Seven Months Pregnant—My Stepsister Called My Baby a Bastard Chapter 07

Seven Months Pregnant—My Stepsister Called My Baby a Bastard Chapter 07

When I opened my eyes again, everything around me was white.

The sharp smell of antiseptic dried my throat

I touched my stomach without thinking.

it was flat Empty.

Graham’s voice came from beside me.

“Maren, do you want anything to eat?”

I turned toward him in a daze.

He sat by the bed, bruises still dark on his face and rough stubble covering his jaw.

“Where’s my baby?”

He reached for my hand, but I pulled it away.

I asked again.

“I asked you where my baby is.”

He lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.

“She was a girl. The trauma caused severe fetal distress, and the doctors couldn’t save her.”

He sat within reach, yet his voice seemed to come from miles away.

It took every bit of concentration I had to hear the words and understand them.

I said nothing and turned toward the window.

The sky was gray, giving no clue whether it was morning or evening.

I remembered the pale yellow sleepers I had bought, along with the tiny shoes and socks.

She would never wear any of them.

The crib Graham ordered was still sealed in its box

“That’s probably for the best.”

1 barely recognized my own voice

“Maybe it’s better that she left

“This world hurts too much. I’m glad she never had to enter it.

“Maren, please don’t say that.”

Graham collapsed beside the hospital bed, resting his forehead against the mattress as his

shoulders shook.

“I’m sorry, and this was my fault. Hit me, curse me, do anything you want.”

I stared at the ceiling without emotion.

“The divorce settlement is in the nightstand drawer Sign it and bring it back here.”

His head snapped up, his eyes bloodshot.

“No.”

“Give me one more chance. Let me make this right

“I already gave you eight years.”

I turned my head and looked down at him.

“Whatever happened between you and Talia before me, eight years should’ve been enough to

choose a side.”

“Instead, you dated me while crossing every boundary with her and hiding behind the word

stepsister.”

“If her ex hadn’t contacted me, would you have hidden it forever and let me remain your fool?”

Graham’s lips trembled, but he could not answer.

I studied the man I had loved since I was nineteen.

I had done countless foolish things for him.

I had slipped into his lectures and shamelessly taken the seat beside him.

I had carried cold water across campus to meet him after practice.

One winter, I stayed awake several nights knitting him a crooked scarf.

He had not mocked it. He stroked my hair, put it on and smiled.

“It looks great. Thank you.”

I had floated through the rest of that day.

Now, when I looked at him, I felt nothing but emptiness.

“Graham, you have one final chance to compensate me.”

“Give me the condo and your share of our marital savings.”

“I refuse to waste another year of my life on you.”