Ariana’s POV

My eyes blinked open. They were heavy, and so was my body too; everything hurt: my stomach, arms, head, and my heart

I blinked.

The ceiling was blurry. I blinked again. It came into focus.

I was in a hospital.

The smell of medicine.

I looked by the side, hearing sobs.

Sarah

I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my body.

I fell back against the pillows.

My hand went to my stomach.

It was flat.

Empty.

The baby was gone.

The baby was out.

Memories came flooding back like a wave of nostalgia.

"The baby," I whispered with a weak voice. Scratchy. "Where is my baby? I want to see my baby."

Sarah grabbed my hand. Her grip was tight. "Ariana lay down. You need to rest. You need to—"

"Where is my baby?" I tried to sit up again. The pain was worse this time. I cried out. Sarah pushed me back down.

"Ariana, please lie down. The doctors said you need to rest. You lost a lot of blood. You—"

"I don’t care about blood!" I screamed, my throat burned. My head pounded. "Where is my baby? Take me to my baby. I need to see my baby. Please Sarah. Please take me to my baby."

Sarah was crying, her tears were falling on my hand. She was shaking her head. "Ariana, I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry."

A cold feeling spread through my chest.

Fear.

The worst fear I had ever felt. "No. No, Sarah. Don’t say that. Don’t say sorry. Just take me to my baby, please, please take me to my baby."

Sarah looked at me with pity. Her voice was barely a whisper. "Ariana, the baby didn’t make it. I’m so sorry... the baby didn’t survive."

The words didn’t make sense.

They couldn’t make sense. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

I shook my head and pushed against the bed. I tried to get up, but Sarah held me down.

"No!" I screamed. "No, that’s not true. My baby is fine and alive! Take me to my baby!"

"Ariana, please. Please calm down—"

"You’re lying!" I grabbed her arm. I was crying so hard I couldn’t see. "You’re lying to me, my baby is alive, I felt him moving. He was alive! He was alive!"

The door opened, and nurses rushed in.

They surrounded the bed.

One of them took my arm, but I pulled away.

"Ma’am, you need to calm down. You’re going to hurt yourself."

"I don’t care! Where is my baby? Someone take me to my baby! Please! Please!"

Another nurse put her hand on my shoulder.

I pushed her away and tried to get out of bed.

The pain was unbearable, but I didn’t care.

I had to find my baby.

I had to see my baby.

"Ma’am, please. You’re bleeding. You need to lie down. You need to rest."

"I don’t want to rest!" I was screaming now. "My baby is dead? Are you telling me my baby is dead? No! No, I don’t believe you! Take me to my baby! I want to see my baby!"

The nurses looked at each other.

One of them held my arm.

One of them held my legs.

I fought them.

I kicked and screamed and tried to get free.

"Ma’am, we need you to calm down. You’ve been through a lot. Your body is weak. You need to—"

"My baby!" I screamed. "My baby is dead! Do you understand? My baby is dead, and you want me to calm down? I want my baby! Give me my baby!"

"Ariana, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry."

One of the nurses stepped forward. "Mrs. Russo, I know this is hard. I know this is devastating, but you need to understand what happened. You’ve been under so much stress, and your body has been through so much. The labor was long and difficult. The baby was too small and too early. His lungs weren’t developed. The doctors did everything they could, but he was just too weak. He couldn’t survive."

I stared at her. "He? It was a boy?"

The nurse nodded. Tears in her eyes. "Yes. A boy."

A boy.

Another son.

A son I would never hold.

Never feed.

Never watch grow up.

Never see a smile.

Never hear laugh.

A son who was gone before I even got to meet him.

I broke into a new set of painful tears.

The nurse put her hand on my arm. "Mrs. Russo, we’re going to give you something to help you sleep. Your body needs rest."

"I don’t want to sleep," I whispered. "I want my baby. I want to hold my baby. I never got to hold my baby."

The nurse’s face was soft, full of pity.

Another nurse came with a syringe. I watched her put it into my IV. I felt the medicine move through my veins.

Cold at first.

Then warm.

Then heavy.

I looked at Sarah.

She was still crying, still standing in the corner. Still shaking.

"This is Dante’s fault," I said, my voice slow.

The medicine was working.

He did this to me.

"I thought I had it all figured out, Sarah. Why me? Dante did this to me; he took my son. He hid him from me. He let Alan think I was dead. He let Asher grow up without his twin, and then he forgot me. He forgot everything we had. He forgot our children, our life. He chose Melissa. He chose her over us, and now my baby is dead. My baby is dead because I was too broken to carry him, too broken from all the lies. All the secrets. All the pain."

Sarah came to my bedside.

She took my hand. "Ariana, please. Don’t do this, we’re going to get through this."

I looked at her, and my eyes were closing.

"And Melissa," I whispered. "She did this, too; she finally won, and I lost. She didn’t give me a choice; I had to sign those papers, and now she took Dante from me, my husband. She took my son, and now she’s taken my baby. My baby is dead because of her. Because of both of them."

"Ariana—"

I couldn’t hear her anymore.

The darkness was pulling me down.

My baby was gone.

My son was dead.

Dante didn’t remember me.

Alan didn’t want me.

And now my baby.

My tiny, perfect, innocent baby.

Gone before I even got to hold him.

Dante did this to me,

My baby paid the price.

My baby died because I wasn’t strong enough to hold him, because my family was broken.

And now I had nothing. Nothing but the darkness and pain. Nothing but the empty space where my baby should have been.

I’m sorry, I whispered.

I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be stronger. I’m so sorry I let them break me. I’m so sorry I let them take everything.

I’m so sorry I let them take you.