Michael collapsed into the chair beside the bed, burying his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
Hours later, after the surgery, after the numbness of the anesthesia had worn off leaving only the raw ache of emptiness, we walked out into the hallway.
My parents were there. They were sitting in the waiting area, looking annoyed rather than worried. Erica was playing a game on her phone.
When they saw us, my father stood up.
“Well?” he asked, checking his watch. “Is the drama over? Can we go home now?”
Michael stopped. He gently let go of my hand and walked toward them. He moved with a terrifying calm, like a predator stalking its prey.
He stopped inches from my father’s face.
“You killed our child,” Michael said. His voice was devoid of emotion. It was dead.
My father blinked. “Now, son, don’t be dramatic. It was a misunderstanding. Erica didn’t mean—”
“You have the right to remain silent,” Michael interrupted, his voice turning to ice. “Because anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
My mother gasped. “Michael! Are you threatening us?”
“No, Linda,” Michael said, looking at her with cold disgust. “I am promising you. From this moment on, I am going to make it my life’s mission to dismantle your existence. I am going to take everything you have. Your money, your reputation, your freedom. You are going to wish you had died tonight.”
He turned to Erica, who was finally looking up from her phone, fear dawning in her eyes.
“And you,” Michael whispered. “I bet if I really tried, I could put you in a cage where you belong.”
He turned back to me, wrapping his arm around my waist to support me.
“Leave,” he commanded them. “Now. Before I kill you myself.”
They scrambled away, muttering about us being ungrateful and hysterical.
Weeks later, I was staring at the empty nursery, a ghost in my own home. The crib was still in the box. The yellow paint on the walls mocked me with its cheerfulness.
My family kept calling. Voicemails piled up. “Sarah, pick up. We need to talk about Christmas.” “Sarah, don’t be like this. You’re tearing the family apart.” “It was an accident, Sarah. Forgive and forget.”
Michael watched me from the doorway. He had spent the last month in his office, working late, making phone calls, meeting with people I didn’t know. His grief had hardened into something sharp and dangerous.
He walked over and sat beside me on the floor.
“Sarah,” he said softly. “Do you want them to pay?”
I looked at the little rocking horse in the corner, the one I had bought the day I found out I was pregnant. I imagined my child riding it. I imagined the laughter that would never fill this room.
I looked at Michael.
“I want them to hurt,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “I want them to lose everything. I want them to feel as empty as I do.”
Michael nodded once. He kissed my forehead. Then he stood up and picked up his phone.
