Chapter 9

Ethan opened his mouth to say something.

I didn't wait. I grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it right into both their mouths before turning around and walking off without a word.

Back home, I slipped back into my usual rhythm, work, home, sleep. Rinse and repeat.

The pain of losing the baby dulled, little by little.

Ethan still hadn't signed the divorce papers.

But I wasn't in any rush. Someone else was clearly way more desperate than I was.

He'd changed, showing up out of nowhere, finding excuses to bump into me, calling from random numbers.

I blocked every one of them.

By the third day, I'd just stepped out of the OR when a bouquet of scarlet roses was shoved into my arms.

Ethan stood in front of me, flushed and breathless, eyes swimming with some emotion I couldn't even begin to name.

"Sophia… I've been thinking about us nonstop. I don't want to end things. Let's not go through with the divorce, okay? I waited at home for you, but you never came back."

"Yeah, we fought. But can't we just let all of that go? Start fresh? I can't live without you."

I almost laughed.

But the exhaustion from hours in surgery had drained everything from me. I was pale, and I didn't even have the strength to smirk.

People around us started whispering.

Patients stared.

A couple of new nurses looked over, clearly recognizing him, the devoted husband everyone always raved about.

"Sophia, please… can we stop this back and forth? I came to take you home."

His voice was pleading. His eyes were soft.

But just a few feet behind him stood Luna.

Cradling their child.

Hatred twisted her face as our eyes met.

She mouthed a single word: Bitch.

I didn't flinch. I calmly turned, walked to the nearest trash can, and dropped the roses in without hesitation.

That's when the bloodstains on my scrubs caught Ethan's eye.

"Ethan," I said quietly, "do you remember where you were when I was covered in blood, lying on a hospital bed after the induced abortion?"

"Do you remember where you were when I performed an emergency C-section for your mistress, five months pregnant, soaked in blood?"

"Did you ever think of me? Did you feel even the tiniest bit guilty? When you swapped my prenatal vitamins for hormone pills, did you hesitate? Even once?"

"You don't love me. You just miss having someone around to cook and clean for you."

I stared him down. "Please. Sign the divorce papers."

He froze. His expression cracked, his hands twitching like he wanted to reach out, but they stopped short when he saw the dried blood on me.

His voice trembled. "No… that's not true, Sophia. I didn't mean for things to happen this way. I love you. I never wanted, "

He gripped his head, choking on sobs.

But I just stood there, unmoved.

That day, after pushing through the nausea and metallic stench of blood to finish that surgery, I thought maybe, just maybe, I'd get some comfort from the man who once swore he'd protect me.

Instead, all I got was betrayal.

Cruelty.

And the worst part?

He didn't even recognize me behind the surgical mask.

What a joke.

"Ethan, stop fooling yourself."

"I'm done. Stay away from me. Can't we at least end this with a little dignity?"

I was the fool.

For loving the wrong man.

For believing in him at all.