The Same Wedding Dress, Two Different Brides Chapter 06

The Same Wedding Dress, Two Different Brides Chapter 06

The silence on the other end lasted so long I thought he’d already hung up.

When Elliot finally spoke, his voice was rough.

“Elena, that’s not funny.”

“I know you’re angry, but no matter how mad you are, don’t drag the baby into this just because

you’re upset.”

I looked at the induction paperwork beside my bed.

The words “intrauterine fetal demise” seemed to burn into my vision.

More than anyone, I wished I’d only said it because I was angry.

I wanted to hang up and still have my baby safe inside me.

But my baby had been gone since the moment Vivian hit our car.

I opened my mouth, ready to argue, then realized there was nothing left worth saying.

The moment Elliot used my father’s photographs to force me into signing that request, there was nothing left between us to talk about.

I didn’t need him to know.

I didn’t need his guilt.

I just needed him to leave my life quietly.

In the end, all I said was, “Elliot, I signed the leniency request. If even one more of my father’s photos goes missing, I’ll sue both of you.”

Then I hung up.

Elliot stood there holding his phone, an uneasiness he couldn’t explain tightening inside him.

My final words kept replaying in his head.

I hadn’t denied it when he’d said I was joking.

I hadn’t corrected him when he’d accused me of saying it out of anger.

Did that mean the baby was still alive?

That was what he thought.

Yet his unease gradually turned to panic.

At midnight, he called again.

“Elena, open the door. I’m outside your mom’s house.”

Just then, the night nurse came in to check on me.

“Ms. Walsh, are you still bleeding?”

Hearing the nurse through the phone, Elliot slowly went pale.

Even his voice trembled.

“Where are you?”

I looked toward the door and answered quietly, “I’m still bleeding.”

His voice shot up.

“Elena, answer me! Where are you?”

“The hospital.”

The words seemed to hit him like a blow.

I heard hurried footsteps on the other end, followed by his ragged breathing.

Half an hour later, Elliot rushed into my room.

He was out of breath.

He stared at me for a long time before his eyes slowly reddened.

At last, he believed me when I’d said the baby was gone.

I watched heartache, anguish, regret, and anger flicker across his face.

But when he finally spoke, anger swallowed everything else.

“You terminated the pregnancy.”

“Why?”

“Elena, you ended the pregnancy without even talking to me. Why?”

His voice was raw with grief.

I slowly clenched my hands, overwhelmed by a bleak, hollow sadness.