Chapter 3

Of course, I took my meds.

The shaking was making me miserable. My whole body was aching and screaming in pain.

I looked at Marcus, making motions with my hands. "Marcus, our baby... is gone."

The bleeding was so bad. There was nothing that could be done.

As Alicia's surgery was about to start, I shook off Marcus's hand and tried to get up.

But the moment I moved, pain tugged at my abdomen, making it impossible for me to walk.

I could only look at Marcus, my fingers trembling.

I kept signing. "Can I stay with Alicia?"

But Marcus just scoffed coldly.

He pointed at a photo on the wall. In that photo, my hair was awkwardly cropped out.

Marcus spoke up. "Nora, I said I wanted a photo of Emily and me. Was that on purpose?"

The pain was so intense, it made my head spin.

I had to steady myself against the wall, barely able to stay upright.

"I'm sorry, I... I'll take it down. Can you have someone take me to the hospital? I want to be with Alicia." I was signing wildly, my lips pressed tightly together.

The last time I saw Alicia, I promised her I'd stay by her side.

But Marcus just looked at me, completely emotionless.

He was blind to my suffering.

Just then, I caught sight of what Emily was doing.

She picked up my bag from the floor, and my mom's urn rolled out.

Emily grabbed the urn and started toying with it.

Watching her, my breath quickened.

Before I could react, I lunged forward, desperate to snatch it back.

But Emily was startled by me. She jerked, and the urn slipped from her hands, smashing to pieces on the floor.

The floor was a total mess, smeared with ashes and blood.

I opened my mouth wide, but all that came out was a broken, raspy cry.

I lunged at Emily like I'd lost my mind, my nails leaving scratches across her face.

Marcus pulled me away, glaring at me.

"It's just a handful of ashes. So what if they're spilled? You brought this on yourself. Serves you right," he said coldly.

I suffered under his constant suspicion and cruelty.

I was barely holding on, and he still called it karma?

In his eyes, my life was worthless.

Tears streamed down my face, and I was gasping for breath.

I dropped to my knees, painstakingly picking up the ashes bit by bit with my trembling hands.

I just wanted to bring Mom home.

Blood and ashes stuck to my hands, but I was not repulsed by it.

I stubbornly picked through the blood, trying to gather as much of her ashes as I could.

But my body couldn't take it anymore. I gradually sank down into the blood.

Maybe I looked so messed up that Marcus finally called for a car.

The hospital's skills were pretty good. I lost a ton of blood from the miscarriage, but somehow, I survived.

When I woke up, it was already night. I was alone in the hospital room.

I swallowed my grief and thought about contacting Alicia.

She should have finished her surgery by now.

But when I checked my phone, there was a message from the doctor.

The message read: [Miss Pearson, I'm truly sorry.]

[I regret to inform you that your sister became very agitated after the surgery and had to be transferred to the ICU. The doctors did everything they could, but unfortunately, they couldn't save her. Please accept my condolences.]

Just a few sentences, and it was all over. Alicia was gone.

I kept double-checking the number, over and over.

It really was a message from the doctor. But I still couldn't believe it.

Ignoring my own condition, I yanked out the IV and went straight to confront the doctor.

When the doctor saw me, all he said was, "I'm sorry for your loss."

I tried to ask the doctor, but realized I still couldn't speak.

I could only sign, "Why?"

Why was Alicia so upset after her surgery?

The doctor just looked at me, resigned.

Turns out, someone had filmed what happened at the welcome-back party and posted it online.

For the past four years, I hid my sadness from Alicia.

She always thought Marcus and I had a great relationship.

Even though Marcus hadn't visited her once in those four years.

For the first time, while she was stuck in that hospital room, Alicia saw all the humiliation I'd been put through.

She thought it was unfair and got angry for me.

In the end, the doctor just kept saying, "I'm sorry for your loss," again and again.

I couldn't grieve. I couldn't save Mom's ashes. I couldn't save Alicia's life either.

I unlocked my phone. I looked through the photos of Marcus and me.

All the happiness we once had was gone, just an illusion.

I deleted the photos one by one.

The doctor urged me to return to the hospital room and take care of myself.

I walked out like a ghost, but instead of heading back to the ward, I caught a cab straight to the villa.

Even if I was leaving, I had to make sure the divorce papers were left for him.

I didn't want anything to do with Marcus at all.

Besides, he was obsessed with Emily now. He was probably just waiting for me to hand him the divorce papers.

I'd step aside and let them be together.

The villa was eerily quiet.