Chapter 2
He could drop everything without a second thought.
If I died right here, he'd probably just frown, thinking I was nothing but a massive inconvenience to him.
The car lurched suddenly, and the sound of metal scraping made my skin crawl.
It couldn't take much more.
I struggled to reach my bag from the passenger seat and fished out the voice recorder.
Today was our third wedding anniversary.
This was the gift I'd prepared for him.
Inside was a song I'd secretly recorded for him. I couldn't carry a tune to save my life, but I'd spent countless nights alone in my room, practicing again and again.
Looking back now, it was honestly ridiculous.
I pressed the delete button.
The song, along with the last scraps of my sad little hopes, was erased for good.
Then, I spoke into the recorder and started leaving my final message.
"Dad, Mom, I'm sorry..."
My eyelids were getting so heavy, and my mind was slowing down, barely able to think.
Right as everything faded, I caught the distant sound of an ambulance siren drifting over.
I didn't know who called for help.
I didn't have the energy to wonder anymore.
The smell of disinfectant hit me so hard I snapped awake.
I woke up.
All I could see was white.
My best friend Jocelyn Michael was leaning over the side of my bed, her eyes swollen and red from crying.
As soon as she saw me open my eyes, she let out a loud sob and started crying all over again.
"Lauren! You scared me half to death! I kept calling and calling, but you wouldn't answer. In the end, it was the traffic police who called me and said you'd been in a car accident..."
I shifted a little, and damn, there wasn't a single part of me that didn't ache.
There were waves of cramping pain rolling through my lower belly.
A nurse walked in, checked my IV, and adjusted the drip rate.
"Ms. Connor, you're awake? How are you feeling?" she asked.
My voice was hoarse. "What's wrong with me?"
The nurse glanced at me, then at Jocelyn, who was still sobbing uncontrollably, and let out a sigh.
"You've got a mild concussion, and you're pretty banged up with bruises everywhere, but thankfully, nothing's broken," she said.
She paused, her voice softened, careful and gentle.
"And... you're pregnant, six weeks along. The accident shook things up, and there are signs you might miscarry. You need to stay in bed, no exceptions. Where's your husband? We need to talk to him."
I was surprised by the news.
Without thinking, my hand went to my belly.
There was a tiny life inside me...
It was the baby of me and Robin.
The moment that thought hit me, a cold chill swept through me, making me shudder.
What if nobody came for me?
What if the car had gone off the cliff?
Would this baby have died with me?
While his father was half a world away, with another woman.
"Husband?" Jocelyn wiped her tears and let out a cold laugh. "His only family is Sylvia! When Lauren called him after the accident, he said he was off to Cloudmere to be with that homewrecker! A guy like that doesn't deserve to be called a husband!"
The nurse's face flashed with surprise and embarrassment.
I tugged at Jocelyn's sleeve and managed a weak smile at the nurse.
"I don't have any family. Just talk to me directly," I said.
Jocelyn looked like she was about to blow up again, but I shot her a look that shut her up.
After the nurse left, the room was so quiet it was almost suffocating.
After a long silence, Jocelyn finally spoke, her voice low and hoarse, thick with heartache.
"Lauren, what are you going to do now?"
I gazed out the window.
A leaf spun slowly as it drifted down, finally settling on the ground.
The end of loving someone wasn't about not loving them anymore.
It was just moving on.
I rested my hand on my belly, feeling that tiny but undeniable life inside me, a quiet reminder that I wasn't alone.
"Jocelyn," I said softly, "I want a divorce.
"And help me get discharged. I just want to leave."
Two days later, Robin finally bothered to send a message.
It wasn't a phone call, and it wasn't even a chat message.
It was just a cold, automated bank transfer notification.
Note: [Heard you had a little accident. Sent you some money. I'm busy, so don't bother calling.]
He called it just a little accident.
I almost died.
To him, it was nothing more than a "little accident."
That transfer, those digits, hit me like a slap in the face, burning hot.
These three years were nothing but a total farce.
I didn't reply, and I didn't take the money.
I blocked him.
Phone, messages, bank app... anything that tied me to him, I deleted every trace.
Jocelyn wasted no time. She got me discharged from the hospital and even found me a little apartment in another city.
The day I left the Ford family, the sky was heavy and gray.
I didn't take a single thing Robin had ever bought me.
I only packed a few old clothes of my own, and some dusty painting supplies from the storage room.
I left the signed divorce papers on the living room coffee table, with the apartment keys right beside them.