“Park behind that tree,” I murmured.
From the shadows, I watched through the car window as Gabriel’s car idled near the entrance.
Then she appeared.
Lily.
She flung herself into his arms like a butterfly drawn to a flame.
And Gabriel, my husband, caught her effortlessly, his hands settling on her waist before sliding down to rest on her stomach.
Her stomach.
A soft, teasing look played on his face. He murmured something, his voice gentle, his touch even gentler. Then, as if the tenderness wasn’t already suffocating enough, he reached up and tapped her nose, smiling like she was his entire world.
My fingers pressed against my own belly, feeling the life moving within me.
With my free hand, I lifted my phone and hit record.
Through the screen, I watched as he scooped her into the passenger seat, his movements careful, practiced. He even buckled her in.
Just like he used to do for me.
I blinked hard against the sting in my eyes.
“Follow that car,” I told the driver, my voice calm, cold.
The taxi eased onto the overpass, the neon glow of the city casting eerie reflections against the window. My nails scraped against the glass, pressing harder, digging in, until the sharp bite of pain snapped me back to my senses.
I sucked my bleeding finger into my mouth, biting down, anchoring myself.
In the shifting light of passing cars, I repeated in my mind: Aria, hold on. This won’t hurt forever.
The car rolled to a stop outside the Provincial Hospital. I scanned the QR code to pay, my hand already on the door handle.
Then, just as I was about to step out, the driver, silent until now, turned to look at me.
“Miss,” he said, his voice kind, careful. “Try to see the silver lining.”
His eyes flickered to my belly. “For your baby’s sake… don’t do anything to hurt yourself, alright?”
Since the moment I discovered Gabriel’s affair, I had told no one. I had kept it bottled inside, letting it eat away at me like a slow, insidious poison.
But now, a stranger’s concern, simple, human, real, felt like a gasp of fresh air after drowning for too long.
I met his gaze and offered a small, steady smile.
“Don’t worry, sir.”
“No one can hurt me.”
“Because I’m about to take out the trash.”
