"I said apologize! Didn't you hear me?!" he thundered.
My silence only enraged him more. His shout startled Stella awake.
Her voice was weak but dripping with grievance. "Stop pretending. No amount of 'sorry' can make up for the pain I've endured... or the child I lost."
A bitter laugh escaped me. "Why should I apologize? You two are the ones who wronged me!"
Stella's anger sharpened. "You didn't manage your husband. He lied to me because of you! If it's not your fault, then whose?"
Gerald rushed to her side, heart aching as he comforted her.
"It's my fault and Aliyah's fault. Stella, calm down. Don't get worked up."
He held her like she was a fragile princess, every movement gentle and full of affection.
He used to hold me like that.
Every sweet memory suddenly turned into blades, slicing my heart open piece by piece.
Then—a sharp pain stabbed my lower abdomen.
Warm blood slid down the inside of my thigh.
I gasped and instinctively moved toward the door to call for a doctor.
But Stella pushed Gerald away in a petulant fit.
"Why should I be the only one suffering? We're both your women! Why am I the one losing children, the one going through stomach-pumping misery?!"