My mother did not comfort me.

She never had.

While I sat in the hospital bed holding the blanket tightly against my stomach, she stood beside the window with her arms crossed, looking down at the city below us.

“You need evidence,” she said finally.

I looked up slowly.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Her voice stayed calm. “If you want Ethan to regret this, tears won’t do anything. You need proof.”

I stayed silent.

“Premarital pregnancy. Infidelity during marriage. Sexual assault during marriage.” Her eyes turned colder. “And that son of his.”

My chest tightened instantly.

“He hurt you too, didn’t he?”

Images flashed through my mind immediately.

My son kicking me outside the hospital.

His angry little face.

I lowered my eyes quickly.

“Maybe…” My throat felt dry. “Maybe he was just influenced by them.”

My mother stared at me sharply.

“Maybe he was taught badly.”

Still silence.

“Deep down,” I whispered weakly, “I think he still loves me.”

The room became unbearably quiet.

Then my mother laughed once.

Not kindly.

It was the kind of laugh people made when they heard something foolish.

I slowly stopped talking under her gaze.

“He’s eight years old,” she said coldly. “Not two.”

I clenched the blanket tighter.

“The law should remove age protections for violent children entirely,” she continued. “Maybe then people would stop pretending little monsters are innocent.”

“Mom…”

“You still think he hurt you during your miscarriage because he’s young?”

I couldn’t answer.

Because the truth was—

I remembered the expression on my son’s face clearly.

There had been anger there.

My mother walked toward the bed slowly.

“You spent years sacrificing everything for that family,” she said. “Your money. Your career. Your body. Your dignity.”

Her gaze dropped toward my abdomen briefly.

“And they still treated you like something disposable.”

My eyes started burning again.

“What should I do?” I asked quietly.

For the first time since entering the room, my mother’s expression softened slightly.

“You leave.”

I looked at her blankly.

“You remove yourself from that house and find out who you are without them.” She handed me a keycard from her purse. “Go stay at my vacation villa.”

“I…”

“Stop worrying about their problems,” she interrupted sharply. “Let them collapse without you for once.”

Three days later, I was sitting on the balcony of my mother’s seaside villa wrapped in a blanket when my phone rang.

Ethan.

I stared at the screen for several seconds before answering.

His irritated voice came immediately.

“Where are you?”

No greeting.

“I went to the hospital to pick you up,” he continued. “The doctor said you were discharged days ago.”

I almost laughed.

A husband picking up his wife after surgery.

Such a normal thing.

Yet hearing him say it still made something inside me ache stupidly.

“Why would you come pick me up?” I asked softly.

The question slipped out before I could stop it.

Then I laughed at myself quietly.

Because even now, part of me had still hoped.

Still waited.

Still imagined he might suddenly become human again.

Ethan sounded annoyed by my tone immediately.

“The nanny’s cooking doesn’t suit my taste.”

I blinked slowly.

“And Lily keeps complaining she wants those pastries you used to make.”

I stayed silent.

“So come home tonight and make them.”

The sea wind outside suddenly felt colder.

I tightened the blanket around myself.

“I’m not your servant.”

“You’re my wife.”

“I used to do those things because—”

Because I loved you.

The words almost left my mouth automatically.

But Ethan interrupted before I could finish.

“I don’t want to hear your whining.” His voice turned impatient. “Just function like you’re supposed to. Cook. Take care of the house. Look after Lily.”

My fingers tightened around the phone.

“She’s uncomfortable because of the pregnancy,” he added coldly. “Stop being selfish for once.”

I laughed quietly.

Because suddenly the entire marriage sounded ridiculous.

I nearly died.

I lost our daughter.

I could never become pregnant again.

And this man’s biggest concern was dessert.

“When are you coming back?” he asked impatiently.

I stared at the ocean for several seconds before answering.

“Soon.”

Then I hung up.

A strange calm settled over me afterward.

Maybe my mother was right.

Maybe I had spent too long trapped inside that house trying to keep everyone happy.

Trying to be useful enough to deserve love.

I stood up slowly despite the pain still lingering through my body.

Then I went upstairs and opened my closet.

Most of my clothes at the villa were simple recovery outfits my mother had prepared for me.

Not my real things.

Not the jewelry my father left me.

Not the designer bags I bought before marriage.

Not the dresses I once loved.

All of those were still inside Ethan’s house.

Inside my house.

The thought of Lily touching them made disgust rise violently in my stomach.

Wearing my clothes.

Using my skincare.

Sleeping in my bedroom.

I suddenly couldn’t breathe properly.

No.

I wasn’t leaving my entire life behind for them to steal.

An hour later, I was in the car heading back.

One of my mother’s security drivers opened the back door for me.

“I can accompany you inside, Miss Harper.”

I shook my head instinctively.

“It’s fine.”

The driver hesitated. “Your mother instructed us not to leave you alone.”

“I’ll only pack my things.”

And stupidly—

I still believed Ethan had some remaining humanity left.

Enough not to hurt me again.

By the time I arrived, the house lights were glowing warmly against the evening sky.

It used to feel like home.

Now it looked unfamiliar.

The moment I walked inside, I heard laughter from the dining room.

Lily sat beside Ethan wearing one of my cashmere cardigans.

My son was feeding her strawberries while giggling.

The scene looked painfully domestic.

Like I was the outsider.

Lily noticed me first.

Her smile froze slightly.

“Aurora… you’re back.”

My eyes stayed fixed on the cardigan.

Mine.

She followed my gaze immediately and looked embarrassed.

“Oh… Ethan said I could borrow this because I was cold.”

Ethan didn’t even look guilty.

“It’s just clothes.”

Something dark twisted inside me.

I walked past them without answering and headed upstairs.

The bedroom door opened slowly.

Then I stopped moving completely.

Lily’s cosmetics covered my vanity table.

Several of my dresses were missing from the closet.

And framed beside the bed—

was a new ultrasound picture.

Their baby.

Displayed where mine should have been.

For several seconds, I simply stood there staring.

Then my hands started shaking uncontrollably.

Behind me, Ethan finally entered the room.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

I turned toward him slowly.

“This is my room.”

“You haven’t lived here recently.”

“I was hospitalized.”

“You’re being dramatic again.”

My vision blurred instantly with rage.

I grabbed the ultrasound frame from the bedside table and threw it across the room.

Glass shattered violently.

Lily screamed downstairs.

Ethan’s face darkened immediately.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me?” I laughed hysterically. “You put her child’s ultrasound in my room after our daughter died!”

Ethan stepped forward sharply.

“You’re insane.”

“No,” I whispered. “I was insane when I loved you.”

For the first time, he looked genuinely angry.

Then his eyes moved toward the open closet behind me.

“You came back for your things?”

“Yes.”

He stared at me for several seconds.

Then suddenly smiled coldly.

“Fine.”

Something about that smile made my stomach tighten.

“You can take them,” he said softly. “If you’re still able to leave afterward.”