Lightning illuminated the long island penthouse, casting sharp shadows on Lily's shaking body as she snuggled on the leather couch. Her phone display screen blazed with fifteen unanswered calls to Jason. Another wave of pain ripped through her abdomen, more powerful than the last.
"Please select up," she said, dialing again. The continuous ringing rang in her ear, mocking her despair.
The morning had begun otherwise. She had awoken to a faint flutter of movement in her stomach, her hand reflexively reaching for Jason's side of the mattress. Empty, as usual. His word from the kitchen counter: "Early assembly." Large traders. Consider your prenatal vitamins.
She had overlooked the lipstick stained cappuccino cup in the sink. She ignored the slight residue of unexpected perfume on his suit jacket after she finished the laundry. missed the fact that his smartphone always rang at dinnertime, prompting him to step away with apologetic grins that did not seem good in his eyes.
Outside, rain pounded against floor to ceiling windows, mirroring the storm forming inside her. Jason's dispersed stare toward the group rather than at his bride caught her sight on the mantle during their wedding ceremony. She should have known then.
Her cellphone vibrated. Desire fluttered in her chest for a little moment.
'Sorry, I'm busy with investors. The assembly is walking past its deadline. Jason's text content flashed across the screen.
The ache returned, sharper this time. Lily doubled over, crying out. Hot liquid trickled down her thigh.
Blood.
Her arms trembled as she dialed Dr. Martinez's number.
"Mrs. Reed, you should come to the sanatorium right away," the doctor's voice crackled over the cellphone.
"I I can not attain my husband," Lily muttered, tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Mrs. Reed, this is about your infant. "Please hurry."
Recollections flooded her head as she fought to face the situation. On their first date, Jason seemed so unlike the other company sharks she'd encountered. Their whirlwind courtship and his ardent confessions of love. The elegant wedding, in which she was too happy to notice his distraction. And then Sarah returns, like a perfectly timed torpedo to their marriage.
The elevator descent felt endless. Every floor represents every other second in their relationship's demise. Ground 20: the most neglected dinner date. Floor 15: The mysterious late night calls. Ground 10: Discovering Sarah's enterprise card in his pockets. Floor 5: The expression in his eyes when he saw Sarah at the charity event last month, one he'd never given Lily.
Inside the foyer, Thomas, the nighttime doorman, dashed to her side. "Mrs. Reed!" "You are as faded as a ghost."
"Health center," she said between tight teeth. "Please."
"Mr. Reed called earlier," Thomas said, helping her into a taxi, "and inquired about his gray suit for the gala."
The Gala. Buyers' assembly. Every other falsehood in their web of deception.
Thunder rumbled as the taxi drove away. She caught a peek of the charity gala location through the rain streaked glass. A familiar white Porsche sat in the parking space. Sarah Morgan's car.
"Seven months," Lily whispered, pressing her forehead against the bloodless glass. Sarah reappeared seven months into their marriage. Jason's "white moonlight" his former sweetheart, who had chosen a career over him years ago. Now a successful style dressmaker, she seeks to retrieve what she has misplaced.
The cab swerved through traffic, its wipers preventing a rain. Lily's cellphone vibrated once more.
A photo message was accidentally sent by Lily Chen, her satisfied buddy. Jason and Sarah are shown in detail near the event, holding champagne glasses. The timestamp is two minutes ago.
Another wave of anguish. Lily bit back a scream.
"Faster," she begged the motivating force. "Please."
Her smartphone rang. Dr. Martinez, once more.
"Mrs. Reed, your blood stress readings out of your ultimate test up... have you been under stress?"
Lily laughed bitterly. pressure? Try to watch your husband fall back in love with someone else. Try to ignore the late night calls, "business meetings," and lingering glances. Attempt to have a kid while knowing that its father's heart belongs to any other woman.
"The baby," she gasped out. "simply... just shop our toddler."
The clinic loomed ahead, its emergency lights shining through the darkness. As the taxi arrived, Lily's imagination and foresight blurred. The remaining element she saw became Jason's message:
The meeting has been completed. Having drinks with capable traders. Don't wait up.
Between the taxi and the emergency room, darkness seized her. The final thought before losing focus: their infant would not recognize its father's infidelity.
She imagined their honeymoon in Bali. Jason's vows under starry skies. His hand was on her belly when they realized she was pregnant. As they arranged the nursery, he smiled authentically. Goals crushed by the harsh reality of bright lighting as awareness returned.
A nurse adjusted her IV with pity filled eyes.
"Mrs. Reed?" The medical doctor may arrive shortly."
Lily's hand shot to her stomach. Empty. Flat.
"No," she whispered. "No, no, no..."
The door opened. Dr. Martinez entered with a gloomy attitude. Jason came in behind her, messy hair and an undone bow tie.
"Lily! I just received their messages. The gala reception turned out to be dreadful, and I "
Sarah's aroma lingered on his jacket, mixed with the scent of expensive champagne and broken promises.
Dr. Martinez cleared her throat. "Mr. and Mrs. Reed, i'm so sorry..."
But Lily was not listening. Her focus had focused on the champagne spot on Jason's sleeve and the smudged lipstick on his collar, a shade Sarah had been wearing in the photograph. The slight tremble in his arms hinted at more than just a problem with her situation.
Her baby is no longer with her.
And this became the final thread holding her marriage together.
"Get out," she whispered.
"Lily, please "
"GET OUT!"
Thunder rocked the windows. In that burst of lightning, Lily saw Jason for the first time: the shame in his eyes, the rehearsed falsehoods on his lips, the person who had chosen another female over their dying kid.
Samuel, her brother, stormed into the room, his fury distorting his functions when he noticed Jason. "You, bastard!" I had known you for hours before!"
"I didn't get any " Jason said.
"Shop it," Samuel yelled. "I saw you at the Gala. Each individual saw you.
Dr. Martinez touched Lily's arm. "Your circumstance... there may be something else you want to realize."
However, Lily had already made a decision. The following day, she would contact a divorce attorney. This night, she could grieve for her child, her marriage, and the woman she used to be. The naive woman who believed in forever, who thought love conquered all, and who relied on someone who was never hers.
Outside, the typhoon raged, wiping away the last remnants of wish and leaving behind a woman altered by pain and betrayal.
Lily Chen Reed died in her hospital room, with machinery beeping and rain falling.
And from her ashes rose a stronger person.
"Mrs. Reed," Dr. Martinez's voice fell through the tension, her fists tightening over the test findings. "The bleeding wasn't just from the miscarriage. "We noticed something in your scans."
The lines hung in the air, punctuated by another crack of thunder, as Lily braced herself for the next cruel twist in fate's plan. Behind the doctor, Jason's face paled, his guilt covered by genuine concern.
However, Lily no longer needed his struggle. She'd learnt the hardest lesson of all: sometimes the most painful ends resulted in the most powerful beginnings.
Dr. Martinez took a deep breath, knowing that her next words would shatter Lily's fragile worldview.