The Child I Carried Secretly

r, the price I' d paid for building an empire with my h

on: a sordid tale of his affair with a young intern while h

shoved me so hard I fell. The fall caused a miscarriage, ending the l

led leg. In the hospital, he pleaded for my forgivenes

t a kid,"

the very person who

ecided I wouldn't just leave him. I would syst

pte

Freder

n Braden' s absence. My stomach burned with a fire that had nothing to do with the surgery I' d just endured.

space where people bared their souls under the cloak of anonymity. Usually, it offered a strange comfort, a

s perspective. He started with a lie, a flimsy excuse he' d spun to escape hi

thing with her stomach. Honestly, it' s exhausting. The words were a pun

e his phone, especially any messages from his actual partner.

he. She just wants my attention, and I can' t help but give it to her.

g her hair, whispering reassurances. His to

Said she needed retail therapy. My little spendthrift, always getting what she want

so different from... them. She knows how to live, how to enjoy.

is bank account. That' s when he' d seen it. A message from his real partner about her surgery.

in the moment.nnI stared at the screen, every word a shard of glass. Stress-induced ulcer. Penny-pinching. Our future. The keywords screamed at me. I remembered the delicate silver necklace I'd wanted for years, the one I'd

f outrage, a digital mob tearing apart the anonymous poster. What a scumbag! Leave y

edside table. It' s a coincidence. Just a coincidence. This happens to people all the time. I ch

d. He rushed to my side, his face etched with concern, if a little late. "Erika, my love! I

is tie loosened, but something else caught my eye. A faint, sweet scent, not mine, not his cologne. I

escape? A cold knot tightened in

et. "I know it's not much, but I saw it and

r necklace. The one I'd wanted for years, the one

red, the name a st

ting it. I just want you to be happy." He reached out to touch my cheek, his brow

he anonymous post flashed in my mind. "He' s buying gifts now? That' s always a

my voice barely a whis

felt like a heavy chain around my ne