Anniversary Surprise

🌸Eden🌸

I sat in the dining room, staring at the untouched anniversary cake on the table. My heart sanked as I gripped the edge of the table, my hands trembling.

My husband sat across from me, silent and calm, as if the words he’d just spoken meant nothing. But to me, they shattered everything.

My eyes fell on the knife next to the cake, my heart pounded as I slowly reached for it, my breathing uneven.

“Eden,” Liam’s voice broke the silence, firm and cold.

I froze, my hand hovering over the knife. His sharp gaze bore into me, heavy and full of warning.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his tone sharp as he stood and started walking toward me.

I didn’t answer. My fingers brushed the knife, but before I could grab it, his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.

“Stop this,” he said, his voice low but firm.

“Let me go,” I whispered, trying to pull my arm free.

He didn’t release me. “Eden!” His voice rose, but I shoved him back with all the strength I had. The knife clattered to the floor as I stumbled to my feet.

I turned and ran, my heart racing, tears blurring my vision. I slammed the bathroom door shut behind me, locking it with trembling hands.

“Eden, open the door!” Liam’s fists pounded against the door, his voice loud and frantic.

I ignored him, my eyes darting around the small bathroom until they landed on a bottle of pills sitting on the sink.

With shaking hands, I grabbed it and twisted the cap off.

“Don’t do this!” Liam shouted, the door rattling under his punches.

I poured the pills into my palm and tossed them into my mouth, swallowing them with a gulp of water. My legs gave out beneath me, and I slid to the floor.

The pounding on the door grew louder, more desperate. “Eden! Open the door!”

The sound faded as the room started spinning. Darkness crept in from the edges of my vision.

With a loud crash, the door burst open. Liam’s panicked face was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

~~~🌸~~~~

The sharp smell of disinfectant filled my nose as I slowly opened my eyes. The bright lights above me stung, and for a moment, I prayed it was all just a bad dream.

“You’re awake,” a soft voice said. I turned my head to see a nurse standing by my bed. She smiled gently, but her eyes held a trace of worry.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

I tried to speak, but my throat was dry. She handed me a cup of water, and I took a small sip, the cool liquid soothing the burn in my throat.

“You’re stable now,” she said. “The doctor will be here soon to check on you.”

A few minutes later, the doctor walked in. He was tall, with a calm expression that didn’t match the storm in my chest.

“Mrs. Monroe,” he began, “we were able to treat you in time. You’re stable now, and it seems you have a little one growing inside.”

I let out a shaky breath, placing a hand on my stomach. I already knew I was pregnant. I had planned to tell Liam tonight. It was supposed to be a surprise, an anniversary gift after five years of trying.

Instead, the night had turned into a nightmare.

“Does my husband know?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

The doctor nodded. “Yes, he knows. He’s in the waiting room.”

Tears stung my eyes, and I quickly turned my face away. This wasn’t how I wanted him to find out. I had dreamed of him holding me, smiling with joy when I told him we were finally going to have a baby.

But none of that would happen now. Instead of celebrating, he had given me divorce papers.

The memory of the envelope hit me like a punch to the chest. His signature on the cold, heartless words that tore our life apart.

“Is this real?” I whispered to no one in particular. “Did he… did he really give me those papers?”

The doctor hesitated, then said gently, “You need to rest now, Mrs. Monroe. Stress isn’t good for you or the baby.”

He said and left the room.

Rest? How could I rest? My entire world had fallen apart. The man I thought loved me, the life I thought we were building together—it was all gone.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I closed my eyes, wishing I could wake up from this nightmare.

I shouldn’t have survived. I should have died….why did he save me if he wanted me gone to be with her?

I ripped the IV out of my arm, ignoring the pain, and threw off the blanket. My legs were shaky, but I forced myself to stand. I stumbled toward the door, desperate to escape the sterile room.

As I left the ward, I heard a nurse call after me, but I didn’t care. I had to get out of here. The weight of everything felt too heavy to bear.

I stumbled down the hallway, ignoring the chaos behind me. The doctors and nurses were shouting, trying to stop me, but I kept walking, my mind clouded with a mix of pain and anger. Someone tried to grab my arm, but I pulled away, my legs barely keeping me upright.

“Mrs Monroe, stop! You need to rest!” one of the nurses pleaded, but I didn’t stop. I just wanted it all to end.

When I reached the end of the hall, my legs gave out. I collapsed to the floor, my body shaking as I screamed, “Why didn’t you let me die?”

Suddenly, I saw him. My husband.

He stood in front of me, looking down at me, his face blank. He didn’t say anything. He just looked at me like I was nothing but a problem to be discarded. His eyes were cold, filled with pity. Then, without a word, he turned and walked away.

How dare he come here? How dare he look at me like that? As he walked past me, I saw her.

The woman.

The woman behind the divorce. The one who had stolen him from me. The reason he had turned his back on everything we had. She walked behind him, her hand holding his, fingers intertwined.

He had left me for her.

I felt my heart shatter into pieces as they walked away together, the finality of it all crashing down on me. And then, just like that, everything went black again.