I stood up and walked to the dresser, pulling out my phone. My hand hovered over the screen as I scrolled through my contacts, finally landing on the number for my lawyer. If I was going to leave, I needed to be smart. Louis was powerful, and leaving him wouldn’t be easy, but I wouldn’t let my child be raised in this environment. I wouldn’t let them see their mother belittled and pushed aside.
But as my finger hovered over the call button, another thought crept into my mind. What if I didn’t have the baby at all? What if I ended it before it even started? The thought struck me like lightning, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
Was I really considering an abortion? Was I really thinking of erasing this last piece of hope?
Tears welled in my eyes again, but before I could fully process the decision I was contemplating, my phone buzzed in my hand. I blinked away the blur of my vision and glanced down at the screen.
A text from Jane.
My heart dropped.
With trembling hands, I opened the message. It was a photo—Jane and Louis together. He had his arm around her, and she was smiling up at him like they were a perfect little family. The caption read: Celebrating new beginnings.