Chapter 22:
D
Third Person POV
Magnus’s voice was still week, barely more than a whisper. It sounded like he was talking to himself.
“If you’re awake,” Chelsea said coldly, “then get your things and leave. You’re not welcome here.”
She yanked her hand out of his grasp.
“Chelsea, please,” he begged, clutching her wrist like it was the last thing keeping him alive. “Forgive me. Just once. Please.”
“Let go.” Chelsea snapped. “There’s no going back for us.”
She struggled, and this time, she managed to free herself.
“No, Chelsea, that’s not true! We can fix this–if you just give us a chance.“!
“But I don’t want to, she cut him off without a second thought.
Then she tumed, opened the drawer by the bed, and pulled out a folded piece of paper.!!
“What makes you think you deserve forgiveness?” she asked, tossing the paper onto his chest.
As Magnus unfolded it and saw what it was, his heart felt like it had been whipped a thousand times over.
It was a hospital report of a miscarriage.
He had never even known she’d been pregnant.
“No Chelsea, tell me this isn’t real,” he said, his voice cracking as he looked at her in disbelief.”
“Not real?” she echoed with a bitter laugh. “You’re still in denial, even now?”
She pointed to her chest, her voice trembling with emotion.}
“Magnus, have you ever heard the sound of a heart breaking? Do you know how much it hurt when I found out I lost the baby? You’ve never had a heart, so how can you ask me to forgive you?”
With that, she turned to leave, but the sound of him crashing to the floor made her stop.
Yet, she didn’t look back. She just stood there, listening to his voice break with regret.
“Chelsea… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… I didn’t know…” he choked out. “Please, just give me one more chance. Just one. We can still have our own child again someday…“!
His voice was hoarse, raw with emotion.
“I did give you a chance, Magnus,” she said tiredly, still facing the door. “I went to that party because you said you wanted to make up for my birthday. And what did I get? You forced me to drink. You invited people who tried to hurt me. And because of you, I lost our child.” Her voice was heavy with pain.
“So tell me… how am I supposed to convince myself to forgive you? Just leave. I told you–I never want to see you again.”
Without another word, she walked out of the bedroom.
Magnus watched her go, and his chest ached so badly it felt like he couldn’t breathe. He collapsed to the floor, clutching his heart, crying silently.
Later that morning. Chelsea arrived at her office, only to find Alaric already waiting for her.
“Chelsea? Something happened?” he asked, rising to meet her “Why are you so late today?
He gently took her hand, concern written all over his face.
“I’m fine,” she replied calmly. “Just didn’t sleep well last night.”
As she spoke, she quietly pulled her hand away from his. There was a brief flicker of disappointment in his eyes as her hand slipped from his grasp.
“It’s all taken care of,” he said after a beat. “The other party probably realized that offending both our families wasn’t worth it. They took the photos down and even sent over a public statement. You don’t need to worry about it anymore.“!
He reached over and ruffled her hair with a warm smile.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go pick out a dress for tonight’s banquet“}
He took her hand again and led her out of the office!
What neither of them expected… was that they’d run into Magnus again at that very same banquet.
L
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