Chapter Three

His words hit me like a punch to the gut, but I stood my ground, refusing to let him see just how much it hurt. I didn’t say a word. I simply turned on my heel and walked out of the hospital, the weight of my decision pressing down on me, but for the first time in a long while... I felt free.

I walked towards the parking lot, the world around me spinning slightly. My hand instinctively went to my stomach as a wave of dizziness hit me, my heart racing from the confrontation. I pulled out my phone, my fingers shaking as I scrolled through my contacts. Stanley, Daniel’s friend and best man. He’d always been kind to me, a rare source of comfort when Daniel was distant. He never judged, just listened. Right now, I needed that more than ever.

The phone rang twice before he picked up. “Tasha? Everything okay?”

“Hi, Stanley,” I said, my voice weak. “Are you free? Sorry to bother you, but I’m at Central Hospital. I’m not feeling too well, and I don’t think I can go back home myself.”

There was a pause on the other end, and then his voice softened. “I’ll be there in 10 minutes. Don’t worry, Tasha. Just hang tight.”

“Thank you, Stanley.” I leaned back against the car, the dizziness still lingering.

After what felt like hours, Stanley pulled up beside me and rushed over, concern etched on his face. "Tasha, what's wrong? You don't look so good."

I tried to compose myself, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes. "Oh, it’s nothing serious," I lied, rubbing my temple for effect. "I just came for a checkup, and I’ve been having a headache. The doctor said I’ll be fine."

Stanley frowned, his worry not easing. "Are you sure? You look pale, and you sounded off when you called."

I nodded quickly, trying to brush it off. "Yeah, I’m sure. I just didn’t want to risk going home alone when I wasn’t feeling well."

He studied me for a moment, like he didn’t quite believe me, but he didn’t push. "Alright. If you’re sure. But you know you can call me for anything, right?"

"Yeah, I know," I said, trying to sound casual, but the weight of everything pressing on my chest made it hard to breathe. "Thanks for coming, Stanley."

He gave me a small smile, unlocking the passenger door for me. "Come on, I’ll get you home. You need to rest."

I climbed into his car, grateful for the escape, but my mind was already racing ahead, thinking about what I still hadn’t told him or anyone.

***

When I got home after Stanley dropped me off, the silence of the house swallowed me whole. I stood by the door for a moment, my body still, but my mind racing. The confrontation at the hospital, the way Daniel dismissed me, and the words I had spoken, all of it felt like a blur. A divorce. I had said it, I had demanded it, but now, standing in the dimly lit hallway, the weight of my decision settled heavily in my chest.

Did I really want this? Could I handle it? A divorce would mean raising this child on my own. Could I do that? Could I be enough for my unborn baby when I felt so lost, so abandoned myself? The thought of being alone, with nowhere to go, with no one to rely on, sent a shiver down my spine. Daniel had been cruel, heartless even, but the idea of leaving with nothing, of facing an uncertain future with a child, terrified me.

I placed my hand on my stomach, a gesture of instinct more than thought. The baby. Our baby. I hadn’t even told Daniel yet. Would he care? Would he even fight for me, or would he brush it off like everything else that wasn’t Vanessa?

As I stood there, lost in my thoughts, the front door creaked open. I startled, my heart racing in my chest. His voice came from the hallway, sharp and cold, like it always was these days.

“Tasha.”

I froze for a moment, then slowly walked toward the sitting room where Daniel stood, leaning casually against the couch, as though we hadn’t just thrown our lives into chaos hours before. My heart thudded in my chest as I approached him.

“You asked for a divorce, right?” His tone was biting, almost mocking, like he didn’t believe I had the courage to follow through. His hand reached into his jacket, and he pulled out a stack of papers, throwing them onto the coffee table in front of me.

I stared at them, my throat tight, my eyes already burning with unshed tears.

“You think you’re so smart,” he continued, his voice dripping with disdain. “But I’ll make it easy for you.”

He tossed a card onto the table with a flick of his wrist, and it landed next to the papers. “That’s for you, Tasha. Use it to take care of your petty little self.”

I flinched at his words, but before I could respond, he threw another card down beside it.

“And that,” he said, his lip curling, “is for the blood donation. Don’t say I never gave you anything.”

I blinked, confused by his coldness, the casual cruelty of it all. But before I could even gather my thoughts, Daniel stormed out of the room, the front door slamming shut behind him. I knew exactly where he was going. Back to the hospital. Back to Vanessa.

I sank into the nearest chair, my legs giving out beneath me. The papers sat on the table, stark and accusing, his signature already scrawled at the bottom. He had already decided. He had already moved on. To him, I was nothing more than a burden, someone to be cast aside, someone who had become an inconvenience in his life.

My hands trembled as I picked up the pen, my heart pounding in my chest. Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall. I couldn’t break down now. Not yet.

I looked down at the papers again, my mind swirling with everything I had sacrificed for this man. The countless times I had put him first, the endless ways I had tried to be the wife he wanted, the woman he needed. And now... this.

I signed the papers, my hand shaking as I scrawled my name across the bottom. It felt like the final act of something I had been avoiding for far too long, the end of a chapter that had been filled with nothing but heartache.

The moment the pen left the page, a strange sense of relief washed over me. It was done. There was no going back now.

I stood, feeling the weight of my decision settle over me like a heavy blanket. I walked to the closet, grabbed my coat, and paused. I didn’t need anything else. Not the clothes, not the memories, not the pieces of a life that had been broken beyond repair.

I slipped the coat on, the fabric feeling strange and unfamiliar against my skin, like I was wearing something that no longer fit the person I had become.

With one last glance around the house that had once been my home, I walked out the door, leaving everything behind everything except for the life growing inside me.

As I stepped out into the night, the cold air stung my face, but I kept walking. I didn’t know where I was going, or what I was going to do next. But I knew one thing for sure: I couldn’t stay here, not anymore. Not with Daniel. Not with the pain.

I wandered through the streets, my mind racing as I tried to figure out my next move. I had no plan, no direction, but I had myself. I had my baby. And somehow, that had to be enough.

The tears I had been holding back finally spilled over, streaming down my face as I walked. I wiped them away with the back of my hand, determined not to fall apart, not yet. I had to be strong, for me, for my child.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket, pulling me out of my thoughts. I fumbled for it, expecting another cruel message from Daniel, but it wasn’t him.

It was Stanley.

I hesitated for a moment before answering, my voice shaky. “Hello?”

“Tasha? How do you feel now?” Stanley’s voice was filled with concern, but before I could respond, a sharp, piercing pain shot through my chest, stealing my breath. I gasped, clutching at my chest as the phone slipped from my fingers, clattering onto the pavement.

Everything around me blurred, my heart pounding in my ears. The world spun, my vision darkening at the edges, and before I could make sense of what was happening, the line went dead.