Bleeding Out Alone, I Return His Ring

"Keira Prescott! What the hell are you doing?"

Garrett grabbed a towel and frantically wiped at the mess, but the second it touched Sienna's face, she screamed again.

"It hurts! Garrett, my face, it hurts so bad."

He rounded on me, finally losing what was left of his patience. "What is wrong with you? Sienna's too nice to fight back, so you just dump all your anger on her? Is this how you were raised?"

He scooped Sienna up in his arms and brushed past me without sparing me a second glance. The sound of the front door slamming shut echoed through the apartment.

I didn't know how long I stood there before my phone chimed.

Sienna had put up a new social media post and tagged me in it. The photo was taken at a hospital. It showed her stomach, still flat, with a large hand resting on it. The watch on that wrist was the one I'd given Garrett for our anniversary.

"The baby is three months along! And just between us, the daddy is kind of a big deal."

A handful of comments from coworkers had already piled up underneath.

"Don't even have to guess. It's Mr. Holloway, right? I always felt like there was something going on between you two!"

"Look at you, Sienna! You haven't even been his assistant that long and you're already becoming Mrs. Holloway!"

"Congrats!"

I was still scrolling when a private message from Leanne Jacobs popped up.

"I saw Sienna's post. Are you okay?"

Leanne had worked under me for three years. She was the only person at the company who knew about my relationship with Garrett.

I exited the post and typed a quick reply. "I'm fine."

I'd weathered worse storms than this. A petty little provocation like this wasn't going to make me lose my composure.

Leanne sent back a hugging emoji. I stared at it, and my mind drifted to the day Holloway Group was first established.

Garrett had held me in his arms and said he finally had the means to give me a better life. He said we'd have a beautiful child together, that our family would be his whole world.

Now I'd lost the baby, and he couldn't even tell.

After a pause, I typed again. "Pull the plug on the Prescott Group project."

Leanne took a long time to reply before finally sending back a simple "OK".

Holloway Group had been struggling lately. That project was one I'd gone behind Garrett's back to secure, personally asking Dad for the favor. But a man this rotten didn't deserve any of it anymore.

I liked Sienna's post, tossed my phone aside, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, I went to the office. I was about to push open Garrett's door when a passing employee stepped in front of me. He wore a knowing expression and kept his voice low.

"Ms. Prescott, you might want to wait. Ms. Cole is inside."

After last night's post, everyone had decided their relationship was as good as official. They were all quietly making room for Garrett and Sienna to have their privacy.

I smiled and held up the resignation letter in my hand. "I'm here to resign. Do I need Ms. Cole's permission for that too?"

The color drained from his face. Everyone knew I was the backbone of this company. More than half the revenue came through me.

They also knew I was someone who'd practically given my life to this place. Even if Garrett quit tomorrow, I wouldn't leave.

He knocked on the door in a hurry, visibly rattled. I didn't wait for Garrett to say "come in" and walked straight through.

Inside the office, Sienna was perched on the edge of Garrett's desk. She was toying with a photograph, the one taken of Garrett and me in front of the building the day the company launched. He'd had it carefully framed and placed in the most prominent spot in his office.

Garrett stood up from his chair when he saw me. He'd clearly seen Sienna's post from last night, because for once there was a trace of guilt on his face. He told Sienna to step out, then turned to me.

"Sienna's pregnant with my child. But don't worry, that won't change your position as the future Mrs. Holloway. That post last night was just a joke. Don't take it to heart. You went after Sienna first, and she was just upset."

I didn't respond. My eyes had landed on the photograph Sienna had tossed carelessly on the floor. Garrett followed my gaze and noticed it too. After a beat, he walked over and picked it up.

But he didn't put it back in the frame.

"At the end of the day, you shouldn't have taken it out on Sienna. This is all on me."