Rain poured over the slick streets of London, turning the city into a blur of grey and reflections. Emma Reed froze as icy water hit her stomach, her eyes widening before she realized who was behind the wheel of the car. Mark Ellis, the man who had once whispered promises in a hospital room where their daughter had died, now smirked with cruel satisfaction.
Memories of that hospital visit hit her like a tidal wave. Emma had begged him to hold their baby just once. Instead, he had left her alone with grief while he attended a business meeting. Years later, the man who had once claimed love returned not as a partner but as an instrument of humiliation. Mud drenched her clothes, froze against her belly, and threatened the child growing inside her—a child doctors had once said she could never carry.
Mark’s voice cut through the storm. “Still playing the victim, Emma? Shopping like some desperate woman who couldn’t keep a man.” His laugh was sharp, cruel, designed to hurt. His eyes locked on her stomach. “And now… you’re pregnant? Really? Your body couldn’t carry one before, and somehow someone let you do it again?”