Chapter 3

After the procedure, I lay in the hospital bed, my lower abdomen feeling hollow, as if someone had forcibly torn a piece of me away. My whole body ached as though I'd been run over by a truck.

I rested a hand on my flat stomach, dazed for a moment.

“Baby, don't blame Mommy…”

Just then, my phone rang. It was Freddie.

“Where are you?”

His voice was cold.

“Olive, do you even realize you're pregnant? Why aren't you home this late? What are you thinking?”

His accusation sounded absurd to me.

How could a man split his heart between two women and still act so righteous and completely guiltless when he was with the other one?

“I'm at the hospital.”

“The hospital?”

His voice immediately betrayed his panic.

“What happened? Why are you at the hospital? Is something wrong with the baby?”

My voice remained calm.

“Nothing. I just had an abortion.”

Freddie fell silent.

After a long silence, when he finally spoke again, his voice was colder than I'd ever heard it.

“Olive, do you think lying is funny?”

“I just couldn't go with you to your prenatal checkup because something came up at work. Do you really have to take your anger out on me over it?”

“Something came up at work?” I laughed. “Freddie, how did I never realize how good you are at lying?”

“What?”

“The baby is adorable. Looks just like Gwen, doesn't she?”

A chair screeched violently against the floor on the other end of the phone.

Freddie's voice was impossible to read.

“How did you find out?”

I didn't answer. Instead, I asked with a hint of laughter in my voice, “Don't you think it's ridiculous that I ended up like this over someone who was never even dead in the first place?”

There was a brief silence on the other end.

“Come home first, Olive. I'll explain everything to you later.”

“Freddie,” I cut him off. “There is no ‘later’ for us.”

With that, I hung up.

As soon as the call ended, a message from my senior popped up.

[Your flight's already booked, Olivia. The project team will cover all your expenses.]

I let out a breath, lowered my head, and typed: [Okay. Thank you.]

Then, without hesitation, I blocked Freddie, Gwen, and everyone else involved.

From that moment on, I would have nothing more to do with any of them.

Once I'd done that, I pulled the IV needle from the back of my hand.

But just then, the door suddenly flew open.

Freddie, Gwen, and the others stood outside.

Before I could even react, Mom's hand came swinging across my face.

Her voice was hoarse, clearly from crying. “Tell me, where did you hide the baby?”