Chapter 3

In a panic, I hid behind the curtains.

Thankfully, the refrigerator in front of me blocked me, so Xavier and Rachel did not notice me when they came in.

As soon as he put down what he was holding, Xavier pushed Rachel onto the dining table urgently.

Through the gap in the curtains, I watched as Xavier's face drew closer to me suddenly. The silent air was suddenly filled with sweet, sticky sounds and Rachel's heavy breathing.

Xavier was only about two feet away from me. He was so close that I could even see the tiny little mole on his knuckle.

Nervous, I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want to watch them have sex. Unfortunately, the lack of visuals just made Xavier's muffled groans louder in my head.

"Shelly, my beloved."

I had to be losing my mind to think that he was calling my name.

Memories came flooding back into my head.

We'd done the same thing, in the same place, in the same position. Now, the woman he was kissing wasn't me.

I bit my lips hard, not daring to make a sound. I let my tears drip down to the floor.

After an unknown amount of time, Xavier carried Rachel into the bedroom.

I heard the sounds of running water coming from the room. Only then did I dare to emerge from my hiding place. I stepped out but almost collapsed as my legs buckled from underneath me.

When I finally got home, I scheduled a hospital appointment for the next day.

I deliberately chose Lila Brown, who was in the same department as Xavier.

She was his senior and also my friend. We had been in the same club in college, and she'd always looked out for me.

When I showed up for my appointment, she was surprised and confused. "Shelly, you're already 13 weeks along. Are you sure you don't want to keep the baby?

"Is it because of Xavier? Did he cheat on you?" She bombarded me with questions.

I just nodded.

"I want Xavier to perform the procedure himself," I said. "You'll help me, won't you, Lila?"

Lila looked at me in disbelief, like I'd said something outrageous.

In the end, she gave in to my pleading.

When I opened the door to her office to leave, I ran into Xavier, who had come to see Lila. "Shelly? What are you doing here?"

I tightened my grip on the medical report I was holding, not knowing how to reply for a minute.

Lila quickly grabbed my arm and covered for me. "What? Aren't we allowed to catch up?"

I forced out a smile and nodded fervently while shoving the report into my pocket.

"Go on in. I'm heading out," I told Xavier. I didn't want to stay any longer. I just wanted to leave as quickly as I could.

At the end of the corridor, Xavier managed to catch up to me. He grabbed my wrist. "Shelly, are you hiding something from me?"

I was silent for a moment. Looking into his eyes, I said gravely, "You've already guessed, haven't you?"

Xavier was trembling. He sounded panicked. "Shelly, no. I…"

"You guessed that I was planning a surprise for your birthday, right? It's just a few days away. I wanted to surprise you," I continued. "What's wrong? Did you do something wrong? You're sweating."

I lifted my hand and tried to wipe his brows, but he turned away. "No. I'm just sweating because I ran after you. I'm glad to hear that you're okay."

The way he'd gone from panicked to relieved was oddly satisfying to watch. I wondered how he would react when he realized that he was performing an abortion on me.

…

Soon, the day of the procedure arrived.

On the operating table, it was hard to open my eyes against the bright lights. I felt an intense pain coming from my lower body.

The sound of bones and flesh tearing apart filled my mind. Vaguely, I heard the nurses gossiping about me.

"Poor thing. How could she bear to get rid of her baby?"

"I heard she's a relative of Dr. Brown's. Probably another young woman tricked by some douchebag."

My mind was too muddled to process the hushed whispers.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Xavier walk into the room in his surgical scrubs.

Lila was supposed to perform the abortion on me, but she had somehow gotten Xavier to take over. He'd done this hundreds of times, so he was very familiar with the procedure.

He wouldn't make any mistakes now.