CHAPTER 5

Anastasia 

I stared blankly at the divorce papers for a long time after signing them.

The papers rested limply in my hands while silence swallowed the hospital room whole. My chest still hurt unbearably, but strangely enough, I couldn't cry anymore.

It was as though I had exhausted every tear inside me already.

I had loved Brandon with everything I had.

And in return, he destroyed me completely.

A hollow laugh almost escaped my lips.

How stupid had I been?

I closed my eyes tightly and leaned my head back against the hospital bed.

My baby was dead, my marriage was over, my family's company was slipping away from us because of my foolishness.

Everything I touched seemed to fall apart.

“I really ruined everything,” I whispered hoarsely.

The sound of my own voice made my chest tighten painfully again.

I slowly lowered my gaze toward my stomach.

The emptiness there mirrored the one inside my chest, causing a fresh wave of grief to nearly suffocate me.

I should have protected my child.

No matter how many times I tried to stop blaming myself, the guilt still consumed me alive.

Slowly, I pushed the blanket away from my body.

Pain shot through my abdomen immediately, but I ignored it.

None of it mattered anymore.

I carefully swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up weakly.

The room spun dangerously around me.

My body was still fragile from the miscarriage, and the IV needle attached to my hand tugged painfully when I moved.

I stared at it blankly for a second before ripping it out without hesitation. A sharp sting spread through my skin instantly.

Blood stained the tape slightly, but I didn't care.

I grabbed the divorce papers and shoved them into the bedside drawer before slowly making my way toward the door.

The second I stepped outside, a nurse immediately noticed me.

“Mrs. Moretti.” she exclaimed in alarm. “You shouldn't be out of bed yet.”

I kept walking.

“Ma'am, please…”

“I said I'm fine,” I muttered numbly.

But I wasn't fine.

I would probably never be fine again.

The nurse hurried after me anxiously.

“You need to return to your room immediately. Your condition is unstable…”

Her voice faded into background noise.

I just kept walking like a ghost wandering aimlessly, ignoring the looks I was getting and the nurses who tried to stop me.

Eventually, I reached the elevator, then the rooftop.

The cold evening wind hit my face the second the rooftop door opened and I stepped outside slowly.

The city stretched endlessly before me, glittering with lights beneath the darkening sky.

It was beautiful and peaceful.

Ironically peaceful for a world that had just completely destroyed me.

My hair whipped around my face violently as the wind grew stronger.

A sob escaped my throat as I stood there and stared blankly into the city.

“Why…” I cried weakly.

Tears spilled from my eyes again.

I staggered forward until I reached the edge of the rooftop.

I pressed a trembling hand against my chest like it would somehow stop the agony inside me.

“How did everything become like this?” I whispered brokenly.

My voice was swallowed by the wind.

I thought about Brandon, about the way I used to look at him like he hung the stars in the sky.

God, I had trusted him completely.

And he used that trust to destroy me.

A bitter sob escaped my lips.

“I was so stupid…”

I laughed weakly through tears.

What kind of woman loses everything in a single day?

“And I couldn't even protect my baby…”

My voice cracked violently.

The grief that followed nearly suffocated me alive.

I slowly sank onto my knees near the edge of the rooftop, crying helplessly into my hands.

I never even got the chance to tell Brandon, never got the chance to hear my child laugh, never got the chance to become a mother.

The emptiness inside me became unbearable.

I couldn't do this anymore.

Maybe it would be easier if I simply disappeared, maybe everyone would be better off without me.

Brandon certainly wouldn't care.

His mother would probably celebrate.

Rosalie already won anyway.

I was better off out of this world 

My tears slowed eventually, leaving behind a terrifying numbness.

Slowly, I stood up. The wind howled around me violently as I stepped closer toward the edge until my toes nearly hung over empty air.

My heartbeat thundered painfully inside my chest as I looked down.

The distance was dizzying.

One step that was all it would take and everything would end eventually, the pain would be over.

I closed my eyes slowly.

“I'm sorry,” I whispered, then I lifted one trembling foot and stepped onto the railing.

The cold metal shook slightly beneath me.

The wind pushed against my fragile body dangerously as I hesitated on the t for a while.

“Anastasia.”

The deep voice behind me cut through the wind sharply.

I froze instantly.

My breath caught in my throat.

That voice… sounded familiar.

Slowly, I turned around.

And my entire body stiffened in shock.

Damien Moretti stood a few feet away from me.