Chapter 3:
455 Words
The funeral ended quietly.
Rain fell again that day, just like the night Maria died.
Daniel stood beside the grave, holding the small baby wrapped in a white blanket. The infant slept peacefully in his arms, unaware of the grief surrounding them.
Maria’s parents cried softly nearby.
Daniel said nothing.
He hadn’t slept since that night.
Every time he closed his eyes, he heard the same sound—the desperate ringing of Maria’s calls echoing inside his head.
12 missed calls.
After the funeral, Daniel returned to the empty house.
It felt colder now.
He placed the baby gently inside the crib the rescuers had helped prepare before leaving. The child stirred slightly but remained asleep.
Daniel sat on the couch, staring blankly at Maria’s phone lying on the table.
He picked it up again.
His thumb hovered over the call log.
12 missed calls.
All between 12:40 AM and 1:55 AM.
His chest tightened.
“I should’ve answered…” he whispered to himself.
But then something else caught his attention.
A message notification.
From an unknown number.
Sent that same night.
Daniel frowned and opened it.
His face slowly drained of color.
The message read:
“Why are you ignoring me tonight? I’m already at the hotel waiting. You promised you would come.”
Attached was a photo.
A woman.
Smiling.
Standing in a hotel room.
Daniel’s hands started shaking.
Because he remembered that night.
Too clearly.
He had silenced his phone.
Not because he was busy.
Not because he didn’t hear it.
But because he didn’t want Maria to interrupt.
That night…
He wasn’t at work.
He was with another woman.
A sudden sound broke his thoughts.
The baby started crying.
Daniel rushed to the crib and picked the child up.
The infant’s tiny face twisted in distress, searching for comfort.
Daniel held the baby close, his heart breaking with every cry.
“She called me…” he whispered weakly.
“Your mother called me…”
His voice cracked.
“And I ignored her.”
The baby’s cries softened slightly against his chest.
Daniel looked down at the tiny face.
The baby had Maria’s eyes.
Warm.
Gentle.
Full of the love he never deserved.
Tears fell freely down his face.
“I killed her,” he whispered.
Not with his hands.
But with his neglect.
His betrayal.
His silence.
Daniel sank slowly to the floor, holding the baby tightly as grief crushed his chest.
Some mistakes can be forgiven.
Some regrets can fade with time.
But this one…
This one would follow him forever.
Because on the night Maria needed him the most—
He chose someone else.
And now the only thing left of her…
Was the child crying in his arms.
- Writer
