Seeing the shock on her face, Rockwell seemed to snap out of it. Only then did he realize what he had done—he had just slapped her.
“Solenne, I…”
He took a step toward her, instinctively trying to explain.
But before he could say another word, Chesca, who collapsed nearby with tears in her eyes, whimpered, “Rockwell, it hurts… so much.”
The moment she spoke, Rockwell turned away from Solenne without hesitation and rushed to Chesca’s side. He bent down carefully and helped her up, as if nothing else in the world mattered.
“Come on, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“Rockwell—don’t you dare! If you walk out that door with her, we’re done!”
The frustration, the heartbreak, and the anger Solenne had buried for days—everything exploded at once.
Clutching the side of her swollen, burning face, she forced herself to her feet.
Her voice was sharp, nearly shrieking. People had begun gathering nearby, drawn by the commotion.
They heard her clearly. She said she was breaking up with Rockwell.
But wasn’t he supposed to be… her future brother-in-law?
A brief, heavy silence settled in the air.
Every pair of eyes turned to Rockwell—each gaze shifting with something unspoken, something uneasy.
For a moment, Rockwell looked uncomfortable. But then he looked at Chesca, her pale face and bruised cheek, and without saying another word, he walked away with her.
He didn’t want her face to scar.
He still left.
Solenne watched his back as he disappeared down the hall. Her lips curled in disbelief, her body shaking uncontrollably.
‘That’s the man I’ve loved for so many years…’
Suddenly, her stomach twisted with nausea. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and then she felt it—warm liquid running down her legs.
She was bleeding.
The pain hit like a knife; her face went white.
‘I-I’m losing the baby…’
Before everything went dark, all she could hear was the sound of people screaming.
She didn’t know how long she was out. When she woke up, it was already the next afternoon.
She was in a hospital bed, and Rockwell was sitting right beside her.
He watched her quietly, and when he saw her eyes flutter open, his expression twisted into something complicated.
He hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking.
“Solenne… why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?
“Last night, after I took Chesca to the hospital, I came home to explain everything to you… but you weren’t there.