---- storm inside me. "Bury the baby here. I just want to take my mother's ashes with me." Audrey nodded, her face drawn in grief. "I'm sorry, Summer. Our family failed you. Go. You've done more than enough for Ricky. Start your life over." With that, she lifted the baby's body in her arms and slowly walked away. The tears I had been holding back slipped free the moment she disappeared from view. Her silhouette reminded me of Pauline-so kind, so gentle. Before Pauline passed, she'd written a will covering the rest of my mother's medical expenses, settling everything on my behalf. Back then, I had agreed to help Ricky simply to repay Pauline's kindness. He had been cold, rejecting anyone who came near, pushing people away with indifference and suspicion. But the more time I spent with him, the more I ---- glimpsed the vulnerable soul hiding beneath the armor. He wasn't the unfeeling man others saw. Sometimes, he'd talk in his sleep -murmuring for his mom and dad not to leave, whispering that he missed them... That was when I finally understood. When he was a child, Ricky's parents were consumed by their careers. They'd often lock him up at home alone. A small boy, left in the dark. He had grown up with no sense of safety. That's why he feared closeness and saw everyone as a threat. And maybe that's why I slowly stopped seeing it as repayment. I began to pity him... then, without even realizing it, I began to love him. I wanted to heal that anxious, fragile heart. I'd hold him when he cried in his sleep, softly humming his mother's favorite lullabies. We'd rewatch the cartoons from his childhood, play with the toys he never got to enjoy. I wanted him to face those lonely years with courage-to stop shrinking ---- back from the world. And at night, when he'd unconsciously cling to my sleeve in his sleep, afraid I'd disappear, I'd slip my arm under his head and let him rest there until morning. Maybe it was my warmth that reached him. He began to grow up. Bit by bit, Ricky changed-strong enough, finally, to take on the role of a mafia leader. Ayear ago, he proposed to me. Asked me to marry him. We planned to wed ina year. I said yes, happily, without hesitation. I really believed we'd make it. Until six months ago, when he didn't come home for the first time. Worried, I searched everywhere, eventually tracking him down at a bar. He had his arm around a woman. He threw Pauline's hidden will and our contract in my face. Eyes bloodshot, he shouted at me. ---- "Summer, who the hell are you to care who I sleep with? We're not even married yet. You think you're my wife already? "You're just the caretaker my mother hired before she died. Keep pushing, and I'll pull the plug on your mom's treatment." I stood frozen. When I got home, I stared blankly at the photos of us, of the happy memories I thought were real. That night, in my daze, I fell down the stairs. And that's when I found out I was pregnant. I thought... if I just kept loving him like before, giving him a home, being patient and warm, he'd understand. He'd forgive. He'd see that I loved him. But after everything I gave... I lost my mother, my child, and my love. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!