I screamed for my child.

Each passing second clawed deeper into my soul, crumbling what was left of my world. From hope, dignity, and sanity. It was one breath at a time.

A part of me, however foolish, kept hoping this was all a prank. That someone would step forward, rip off the mask of this nightmare and they said the same thing over and over.

“Let her be. The prank is over.”

Or…

“She's the mother of Scott's only grandson! Don’t you dare treat her like trash!”

But the words never came.

Not from Ryan.

Not from Jessica, not from anyone

That silence was louder than any betrayal. It told me all I needed to know.

He never loved me. It was the bitter truth.

Or maybe… maybe he once did. And Jessica, my best friend, stole him away.

Either way, I meant nothing to him now. Not enough to protect me. Not enough to stop the guards from dragging me like I was something rotten.

The only sounds I heard were camera clicks and low murmurs. My shame was being broadcasted for all the world to see.

My knees scraped the concrete. The layers of my once-glorious wedding gown tore, baring my legs and underwear—but modesty meant nothing now. I didn’t care. I had only one thought:

Reid.

My baby.

My heart.

“Let me go!” I screamed. “I need to find my son!”

One of the guards hissed under his breath. “Keep quiet or we’ll make it harder than it has to be.”

I thrashed harder. The fabric ripped further. My heels snapped. My face smudged with dirt, mascara, and snot—but I didn’t stop. Couldn’t.

Losing Reid… that would kill me.

I sobbed.

Screamed.

Begged.

But no one listened.

Passersby glanced at me like I was a madwoman—a bride turned banshee in torn lace and ruined hair.

Of course, that’s what I looked like.

Crazy.

Broken.

Discarded.

And maybe I was all three.

I slammed my fists against the iron gates, shouting louder than before, hoping someone, anyone, would hear me.

“Please! My baby!”

My voice cracked until I collapsed again, weak and trembling, my body no longer obeying me.

Then—I heard footsteps. The wedding guests were exiting for the grand reception. Chatter, laughter, champagne glasses clinking in the distance.

And among them…

Her voice. Regina.

“You were instructed to take her far away,” she snapped coldly. “Psychiatric patients don’t belong here.”

Psychiatric? My stomach twisted.

I turned around slowly. I didn’t spare her a glance. My eyes landed instead on the woman standing beside her—Jessica.

“Jessy…” I croaked. The nickname slipped out like a dying breath.

Her smirk faltered for half a second, but she turned away like I was beneath her.

And then—Ryan.

He was posing for photos with Jessica now. No sign of guilt. No trace of the man I’d fallen for.

He wouldn’t even look at me.

The photophobia he once claimed? A lie. His eyes were glued to the flashing cameras.

I was nothing to him. A mistake he couldn’t delete fast enough.

I stared at him, the same man who once walked into my supermarket with a kind smile and too much money, saying I made the best cinnamon bread in Lagos. That man was gone.

My dream wedding had become a public funeral for my dignity.

And then…

My eyes landed on Regina’s arms.

My heart paused

My vision blurred, but not from tears.

“Reid…”

It left my lips in a whisper before I realized I was shouting.

“MY SON! Give me back my son!”

I screamed again, louder.

“He belongs to ME!”

I ran forward, but something hit me,not a punch, but an object. A medium-sized envelope smacked against my face and fell into my lap.

I caught it mid-fall. My hands trembled. My tears soaked through the seal.

I opened it.

A familiar document slid out.

One I’d signed the very day I birthed Reid.

I skimmed the heading.

And then I saw it.

The words screamed at me in blood-red ink:

“FULL PARENTAL CUSTODY: RYAN SCOTT”

Mother relinquishes all rights…”

I couldn’t breathe.

I didn’t just lose my fiancé.

I didn’t just lose my best friend.

I had legally lost my son.

“No…” My voice was hoarse. “This can’t be real…”

The paper slipped from my fingers. I reached for air that wouldn’t come.

“I can’t lose Reid too!” I gasped.

My cry broke into the air just as two strong arms seized me again, this time with a different purpose.

I kicked, but I was too weak. I screamed, but no one listened.

A needle pierced my arm.

Cold liquid surged into my vein.

Everything around me began to fade.

Not again.

Please, not again…