Chapter 4 Unexpected
882 Words
The next day, the doctor's diagnosis shattered Seraphina's last shred of hope.
"It looks like you're about a month along. The baby hasn't fully developed yet, but it doesn't seem very healthy. You should think carefully about whether you want to keep it."
The doctor's words kept replaying in Seraphina's mind.
She sat on a bench in the hospital hallway, holding the test results in her hand, feeling lost.
She had imagined this scenario before—what it would be like if she and Damien had a child together.
Would the baby look more like her or like Damien? What name would they choose? Who would the child favor more?
Seraphina had once believed with confidence that she and Damien would give their child the happiest childhood, one filled with warmth and love.
Not like hers—a childhood marred by yelling and violence.
But now...
She lowered her head, a bitter smile forming on her lips.
Given the way things stood between her and Damien now...
This baby couldn't have come at a worse time.
How was she supposed to tell Damien?
"Hey, Seraphina! What are you doing here?"
Seraphina looked up and saw Celeste approaching.
Before she could respond, she spotted Damien not far behind her.
"I'm not feeling well, so Damien came with me to see the doctor," Celeste said with a smile. "What about you? Why are you here?"
Damien's gaze landed on the test results in Seraphina's hands.
She quickly hid them behind her back.
She hadn't figured out how to tell him yet. But one thing was certain—now was definitely not the right time.
"It's nothing," she said, keeping her tone neutral.
Maybe it was her distant expression, but for the first time in a long while, Damien softened his voice.
"Are you feeling sick too? Why didn't you tell me?"
Tell him?
The man who was too busy sleeping with another woman to care about her?
Seraphina scoffed internally but kept her face expressionless.
"You've been busy with work. I didn't want to bother you."
Damien looked like he wanted to say something, but Celeste cut in.
"Damien, I'm thirsty. Can you get me something to drink?" she pouted.
Just like that, Damien's attention shifted entirely.
"What do you want? Coffee? Water? Or maybe something else?" he asked, his tone gentle.
"Oh, just water. I'm not that hard to please." Celeste scrunched her nose playfully.
Damien chuckled and pinched her cheek. "Easy to please, huh? Wait here, I'll be right back."
Without another word, he turned and left—never even asking Seraphina if she needed anything.
The moment Damien disappeared, Celeste's sweet smile vanished.
She took a step closer to Seraphina, crossing her arms. "Wow, Seraphina. So now you're playing hard to get?"
Seraphina didn't want to waste time on her. She got up, ready to leave.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
But before she could walk away, Celeste grabbed her wrist.
"Listen," Celeste sneered, "you need to get this through your head—Damien is mine. I won't let you take him from me."
She stepped in front of Seraphina, blocking her path.
For a moment, something sharp flashed in her eyes, but she quickly replaced it with her usual condescending smirk.
"But then again," she continued, "even if you wanted to fight me for him, do you really think you stand a chance?"
She leaned in, her voice dropping to a taunting whisper.
"Damien told me all about you. Your dad's a convict, and your mom was a lunatic. Tell me, when your mother killed herself, why didn't she take you with her?"
Celeste smirked. "A w***e's daughter—how good could she possibly be?"
Her words echoed in Seraphina's mind like a curse.
Whore.
That was the word Seraphina had heard the most growing up.
Her mother had been beautiful—one of the most well-known beauties in their neighborhood.
But her father was an insecure, possessive man.
If another man so much as glanced at her mother, he'd fly into a rage, convinced she was seducing them. And then he'd beat her mercilessly.
As a child, Seraphina hadn't fully understood. But over time, she had pieced together the truth.
Her mother had once been engaged to another man. One night, before the wedding, she had spent the night in the same room with him.
Even though she later eloped with Seraphina's father, that one night had become an obsession in his mind—something he could never let go of.
He convinced himself that Seraphina wasn't his.
Years of brutal beatings drove her mother to the edge.
Until one day, in front of Seraphina's eyes, she jumped from the top floor of their apartment building.
The last words her mother ever spoke to her were "I'm sorry, Seraphina... I'm leaving you all alone..."
The memory flooded Seraphina's mind, making her breathing ragged. The image of her mother's lifeless body, the pool of blood spreading beneath her, flashed before her eyes.
A person who had been alive just moments ago... reduced to nothing more than a broken, discarded doll.
Seraphina shut her eyes, her breaths turning uneven.
Celeste's voice cut through the haze.
"What's wrong? Nothing to say?" She scoffed. "Guess that means you know I'm right."
- Writer
