Breathe
by:michimichiro
Chapter 28
The sterile hospital room felt cold and suffocating as I lay there, numb and hollow. The physical pain from the miscarriage was nothing compared to the anguish in my heart. My baby was gone before I even had a chance to hold him in my arms. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I stared blankly at the white ceiling tiles.
The door swung open, and Clint stormed in, his face etched with fury. "This is all your fault, Zia! You lost our child because you couldn't handle a little stress. What kind of mother are you?"
His harsh words cut through me like a knife. I wanted to scream that I never asked for any of this—not this marriage, not this pregnancy. But my voice remained trapped in my throat.
"I don't even know why I married you," Clint snarled. "You're nothing but a burden. The only reason I wanted a child with you was to secure my claim on your family's company, and you couldn't even do that right."
I turned my head away, unable to look at his enraged face any longer. I wished I could disappear, escaping this life I never wanted.
"You know, I wanted to get you pregnant the natural way," Clint said, his voice suddenly eerily calm. An icy chill ran down my spine at his words. "Having my baby grow inside you, knowing I'm the one who put it there, forcing you to carry my child."
Intense anger rose, and my stomach churned. The thought of Clint touching me and violating me like that made me want to vomit. Hot tears stung my eyes as I shook my head vehemently.
"No, no, I don't want that. I can't. I won't." I choked out.
Clint laughed—a cruel, mirthless sound. "Well, you don't have a choice, do you? We're married, and I always get what I want."
"I want a divorce," I said, finally finding the courage to voice the desire that had been growing inside me. "I can't do this anymore, Clint. I don't love you. I never do."
For a moment, Clint looked stunned, as if he couldn't fathom that I would dare defy him. Then his shock morphed into a pure, terrifying rage.
"You stupid, ungrateful woman!" he seethed, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "You think you can just walk away? After everything I've done for you and your pathetic family?"
He walked over to my hospital bed and leant in close, his breath hot against my ear. "Let me tell you a little secret, Zia. The only reason your father's company didn't go under years ago is because of me. I'm the one who bailed him out time and time again. And you want to know what I got in return?"
I shook my head mutely, dreading his next words. Clint smiled—a twisted, cruel thing.
"I got you. Your father traded you to me like a prized cow, all to save his precious company. He never cared about you, Zia. No one ever has."
The world tilted around me, and I squeezed my eyes shut. It couldn't be true. My father would never.
But deep down, I knew Clint wasn't lying. It all made sense now—my father's insistence that I marry Clint, the way he avoided my eyes as he gave me away at the wedding. Fresh sobs wrecked my body. My flesh and blood had sold me to the devil to protect his interests.
"No, Dad, how could you?" I wailed brokenly. The ultimate betrayal from the man who was supposed to protect me.
"I am your family now," Clint said with finality, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him. "And you will never leave me. You belong to me, Zia. Forever."
Then he stormed out of the room, leaving me broken and alone as I cried for my lost baby, my shattered life, and a love I would never know. Despair and hopelessness consumed me. I was trapped in this nightmare with no escape.
