---- Chapter 6 The address was a whisper. Ethan didn't bother with the elevator, sprinting to his car, tires screeching as he blew through red lights, heart pounding-she can't be gone, she cant- He burst into the hospital room, breath ragged. "Lila!" Silence. The bed was stripped, the air stale. "How could this happen? Where's Lila? Where is she?" Ethan screamed, grabbing a passing nurse by the arm, his voice raw. The nurse recoiled, a scornful look in her eyes. "You've got nerve showing up here. Your wife was wheeled in bleeding out--we almost lost her." His grip faltered. "The baby... how did she-" 'She stared at him like he was a fool. "Dont play dumb. You partied while she was bleeding to death in your house. What kind of husband does that?" Her words faded into white noise. ---- Ethan could only hear Lila's last plea, whispered into the void: "Help me." While he'd laughed with her attackers, left her to bleed alone. He collapsed to his knees, sobs wracking his body. "It's my fault. | killed our baby. | killed her" "Where is she now? Please-" The nurse sighed, softer now. "Someone picked her up this morning. | don't know who. Before he could rise, two officers approached, handcuffs gleaming. "Mr. Ethan? You're under arrest for multiple red light violations and drunk driving" heard the news while reclined in a luxury postpartum suite, peeling a grape. My best friend, Luna, hovered nearby, eyeing the scar on my abdomen. "What now? Ethan and Lisa are ruined," she said, voice trembling, | shrugged, calm as the marble countertop. "Divorce, of course. | refuse to spend the rest of my life tied to a monster." "Hell never agree. Not after everything" | set down my fork, the clink sharp in the silence. "He will." Luna hesitated, glancing at the tablet hidden in her lap-still open to the viral ---- video of my assault. "But the footage... you're exposing yourself to so much hate" | met her gaze, steady. "My body isn't a dirty secret. | didn't do anything wrong. Why should | hide?" The truth was, the stares didn't bother me-not the curiosity, not the judgment. Let them look. Let them whisper. Shame wasnit mine to carry. Aweek later, | stood in the police station visiting room, watching Ethan pace tthe tiny cell, stubble rough on his cheeks. 'Lila, 'm sorry-so sorry," he breathed, dropping to his knees the moment he saw me, hands cuffed behind his back. "Iwas a monster. Please, give me a chance-" "You drugged me, raped me, used me as a womb for your mistress's baby" | said, voice flat. "And you think 'sorry' fixes that?" His handcuffed hands reached for me, desperate. 'Il do anything, Just name it. | pulled a folder from my bag, flipping to the first page: a deed transfer. "Sign over all your assets. Every penny, every property." ---- He didn't even glance at the papers. "Done. Just... come back to me. Please." | smiled, cold and sharp-the first real smile I'd worn in months. | shoved the papers toward him, pressing the pen into his palm, watching as he scrawled his name without hesitation. But when | flipped to the next page, his hand paused, eyes narrowing at the bolded title: DIVORCE SETTLEMENT. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!