Chapter 4

Damien's whole expression shifts. That fake softness vanishes. "Claire. You're being ridiculous right now."

I'm done. I turn and head for the exit. But Sophia runs up behind me and grabs my arm, putting on her best worried face.

"Claire, wait. Is this because I came? Are you mad at me? I'm sorry, I really am…"

Her nails dig into my skin hard enough to draw blood. I try to shake her off.

"Get your hands off me."

That's when Sophia stumbles. Her body tips backward, she hits the floor. But as she goes down, she grabs my arm and shoves me forward with everything she's got.

I go down the staircase. My body flips, rolls, slams against every step until I hit the bottom.

Damien sprints toward us.

But the name he screams isn't mine.

"Sophia!" He drops to the floor next to her, hands shaking, checking her face. "Where does it hurt? Show me, baby, show me."

Sophia dabs at her tears, whimpering. "My ankle… I think I twisted it… it hurts so bad…"

Damien's eyes go red. He scoops her up and rushes toward the ER. Doesn't look back. Not once.

And me? I'm crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, both hands on my belly, shaking so hard I can barely see straight.

Someone in the crowd yells out, "She's bleeding! That woman is bleeding!"

Pain tears through my lower belly.

Something warm spreads between my legs. Bright red. Soaking through my white dress.

Damien freezes. He turns around. Looks down at me on the floor. And his face isn't panicked, isn't guilty. It's pissed off.

"You know what, Claire? You pushed Sophia. YOU did this. So don't you dare blame anyone else."

I shake my head, over and over, tears pouring. My voice is barely there.

"I didn't… it wasn't me…"

Damien pulls Sophia closer. His voice goes soft. Gentle, even. But what comes out is the coldest thing I've ever heard in my life.

"Just deal with it. We were getting rid of that baby anyway. This just saved us a trip. But Sophia dances for a living. Her ankle actually matters."

Then he steps right over me. Like I'm a piece of furniture in his way. Carries Sophia into the ER and never turns around.

I'm curled up in my own blood, screaming at the people staring down at me.

"Help me… please, somebody help me… please…"

They stare. They whisper. They pull out their phones and start recording. Not a single person moves.

The last thing I see before everything goes dark is a doctor running out, shouting for a stretcher.

......

Three days later, I open my eyes.

The doctor is sitting at my bedside. She can't look at me. "I'm sorry. We couldn't save the baby. Please try to rest."

I smile.

Gone. Good.

My baby doesn't deserve to be born into this family. And everything about Damien St. Clair makes me sick now.

I check myself out. Go straight home. Pull together every document I need for tomorrow and shove them into a bag, hidden out of sight.

One more day. And I'm gone for good.

Then arms wrap around me from behind. My whole body locks up.

"Get off me!"

Damien nuzzles into my neck, voice dripping honey. "Hey, hey. You're still mad? Babe, come on. I told you, there were complications. That baby was only gonna cause you more pain. I did it for you."

I laugh. Short. Ugly.

"One baby after another after another. Gone. And you just shrug it off like it's nothing?"

He pulls me in tighter. His voice drops, and for the first time there's a crack in it. "Babe… you make it look so easy. It's never even hard on you. So we lost one. We'll just make another one. What's the big deal?"

My whole body shakes.

What kind of person says that? What kind of thing walks around looking human and says that to someone's face?

Before I can pull away, he grabs me by the waist, lifts me up, and throws me onto the bed. His eyes go dark.

"Claire. Let's try again."

I stare up at him. I can't even process what's happening.

"Are you out of your mind? I just had a miscarriage!"

He pins me down and kisses me. Hard. Like it's not a question. "One more. Be a good girl. We'll get it right this time."

I slap him across the face.