laughed painfully.
“Not alone? How?”
“My child is gone.”
“My marriage is gone.”
“My family threw me away.”
“My whole life…”
My voice cracked. “…is gone.”
Silence filled the room once again. Something inside me changed.
The tears slowly stopped, and I wiped my face.
My fingers curled into tight fists until my nails dug painfully into my palms. Images flashed through my mind.
Edward! Lily! My mother! My father!
Every insult. Every slap. Every humiliation. Every betrayal.
I slowly raised my head. “They did this.”
“They took everything from me.”
“They took my child.” I hit the ground until my hands hurt. “They took my future.”
I laughed painfully. “They took my happiness…”
“They treated me like I was worth nothing.” I looked straight ahead, my eyes growing colder with every passing second.
“As long as I breathe…” My voice became firm. “They will pay.”
“Every single one of them.”
“I won’t be silent anymore. I won’t cry anymore. I won’t beg for their love and validation anymore.”
“Because…” I paused briefly.
“The weak Aubrey died the moment my child died.”
“What they created today…” I slowly raised my head. “They won’t survive tomorrow.”
For the first time in my life, I couldn’t find that frightened, helpless girl inside me anymore.
Only pain, hatred, and revenge remained.
I turned to Henry. “What time is it?”
“And… how long have I been here?” Henry hesitated before answering.
“Two days… ma.”
“Two days…”
I repeated quietly as I pushed myself to my feet.
A sharp pain shot through my abdomen, followed by another in my head.
Neither compared to the ache inside my chest.
I looked at Henry. “ Take me home.”
His eyes widened.
“Home?” He glanced nervously at the doctor.
“I… I don’t think the doctor will approve…”
“I don’t care what anyone says anymore.”
I took a slow, determined breath.
“Take me home.”
I looked ahead, my eyes burning with a determination I had never felt before.
“The war has just begun.”
- Writer
