I Lost My Baby, He Became Her Hero Chapter 07

I Lost My Baby, He Became Her Hero Chapter 07

Adrian walked along the empty street beneath long shadows cast by the streetlights.

One sentence repeated in his mind.

I hate you.

Natalie had never said those words to him before.

A few snowflakes drifted from the sky.

He looked up and remembered another snowy night years earlier.

Back then, he’d ridden a battered bicycle to pick Natalie up after work.

Her fingers were stiff with cold, and her lips had turned purple.

The moment she saw him, she ran over and wrapped her scarf around his neck.

“Adrian,” she’d said. “We’re going to stay together forever. We’ll never separate.”

His eyes had burned.

All he managed was one word. “Okay.”

Natalie smiled and tightened her arms around his waist.

“Then it’s settled. Forever.”

“Forever.”

Every word had been sincere when he said it.

When had everything changed?

Adrian closed his eyes as Vanessa’s face filled his mind.

Vanessa was smart and capable, often anticipating what he needed before he asked. She brought him coffee late at night and handed him mints and headache medicine after client dinners.

Vanessa never said more than necessary or crossed any boundaries; she simply stayed quietly by

his side.

At some point, he began waiting for those midnight coffees.

He started noticing whether she was still in the office.

By comparison, life with Natalie began to feel exhausting: she complained when he missed dinner,

repeatedly called during late nights at work, and cried whenever he forgot their anniversary.

Vanessa never did any of that.

She only smiled. “It’s fine. Take care of your work.”

He’d mistaken that ease for love.

He’d convinced himself that choosing Vanessa was right.

Now, sitting alone on an empty sidewalk, he wasn’t sure anymore.

Adrian wandered home in a daze.

Several police cruisers were parked outside.

Three uniformed officers stood in the yard.

Vanessa held Millie against her chest, her face drained of color.

The moment she saw him, she reached out like he was her last hope.

“Adrian, help me… They’re arresting me.”

“What’s going on?”

His voice was hoarse.

The lead detective turned and showed his badge and arrest warrant.

“Vanessa Moore is under arrest in connection with an aggravated assault.”

“On December 9, 2021, your former wife fell down a staircase and lost her near-term pregnancy.

Our investigation found that Vanessa gave the attackers Natalie’s address.”

“She also solicited them to retaliate against Natalie.”

Adrian stood motionless as a loud ringing filled his ears.

“Adrian, I didn’t do it… Natalie framed me.” Vanessa clutched his sleeve, tears spilling down her face.

He looked at her.

For seven years, that face had seemed gentle, sensible, and undemanding.

Now she looked up at him, her eyes full of tears and innocence.

A memory from that night returned.

Vanessa had called suddenly and claimed she felt sick.

Once he arrived, she kept making excuses to stop him from leaving.

Adrian checked the time several times as a strange sense of dread settled in his chest.

He’d reached for his phone to call Natalie.

Vanessa took it from his hand and begged him not to leave.

After a moment of hesitation, he turned it off.

He’d thought it was an ordinary night.

Instead, he lost his daughter. His relationship with Natalie had grown complicated after that night.

Afterward, he’d suspected something because Vanessa had behaved too strangely that evening, but he’d never asked, too afraid of the answer.

The truth could destroy the relationship he’d sacrificed everything to protect.

It could prove he’d abandoned his wife for the woman who caused their daughter’s death.

So Adrian chose denial.

Now the truth stood before him, raw and bloody.

Slowly, he pulled his sleeve from Vanessa’s hand.

Her fingers froze in the air.

The expression on her face changed little by little. “Adrian? You can’t abandon me… I love you. I love you…”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he turned away.

Her cries grew louder behind him, then slowly faded.

Adrian entered the empty house with Millie in his arms.

As the baby screamed in his arms, Adrian buried his face against her tiny swaddled body, his shoulders shaking as tears poured down his face.

It felt as though he had destroyed everything.