A cold sensation brushed across my abdomen, and through the haze, I saw flashes of my past. Gabriel and I had just graduated from college, so young, so broke.
We rented a dingy basement apartment, scraping by. No matter how late it was when we got off work, we’d cook our meals in the narrow hallway. A simple bowl of noodles was enough, as long as we were together.
There was that one time, I’d lingered a little too long looking at a dress in a store window, and Gabriel went without breakfast for two entire months.
When he finally brought that dress home, I snapped at him. “What are you doing? You’re going to ruin your stomach skipping meals! Are you crazy?” I shook my head. “And why buy me such an expensive dress?”
He hugged me tightly, his voice full of that same old determination. “You deserve the best things in this world, Aria. I’ll work as hard as I can to give them to you.”
He did. He climbed that career ladder and showered me with luxury. But none of it could hold a candle to that simple dress.
And yet, the man who once swore he would love me forever had another woman.
Even in my foggy state, the sadness crept in, heavy and suffocating. I could feel the tears rolling down my cheeks as I heard the piercing cry of a baby, echoing in the sterile room.
But it didn’t hurt. In fact, my heart felt full, soft, warm, and tender.
I managed to open my eyes, my voice barely a whisper, strained and raw. “Is the baby okay?”
The doctor’s reassuring voice answered, “Don’t worry, new mom. It’s a healthy little princess!”
And with that, I finally let myself close my eyes, the weight in my chest easing for the first time in what felt like forever.
