Chapter 4
It felt like I’d hit the point where pain couldn’t even hurt anymore.
Ryan had just calmed the little girl down when he caught sight of my bloodshot eyes.
But he didn’t say anything.
He just scooped me up and ran straight into the ER.
The speed and weightlessness made it impossible to tell what was real.
All I could see was his cold, stoic face-
Exactly the same as the day I lost our baby.
Only now… he finally had a child.
He should be happy.
I don’t know how long passed.
The ticking of the IV drip slowly grew louder in my ears.
I blinked my eyes open.
And there he was-
Peeling an apple at my bedside.
The moment he saw I was awake, he dropped everything and rushed to pull my blanket up.
His voice was gentle, but tinged with frustration.
“You’re awake?”
“When are you gonna start taking care of yourself?”
“You didn’t even notice you had a fever.”
Yeah. I’m the kind of idiot who can’t even take care of herself.
That’s how I lost our baby.
And my husband.
But at this point there’s not much left to lose anyway.
I moved my lips and said it out loud:
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He Gof His Dream Baby Just Not With Me
33.3%
“Ryan, let’s get divorced.”
His hand froze mid–slice.
He didn’t look at me.
“What’s the point of bringing that up?”
“We’re already divorced.”
“If you’re in a rush to remarry, we can move the date up.”
He said it fast-
Too fast.
Whenever he talked about this kind of thing before, he was always calm and cocky.
I sighed and smiled bitterly.
“No need. We’ll stick to the original date.”
Not like I’m showing up anyway.
Thanks to a mix of new illness and old injuries, I ended up in the hospital for two weeks.
Ryan did come by a few times.
Not many.
But I didn’t expect anything anymore.
Whether he came or not, it didn’t matter.
The day I was discharged, Ryan had promised to pick me up.
But as soon as I finished packing, he called to say something had come up.
I didn’t ask what.
It had nothing to do with me anymore.
I gathered my things and signed the release papers on my own.
Just as I was about to take the elevator,
A young woman brushed past me in a rush.
She was holding a medical report, practically glowing.
“Babe, look!” she said to the man beside her.
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He Got His Dream Baby Just Not With Me
36.1%
“The doctor said our baby’s perfectly healthy!”
The guy broke into a huge smile and pulled her into a tight hug-
Like she was his whole world.
And for a second,
I saw myself…
But she wasn’t me.
And the man standing beside her-
Was Ryan.
pulled my baseball cap down low and walked right past them.
I didn’t want to be seen.
Back home, I packed the last of my things.
Twenty years of knowing each other.
Eight years of marriage.
It all fit into two suitcases.
I used to wonder if I should’ve never fallen for him.
But maybe it doesn’t matter who you fall for.
Men are never satisfied.
And now the dream I clung to as a girl has finally ended.
But once the caged bird is set free,
She doesn’t know where to fly.
I looked at the flight ticket I’d booked.
Then changed it to tomorrow morning.
There were still ten days left until our remarriage date.
Ryan was probably still basking in the glow of fatherhood.
He wasn’t coming after me.
Which meant I could leave without regret.
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He Got His Dream Baby Just Not With Me
38.9%
Chapter 4
The next morning, I rolled my suitcase into the airport shuttle.
Just as we pulled out of the neighborhood,
A sleek Maybach sped past us-
Not the kind of car that ever showed up near my place.
The driver glanced out the half–rolled window…
And spotted me.
Screeching tires.
He slammed the brakes and jumped out in his suit, running toward me like a madman.
“Isabella! Where are you going?!”
I smiled calmly and told the driver,
“Sir, could you go a little faster? I’m in a hurry.”
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