9
Meanwhile, Liam was in Chloe’s bed, holding her close, the aftermath of their intimacy heavy in
the air.
Chloe’s breath hitched; her face was flushed.
Remembering his absence the previous night, Liam felt a pang of guilt. He reached for his phone, intending to call me.
message popped up.
was from me.
Liam opened it. His body went rigid; his face drained of color. He dropped the phone onto the bed.
Seeing his change in demeanor, Chloe’s eyes widened.“Honey, what’s wrong? You look awful Did something happen at work?”
Liam pushed her away, hard.
Chloe almost fell out of bed.
She pouted, her voice dripping with false fragility.“Honey, you hurt me! I’m pregnant; you need to be careful. I could miscarry.”
The word “miscarry” jolted Liam.
He snatched his phone, frantically rereading my message.
He thought he was hallucinating, but the bloody abortion consent form was there, stark and undeniable.
He zoomed in on the image.
It clearly stated:
“Summer Anderson, Female, 27 years old, 42 days pregnant.”
“Summer Anderson, Female, Early Pregnancy. Consent for abortion due to unexpected death of husband.”
The timestamp was from yesterday morning at ten.
At ten yesterday morning, he’d been at Chloe’s prenatal appointment. He hadn’t known I was pregnant.
The timeline clicked. His birthday, the night he’d been drunk, he’d have sex with me three times, without contraception.
Liam’s heart pounded.
His hand trembled as he dialed my
number.
The automated response repeated, “The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later.”
The more he called, the more frantic he became.
Chloe, unaware of the situation, wrapped her arms around Liam’s waist, her voice sweet and insinuating.
12:52
“Honey, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you paying attention to me?”
Liam roared, “Get off me!”
Chloe froze.
She’d never seen Liam like this.
She withdrew her arms, her eyes filling with tears.“Honey, what’s wrong? What did I do made you angry?”
Liam’s mind was a whirlwind.
Ne began dressing, desperately trying to process what he was happening. He needed to get home,
to see me.
He dressed shakily.
Chloe, unwilling to let him go, hugged him again, her eyes brimming with tears.“Liam, what’s wrong? Last night was perfect…”
Liam’s lips trembled.“Summer… She was pregnant, you know? Summer’s pregnant, and she’s having an abortion. I don’t believe it…”
He muttered, “She loves me so much. She wouldn’t want to get rid of our baby. She’s just playing games. Yes, that’s it, I’m not losing this baby, I love her so much…”
Liam stormed out of Chloe’s apartment, forgetting his jacket, rushing home. He burst through the door, shouting, “Summer, I’m back! You’re pregnant, I’m so happy. You’re not having an abortion, right?”
The house was eerily silent.
He raced upstairs, throwing open our bedroom door.
It was empty.
He looked around, noticing something was missing.
His face paled.
He threw open the closet door.
The clothes were still there. Relief washed over him. He hugged my clothes, gasping for air.“I knew it, Summer. You love me, you wouldn’t leave me. You’re not gone. You’re not really gone.” But then his eyes fell on a small box in the closet.
It held our cherished photo albums. The box was open.
He picked it up; it was empty.
The photos were gone.
Summer treasured those pictures, always looking through them, writing notes on the back of each one, “I love Liam Sterling, forever…”
They were gone.
He went mad.
He screamed, “Summer, please come out! Stop playing games!”
< 10
10
