The hospital room buzzed with noise—doctors, nurses, staff whispering among themselves.
But among all the voices, one word stood out.
"Cruel."
I suddenly laughed.
A low, bitter laugh that shook my aching body.
"Sean, the real cruel one here—is you."
At my words, his brows furrowed, a flicker of unease passing through his eyes.
"What are you talking about?" he snapped. "Do you think this is easy for me? Do you think I don’t feel anything?"
His voice cracked with emotion.
"That was my child too! Do you think losing them didn’t hurt me?"
He inhaled sharply before continuing, his tone softening.
"Marie, I know you’re hurting, but I swear to you—even if we never have children again, I will still love you."
Then, with a deep breath, he added,
"But did you really have to do this to Mandy? She’s innocent. She’s always seen you as her sister."
I stared at him, unable to comprehend the words coming out of his mouth.
Innocent?
Had he truly convinced himself of that?
Sean didn’t wait for my response.
Instead, he turned on his heel, carrying Mandy toward the doctor’s office.
Meanwhile, I could no longer stand it.
My body had reached its limit.
So, with what little strength I had left, I began to crawl—inch by inch—toward the nurse’s station.
A long trail of blood followed behind me as I dragged myself forward.
By the time all my wounds had been treated, it was already late at night. That was when I received a video from Mandy.
On the bed, Sean hovered over her, his lips pressing against her injured abdomen and ankles again and again—tender, reverent.
Meanwhile, my own ankles, left to dangle in agony for hours, throbbed with unbearable pain.
So this is what love and hate look like…
The video lasted a full thirty minutes. And I watched every second of it, like a fool bent on self-destruction.
The moment I hit save, a message from Sean popped up on my screen.
"Marie, I acted on impulse today, but no matter what, you shouldn't have hurt Mandy."
"The doctor said she was traumatized, so I’ll stay with her tonight. Think of it as making up for your mistakes."
"After the press conference tomorrow morning, I’ll take care of these rumors, and we can go back to how things were before."
Unfortunately, Sean…
We can never go back.
I deleted the message without responding. Then, without hesitation, I blocked his number.