The Return of the Neglected Wife

The pain started like a sharp cramp in my lower abdomen, but it quickly morphed into something worse—something unrelenting, like a vice squeezing the life out of me. I gripped the edge of the counter, breathless and dizzy, my hands trembling as the room seemed to spin.

I looked down at the floor, eyes swimming with tears, but I didn't want to cry. Not yet. I clenched my fists, willing the pain to subside. I had to be strong. I had to be calm. But the pain? It was something I couldn't control.

Everything I had worked so hard for—the little baby growing inside me, the quiet dreams of a future with Nixus—I felt them slipping away. There was no warning, no premonition. Just an overwhelming, gnawing pain that made my legs give out beneath me.

I staggered to the phone, my fingers slick with sweat, and dialed the number I had come to hate, even though it was still the one I'd always reach for in moments of distress.

Nixus.

He didn't answer. The voicemail clicked on, and I swallowed hard, trying to choke back the sob that threatened to escape.

"Nixus, please," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Something's wrong… I need you."

No response.

I should have known.

The agony kept building, a tightening knot of fear and pain in my gut, and I knew—I just knew—that something was terribly wrong. I didn't wait for him to call back. I couldn't. My instincts screamed at me to go to the hospital. So, I grabbed my coat, barely able to stand, but I pushed through it. Every step was a struggle, and I pressed my palm to my belly as if that could stop the pain, as if that could hold everything together.

I hailed a cab. The driver didn't ask questions. He probably thought I was just another panicked woman who'd overdone it. I probably looked like a mess, my face pale and drawn, clutching my stomach like I could somehow hold myself together.

The hospital was cold, the sterile smell of antiseptic making my stomach churn even more. I stumbled through the automatic doors, nearly falling to the floor as I made my way to the front desk.

"Please, help me," I begged the receptionist, my voice shaky.

Her eyes softened as she glanced at me, clearly assessing the situation. "You need a doctor right away. Please take a seat."

I didn't want to sit. I wanted Nixus. I needed him. But even as the words formed in my head, I knew deep down he wasn't going to come.

They took me in quickly, but the pain didn't let up. It was a brutal, constant reminder of the fear I felt deep in my bones, even as I lay on that cold examination table. The nurse did her best to calm me, asking a hundred questions that I couldn't answer through the haze of pain.

Finally, Dr. Williams walked in. She was the same age as I was, but she had a calmness about her, an assuredness that made me feel both safe and small. Her eyes met mine, and she offered a gentle smile.

"Let's get you through this, okay?" she said. "We'll take care of you."

I nodded, but my throat felt like it was closing up. I couldn't talk. Not now. Not while the pain was this intense.

Dr. Williams performed the usual examination, but it wasn't long before her face changed. The warmth in her expression faded, replaced by something more serious. Something colder.

I was scared.

I could see it in her eyes.

She moved away from me and spoke to the nurse, her words clipped, professional. My heart hammered in my chest as I lay there, too terrified to ask. I already knew. The silence screamed louder than any words could.

When she returned, her hands folded in front of her, I braced myself.

"I'm so sorry, Malia," she began, her voice soft but firm. "It looks like you've lost the baby."

The world tilted on its axis. I blinked, trying to process what she had just said. Lost the baby? No. It couldn't be.

"W-What?" I gasped, my voice barely audible. "No… no, please. There must be some mistake."

Dr. Williams shook her head. "I'm afraid not. The ultrasound shows there's no heartbeat. You're going to need to take some time to recover, physically and emotionally. I know this is hard, but we'll take good care of you."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. My mind raced as everything fell apart around me. The child I had wanted, the life I'd imagined—gone.

And Nixus?

Still nowhere.

I took a shaky breath, my hands trembling as I reached for my phone, willing myself to dial his number again.

I don't know why I even bothered. I must have known he wouldn't pick up. He was always like this—so focused on his own world, his own needs.

I let the phone ring.

And ring.

I waited for him to care. I waited for him to show up, to ask how I was, to be there. But when the voicemail clicked on, the cold reality set in. He wasn't coming. He never would.

I left a message. "Nixus… I need you… please, I need you here. Where are you?" My voice cracked, and I swallowed hard, hoping he would somehow hear the pain and fear in it.

I stared at my phone, waiting for it to ring, for him to reach out, for some sign that he cared about me—that he cared about us. But nothing came.

The seconds felt like hours.

It wasn't until much later, when the nurse brought me a cup of water and tried to soothe me, that my phone finally buzzed. I didn't recognize the number at first, but I answered anyway, my heart skipping in anticipation.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end was familiar, but it wasn't Nixus's.

It was his assistant.

"Miss Brown, Mr. Salvatore is currently unavailable," she said in her usual monotone voice. "He's on vacation with Miss Selene, and he asked me to relay a message. He's sorry, but he's unable to take your call right now."

The breath caught in my throat. Selene.

Of course. His true love. The woman he'd never stopped loving, the one I'd always known was there, lurking in the shadows. The one he would choose over me in an instant, given the chance.

I gripped the phone tighter, my knuckles white. It was almost laughable, how predictable this all was. I had always known, deep down, that he would never truly be mine. That I was just a placeholder—someone to be used until he got what he really wanted.

And now, in this moment, the worst moment of my life, he wasn't even here. He was with her.

I felt the tears sting my eyes, the weight of everything crashing down on me. The loss of the baby, the loss of my dignity, the realization that I had spent years of my life loving a man who didn't even have the decency to care when I was at my lowest.

I hung up without another word, staring at the phone as if it could somehow give me the answers I so desperately needed. But all it offered was emptiness.

I curled into myself, the pain in my stomach now a dull ache, and I let the tears fall. I cried for the baby I would never hold, for the future that had been torn away from me. And most of all, I cried for the love I had given to a man who never deserved it.

How had I been so foolish?

How could I have loved him so much?

In the silence of the hospital room, I slapped my own hand across my face. It wasn't a gesture of anger. It was the bitter realization that I had let myself be weak. I had let myself be manipulated. I had given my heart to a man who would never be mine.

I could feel the sting on my cheek, and for the first time in a long time, I didn't care about the pain in my body. It was nothing compared to the crushing weight of the truth.

I had been a fool. And I would never be one again.

As I stared at the phone, still numb, I made a silent vow to myself. I would never wait for Nixus again. No matter what it took, I would never let him break me like this again.

But right then, it didn't matter. Right then, I was just… alone.