When I woke up, I found myself lying in a hospital bed with two people standing by my side.
I thought it was Theo’s parents, so I began screaming,
“Let go of me, let go of me!”
“Aria, you’re finally awake!” My mother’s voice pierced my ears, and I realized it was my mother and my stepfather.
“Mom…” My voice was weak.
She bent down to stroke my face, her eyes red and swollen.
“Aria, you need to rest. I will make those people pay for what they’ve done!” the middle–aged man, my stepfather beside her, growled.
It was then that I slowly recalled the scene before I lost consciousness.
Panicked, I shouted, “My baby! Where is my baby?”
I touched my belly; the place that had once been swollen now felt empty, like a wasteland after plundering “They killed my baby! They killed him! He was so small!” I hoarsely cried out, struggling to sit up from the bed. “Don’t do this, Aria! Please! You need rest!” My mother gently made me sleep back and stroked my forehead.
“You’re still young, my child. You’ll have another chance…”
“No…” I choked out, clutching my mother’s clothes tightly. “I love my child. I want him back.”
My mother wiped away her tears.“It’s all my fault. I should have come to you earlier to take you away! But we can’t revert things, dear. Please, gather yourself and eat something first. You need to take care of your body now.” “When we found you, those bastards were tying you up. Your stepfather, James, saved you, but you had already lost a lot of blood. We rushed you to the clinic, and your baby was born prematurely.
The doctors tried to save him for three days, but they couldn’t. The doctors said it was because of malnutrition and stress during your pregnancy, which made the baby too weak. The doctors did everything they could.”
“So Theo was one of the culprits too!” My stepfather butted in.
My stepfather was right! If Theo hadn’t brought Elena to live in our house, my child wouldn’t have been so weak!
I collapsed into my mother’s arms, crying, hoping to regain some strength. Because of the premature birth and the excessive blood loss, I was too weak now.
