Lots of people at the hospital knew me.
The gossiping stopped when they saw me,
they blushed with embarrassment and acted
like they were needed somewhere else,
running away.
I sighed.
Everyone except me knew that Sarah was
special to Jake.
Every time Jake said he had to deal with an
emergency at the hospital, he was really with
Sarah.
No wonder Jake was so tired and worn out
while I was in the hospital, he had to take
care of two patients.
As I was leaving, I ran into the last person I
wanted to see.
I didn’t want to speak to Sarah, but she didn’t
seem to get the message.
“Well, if it isn’t Claire?”
Sarah said, smiling as she got closer to me.
Her diamond necklace reflected the lights.
My heart skipped a beat.
When I got out of the hospital, Jake gave me
く
a ring to celebrate.
I was so happy, I wore it all the time.
If I remembered correctly, that ring was the
bonus gift that came with Sarah’s necklace.
I didn’t think much of it when Jake gave it to
me, I figured he just bought the ring by itself.
Turns out, Jake didn’t buy the ring separately,
he bought the necklace for Sarah and gave
me the cheap free gift.
Without thinking, I hid my hand inside my
sleeve.
“I don’t have any sisters. My mother only had
one child.”
く
I’ve never been nice to Sarah.
She must have skin like a rhino, she didn’t
care that I was being mean to her.
She looked at my hand and smirked.
“You think my necklace is pretty?”
“I’ll tell you a secret, Jake gave it to me.”
Sarah whispered in my ear, then looked at me
with a look of victory.
“So?”
I didn’t explode like she thought I would.
Sarah wouldn’t give up, she wanted to make
me mad.
く
me mad.
“I guess you’re just stronger than me, you
were able to have multiple miscarriages.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot that you can’t have
kids anymore.”
Sarah looked down at my stomach, but I
could see that she was happy about it.
“Get away from me!”
I was shaking.
The baby was a dark cloud that hung over my
heart.
Sarah was throwing salt on a wound.
く
I pushed Sarah out of my way and headed for
the door.
But Sarah said something that made me stop.
“Claire, why do you think you kept losing the
babies?”
“Once or twice, maybe it’s just bad luck. But
every time? Something’s wrong.”
My heart was pounding, and my face was
pale.
I was always healthy, so why couldn’t I keep
the babies?
A horrible thought crossed my mind.
Chapter 2
“Y
5
LO
I immediately shook my head.
No way.
Even after everything, he was still her father.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I spun
around, facing Sarah, who was smirking at
- me.
Seeing my face, pale as a ghost, Sarah’s grin
widened.
“What do you think?”
“You’ve already guessed it haven’t you?11
く
“You’ve already guessed it, haven’t you?”
“That’s right, it’s exactly what you’re
thinking.”
“Jake promised me he wouldn’t have kids with
you.”
“So, your little ones were never meant to
stay.”
The second the suspicion in my mind was
confirmed, my heart felt like it was being
squeezed in a fist, the pain stealing my
breath.
If Jake really didn’t want to have kids with
me, there were plenty of ways to prevent it.
Instead, he let me get pregnant, over and
<
over, only to have me suffer through one
miscarriage after another.
He was a doctor, sworn to save lives, but he
kept hurting the babies in my womb
I shuddered, realizing I’d been sleeping next
to a monster for three years. My back was
soaked in cold sweat.
“You’re just pathetic, Claire, just like your
loser mom.”
Sarah sneered.
