Chapter 5 He shouted in panic, "Doctor! Save her, hurry!" In that instant, there was no place for me in his eyes. I collapsed onto the floor. Warmth pooled between my legs, seeping down into my shoes. Our child was gone, just like that. I stared blankly at the ceiling, too numb even to cry. The doctor later said the miscarriage was caused by shock and the fall. But I knew the real reason. It was his words. "For the rest of my life, I'll only ever acknowledge Ryan." My phone buzzed with a notification. I hadn't wanted to look. After so much abuse online, I'd grown used to insults. But for some reason, this time, I picked it up. [She graduated top of her class, won a national scholarship, published in countless academic journals, and turned down an offer from one of the world's top three museums.] [She never relied on family connections, and she certainly never lived off a man!] [She did nothing wrong, never hurt anyone. Her only mistake was choosing the wrong person.] The words pierced my darkness like a single beam of light. My hands trembled as I scrolled down. These comments appeared again and again, beneath countless threads attacking me. The account's profile picture was of me and my father. When I was a little girl, sitting on his shoulders, grinning mischievously. A seventy-year-old man who barely understood social media had taught himself to register an account, typing out every word with sincerity, shielding me from the storm. In the comment section, the malice was merciless. [So what, did you sponsor her? No wonder you're defending her.] [This slut has fans now? How much are you paying per comment?] Chapter 5 IN DOR My chest ached so badly it shook. The truth was plain: the ones who truly loved me had never left. I dialed my father's number. When he answered, I couldn't speak. I pressed a hand over my mouth, trembling, sobbing uncontrollably. Resentment, humiliation, grief, all broke through at once, flooding out like a damn collapsing. My father said nothing. He didn't hang up. He just listened quietly, like he had so many nights when I was a child burning with fever, sitting awake beside me until dawn. When at last my tears were spent, his familiar voice came through the line, warm and steady. "Come home, my child." The day I was discharged, the sky was gray. And of course, I ran into them at the hospital entrance. I lowered my eyes, trying to pass unnoticed. But he saw me, and his expression hardened immediately. "Cynthia, this isn't the time for you to make a scene." I stopped and looked at him, silent for a long moment. Thinking I was swayed, he sighed, pulled a black card from his suit pocket, and held it out. "Take it. The password is your birthday." "Norwell, I was in the hospital because-" He cut me off before I could finish. "That's enough, Cynthia. Lucy hasn't been feeling well these past two days, she can't risk a chill. I need to get her home." He turned back to Lucy, his eyes soft, his touch gentle, every gesture dripping with care. He never noticed my pallor, how unsteady I was on my feet. If he had asked even once, he would have known our child was gone, For a long time, he didn't contact me. He assumed that once I'd calmed down and stopped making a scene, things would simply go back to the way they were. That evening, he came home carrying a bag of crabs and a bouquet of red roses. Chapter 5 50.00% The crab shells were a fragrant, glistening red, just like the ostentatious roses in his arms. Both arrived far 100 late 1 remembered the damp, moldy basement where he once held me tight, promising with all seriousness, "Someday, I'll make sure you can eat fresh crab every single day," But when success came, when he had everything, he never once brought me a crab again. Unless we fought. Only then would he toss down a bag and say, "Didn't you always love these?" We'd dined on delicacies from land and sea, but he never again stood in line just to buy me crab. He thought it too troublesome, beneath him, even. What he didn't know was that I had already moved out. When he opened the door, he found an empty house. Thad thrown everything away, leaving behind only two things on the coffee table, the certificate of my miscarriage, and the signed divorce papers. Both lay there, quiet and final. Chapter 5 50.00% Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!