"You've gone too far this time, Maggie. Don't you dare expect me to forgive you!"
He turned and strode away with Tilda in his arms. Over his shoulder, I caught Tilda raising an eyebrow at me, a smug taunt written all over her face.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. I pulled out my phone and dialed 911, then pressed my palm gently against my lower belly.
"I'm sorry, baby. Mommy can't let you be born into a family like this..."
I couldn't hold on any longer. Everything went dark.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital bed with an IV drip in my arm. Xavier sat beside me.
His expression was complicated, unreadable. He spoke softly.
"The baby's gone. It's gone. We can have another one later."
"Just come with me now and apologize to Tilda. I'll forgive you. We'll pretend today never happened."
I let out a cold, scornful laugh.
"Xavier, you're delusional. I'm never apologizing, and I never want anything to do with you again."
Xavier shot to his feet. He grabbed the IV needle and ripped it out of my arm. The sharp sting tore a cry from my throat, but he didn't care. He yanked me up from the bed in one rough motion.