Chapter 6
When Sarah awoke, the sterile white ceiling above her appeared unnaturally still and quiet. For a moment, she gazed silently and without expression. She sensed something wasn’t quite right with her body even through the fog of exhaustion. Her cycle had always been irregular. Long hours of picking grapes, skipped meals, and stress had all taken their toll. So, when she missed it this time, the thought of pregnancy didn’t even cross her mind. But then came the blood. The cramps. The gut-wrenching pain in the car. Suddenly, it all made sense. She had been carrying Harvey’s child. Tentatively, Sarah lifted a trembling hand and placed it over her stomach. Her palm was cold against the thin hospital gown. Just then, the door swung open. Harvey walked in, holding a stack of test results. Their eyes met. Sarah instinctively flinched and shrank back into the sheets. But then, remembering the baby, she found a trace of courage and pushed herself up slightly. “If you and Zoey don’t want me around… I’ll leave,” she said softly, barely above a whisper. “But… can I keep the baby?” The words slipped out quietly, cautiously, almost like a plea. She had once been vibrant, full of energy and light. Now she lay there in that hospital bed, pale and fragile, like something time had worn down. Her grandmother spoiled her once. Harvey had too. But those days were over. That kind of love was long gone. And maybe, she realized, it had never been real at all. She wasn’t asking for Harvey’s love, forgiveness, or even kindness anymore. All she wanted now was the right to keep her child. Harvey’s expression darkened. He threw the stack of test results onto the side table with a sharp snap, his anger rising like a storm about to break. “You’re not keeping it,” Harvey said coldly. “The procedure’s scheduled for tomorrow.” Sarah froze. Her lips parted, trying to form a response, but it took a long, painful moment before any sound came out. “What… did you say?” she asked, her voice cracking. “This is your child, too.” Tears streamed down her face before she could react. They had become increasingly familiar since she learned that the love she had clung to was one-sided. The man who used to protect her, who once feared she might get hurt, was now the one causing her the most pain. “What do I owe you, Harvey?” Sarah asked in anguish. “If I’d known you’d treat me like this, I would’ve rather never met you!” Harvey’s eyes narrowed sharply. Without warning, his hand shot forward and clamped around her throat. “You think you’re worthy of carrying this child?” he spat. A cruel smirk twisted his lips. “You want this kid to grow up knowing his mother’s a thief? A plagiarist?” Sarah’s entire body went numb. His grip didn’t loosen. The hatred in his eyes was real, burning, and relentless. And it was all because of Zoey. Zoey had claimed it was about stolen designs, that Sarah had been her ghostwriter, and that she had always lived in Zoey’s shadow as the quiet, invisible sister. But even if Sarah had proof, Harvey wouldn’t have believed her. He hadn’t loved her. He had only gotten close to her to protect Zoey. To punish Sarah for something she never did. And then, like a door suddenly flung open in her memory, it all came rushing back. The day Harvey truly snapped—the same day Zoey got married. That night, the man who was always cold but controlled had become something else. Vicious. Ruthless. He broke her down word by word, touch by touch, until she collapsed from the weight of it all. She remembered his words that night, slurred and spoken through clenched teeth. “If you hadn’t ruined Zoey, she wouldn’t have had to marry someone she doesn’t love.” At the time, Sarah had pushed it from her mind, forgotten about it entirely. But now, as she stood there, everything came rushing back. She also recalled how things only deteriorated after the news broke that Zoey was pregnant. Harvey’s cruelty became relentless each day. Even when she begged him to stop, telling him she had work the next day, he remained indifferent. Back then, Sarah convinced herself it was just the passion of their lovemaking, But now, as she thought back to the steep hillside trail, how her legs had given out, how she nearly slipped, and how the overseers had cursed and spat on her, she understood. Harvey had wanted to push her to the edge. And now, standing before her with that same face, that same voice, he spoke about taking her child as if it meant nothing. Because, to Harvey, it never had.