"I won't stand here while you insult my mother. I'll excuse this once because of your surgery. But try me again, Eliana, and you'll regret it. Go. Rest in your room."
I stared at him, searching for the man I once thought would burn the world before letting anyone hurt me.
He was gone.
Jaw locked, I turned and walked away. Darren didn't follow. He didn't check on me. Not a flower. Not a card. Not even a hollow “Are you okay?”
Later, I learned he left with Sally and the baby.
Two days passed before his driver came to fetch me from the hospital. Darren hadn't bothered to come himself.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I walked into.
The nursery.
The one Darren and I had painted together, soft yellow glowing on the walls as we laughed over baby names. The room we had filled with cribs and blankets, mocked me now.
It wasn't ours anymore.
It was hers.
The air smelled of powder and lavender. Sally floated in with a smug smile, her newborn in her arms.
"Oh, Eliana, you're back?" she cooed. "Please, don't wake baby Alex. He's finally asleep."
My breath caught. "What... what did you call him?"
She smirked. "Alex. Didn't Darren tell you? We chose it together."