STIGMA

While I Was Bleeding Out, He Lit Lanterns For Her

Katie Oettgen

As I lay on the floor of our manor, bleeding out from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, I used my last ounce of strength to call my husband, Cole. I begged him for help, my vision blurring. But the only thing I heard was the clinking of champagne glasses and his mistress's giggle in the background. "Stop the drama, June," Cole snapped, his voice cold. "We're about to go on stage. Don't call again." He hung up, leaving me to die alone on the Persian rug while he accepted an award with another woman on his arm. I woke up in the hospital days later. My baby was gone. They had removed my fallopian tube. Cole finally arrived, smelling of expensive scotch and his mistress's perfume. He didn't hug me. He didn't cry. Instead, he leaned over my hospital bed, pressing his knee into the mattress until my fresh stitches tore open and bled. "You embarrassed me by calling an ambulance," he hissed. "My mistress, Alycia, says you're faking it. Clean yourself up." He left me bleeding again to go announce a $10 million donation to Alycia's "groundbreaking" medical research. I stared at the TV screen, numb. The research Alycia was taking credit for? It was mine. I wrote that patent years ago under a pseudonym. They thought I was just a poor, orphan housewife who needed Cole's money to survive. They had no idea I was actually a billionaire scientist hiding my identity. I pulled the IV needle out of my arm. A drop of blood fell onto the divorce papers I had been hiding. I didn't wipe it off. I signed my name right over it. Then I walked into the bank, reactivated my dormant account with $128 million, and bought the penthouse directly overlooking Cole's house. The mourning widow is dead. The avenger is born.

Romance Crime Revenge Pregnancy Enemies to Lovers Pregnancy Personal Growth

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At night, in a small town by the seaside, a lot more stars could be seen in the night sky than in the city. The splatter of stars twinkled beautifully, lighting up the town.

On the beach, there was a girl standing on the shore and looking into the distance. She had a fight with her father because she didn't want to go abroad. To clear her mind, she had come to this small seaside town on an impulse, but her father had tracked her down using GPS. He had come all the way here and asked her to go home with him tomorrow. During the past few days here, she had grown to like this small seaside town, which made her feel comfortable and at home. She didn't know if she would ever feel this way after going abroad.

The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was melodious. It was her last night in this seaside town, so she wanted to enjoy it as much as she could.

Suddenly, there was a flash of bright fireworks in the sky. It only lingered in the air for a moment, and she didn't like the way the fireworks made her feel. At the same time, she saw big words in the sky and thought, 'The person named Jessica must be very happy to see these words designed for her.'

She had been walking around in the small seaside town for a whole day, so she was exhausted. Finally, she left the beach and went to her hotel. After taking a shower, she lay on the bed, but she couldn't fall asleep for a long time. She had resisted going abroad for so many days, but she had finally given in to her father. Then why had she rebelled against him in the first place?

While she was thinking, she heard the door of her room being pushed open. But who would come to her room at this time of the night?

In the dark room, she couldn't see anything, but she heard the crash. She didn't dare to make a sound until the man who had just entered lay down on the bed next to her, reeking of alcohol. She guessed that he had come to the wrong room by mistake. "Hey, you're in the wrong room," she said tentatively, poking him.

This night, she transformed from a girl to a woman. At dawn, she just grabbed something and left.

After walking out of the room, she looked at the room number and realized that she was the one who had been in the wrong room.

After returning home, she kept thinking about what had happened that night. After all, she had just lost her virginity.

The three-month summer vacation passed in the blink of an eye. But recently, she had been throwing up a lot and had a poor appetite, which worried her father. Therefore, her family took her to the hospital for an examination, only to find out that she was pregnant.

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