Matilda's Pov

"What did you just say?" I shrieked, my voice sharp with disbelief. He merely smiled at me.

"You are pregnant, Miss. "A few weeks along," he repeated gently.

My blood turned to ice as a thousand thoughts collided in my mind.

Pregnant? Was now really the right time? My heart skipped a beat.

And then—unexpectedly—joy bloomed inside me, rising like sunlight through storm clouds. My lips curled into a smile before I could stop them.

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise, I thought. Maybe it’s exactly what Gabriel and I need to find our way back to each other.

Hope surged through me. I was ready to forgive him—ready to listen—as long as he gave me answers. As long as he promised to end things with her.

"Thank you so much!" I said, overwhelmed, springing to my feet. I just wanted to go home. I needed to tell Gabriel right away. He was going to be thrilled—I could feel it.

I could already picture it: this baby bringing light into our home, binding our marriage with something pure and lasting.

"Be careful; you're not well enough yet, come ba—"

The doctor’s warning trailed off behind me as I rushed out of the ward and straight into the waiting cab.

The moment the front door clicked shut behind me, a strange silence wrapped around my ears—one that didn't feel like home. Not anymore.

The smell of vanilla candles lingered faintly in the air, mixed with the familiar cologne Gabriel wore, the one I used to bury my face into during the nights I couldn't sleep. My hospital wristband still clung to my wrist like a shackle, a reminder of the chaos I had just escaped. My hand instinctively brushed against my belly. "You’re not alone, little one," I whispered to them just hours ago. Your mommy's going to protect you forever.

I couldn’t wait to tell Gabriel about the baby. Maybe tell him how his mother attacked and assaulted me. Maybe not. That part no longer mattered. What mattered was that a tiny heartbeat now pulsed inside of me.

I climbed the stairs with slow, deliberate steps. Each step was heavier than the last, as if my body knew before I did. As if the air was warning me—don’t go up there. But I did. I always did.

"Gabriel, Gabriel." I chanted happily as I pushed open the door to our bedroom, ready to jump into his lap and share the awesome news, but what I saw next made me drop my bag, my eyes widening in disbelief.

And the world as I knew it was shattered.

There she was—Aria. Dressed in nothing but Gabriel’s shirt, straddling him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck like vines choking the life out of something once beautiful. Her lips were on his, slow, wet, familiar. His hands rested on her waist like he belonged there.

I stood frozen, like a ghost in my own life.

'I was in the hospital due to his mum and he didn't even check up on me but decided to make out with her,' I thought in disbelief, letting out a scoff.

She saw me first. Her head snapped up, her lips still glistening with betrayal. “Matilda—”

I didn’t hear her. I didn’t hear anything. The sound in my head turned to static as rage erupted through my veins. I don’t remember lunging, but I remember the feel of her beneath me, the sting of my fists as I dragged her down from my husband. Her screams were distant, muffled by my fury. In

“You disgusting bitch!” I screamed, shoving her head back against the bedpost. “In my house? My marriage?”

“Get off her!” Gabriel’s voice finally roared through the haze.

But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

“You kissed her? You let her touch you?”

His hands wrapped around my waist, and he yanked me backward with a force I never imagined he could use on me. My body flew back and crashed against the dresser with a thud that knocked the air out of my lungs.

“Matilda!”

I saw the ceiling spin. The light flickered once. Then darkness swallowed everything.

The beeping was the first thing I heard when I woke up. The sterile scent of antiseptic filled my nose.

I was at the hospital. Again.

I blinked against the white light, my throat dry, my body aching like I’d been pulled through a hurricane.

My eyes scanned the room hoping that I wasn't alone here, and maybe Gabriel was resting in a corner or something. But that wasn’t the case; I was alone. I guess he doesn't love me enough to be by my side. 

The door creaked open. The doctor who attended to me earlier stepped in, holding a clipboard and wearing that same cautious expression he had worn earlier. But there was something colder in his eyes now.

"Mrs. Wealth," he said gently, sitting beside me. “Do you remember what I told you earlier today?”

My heart leaped.

My baby. I hope it's okay.

“Yes,” I whispered. My hand moved down to my abdomen, trembling. “The baby… you told me I was pregnant.”

The silence stretched. Too long.

His eyes lowered. “You were pregnant, Matilda.”

The word hit like a bullet through glass.

“No…” My voice cracked. “No, you said—”

“I told you to be careful,” he said, not unkindly. You experienced stress and trauma… and it was not just emotional, it was physical as well. Your body couldn’t hold on to the baby.”

My stomach felt like it dropped straight through the hospital bed.

And I lay there, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the pain to turn into numbness.

But it didn’t. It never would.

I should’ve turned back at the stairs. I should’ve waited until morning. I should’ve never let myself believe that Gabriel still loved me—still cared.

And now, because of my blindness… my negligence… I’ve lost my baby.

The doctor’s eyes softened with pity as he said, “I am sorry for your loss. I will give you a moment while we run more tests.”

His words pulled me from my spiral. My attention snapped at him. “What other tests?” I asked, my voice barely steady.

He met my gaze and replied calmly, “We need to run some tests to ascertain the damage done to your womb because of the miscarriage. We just want to make sure everything is alright. It’s standard procedure.”

I heard him. I understood the words. But nothing about his expression gave me hope.