From Baby Bump to Broken Back - Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Hearing those words, I felt like I was still drowning in the suffocating pain that surrounded me. The baby's cries echoed endlessly in my ears, each wail slicing through my heart like a knife. The agony in that moment was unbearable.
"Let's not forget Giselle is paralyzed because of that surgery. She's your wife, Darrel! She carried your child for nine months—do you have any idea what that takes? If she hadn't disobeyed and gotten that piercing in secret, none of this would have happened."
Darrel let out a heavy sigh. "Karina already made a concession by letting her have a child. Do you think I don't feel guilty? But I owe the Reverie Family—what choice do I have?"
The other man's voice dropped to a furious growl. "Then you never should have gotten involved with Giselle Siegfried in the first place!"
They stormed off, leaving behind nothing but tension. Hidden from their sight, silent tears streamed down my face, my sobs trapped in my throat.
"Is everything handled?" I heard Darrel ask as he adjusted my bedding.
"The payoff was substantial enough to keep them from ever coming back."
He'd shipped every last person involved in my surgery overseas—a ruthless, iron-fisted solution.
A bitter laugh escaped me as I kept my eyes shut tight. I'd actually believed he was as excited about the baby as I was.
When I fell down those stairs, I blamed myself. I twisted my body mid-fall, sacrificing my spine to protect my stomach, refusing to let anything sharp touch it.
But I never imagined Darrel Roderick had orchestrated it all. He'd slicked the floor with oil, ensuring my fall, and even had an executioner waiting at the hospital.
What a cold, calculating monster.
I'd been so proud of my husband, convinced our marriage was real. But it was all a lie.
Just to secure his inhence, Darrel was willing to destroy his own child—our child—so he could fulfill some hollow promise.
The thought sent a violent shiver through me. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.
Maybe my emotions were too obvious, because Darrel suddenly returned. He saw the trembling lump under the blankets and immediately pulled me into his arms.
His voice dripped with remorse. "Giselle, we'll have another baby. I swear it. Just trust me, okay? I'll move heaven and earth to heal you. Please… don't cry."
He pressed a tender kiss to my forehead. "Every tear you shed shatters my heart."
My eyes stayed fixed ahead, burning with hatred. I didn't dare look at him—afraid he'd see the venom in my gaze.