Chapter 11
A few days later, the Upton family received a delivery from me.
Inside the box was a miscarriage report and a tiny, bloody, undeveloped fetus.
Petra took one look and passed out in her wheelchair. Meanwhile, Jim lost it. He frantically redialed my number, only to be met with the same blocked tone again and again.
I did not leave a single message behind–just that cold medical slip and a fetus whose gender no one would ever know.
Petra was crushed. The image haunted her dreams and dragged her into illness.
Without me around, Jim’s company started to fall apart. His numbers dropped fast, and the business was hanging by a thread.
When he was at his lowest point, Jim borrowed a stranger’s phone on the street just to send me a message.
“Hayley, why did you do it? Why would you abort our baby?
“Don’t you care about me at all?
“You promised you’d stay and help me no matter what. Why would you break that promise?”
Jim had run out of ways to reach me, and using a stranger was his last shot at getting his messages through.
I had already moved far away and was completely out of reach.
0.00
07.140
To this day, he still has no clue where I live or who that man by my side
- IS.
By the time I read that message, I was already in the middle of dinner. Daniel had made beef bourguignon.
The meat was soft, flavorful, and soaked in a rich aroma that warmed my mouth.
I stared at Jim’s message for a second, deleted it, and made a note to cancel the phone plan in the afternoon.
Why don’t I help you anymore, Jim?
Why did I once care so much, and now just seeing your name makes my stomach turn?
Because people grow and people change.
Not just you. I changed too.
“Hayley, how is it? I heard rosemary pairs well with this dish. Should we try it next time?”
I smiled and lifted my fork at Daniel’s soft voice.
“Sounds good,” I said.
“And maybe next time, make it a little spicier–I like it that way.”
【The end】
