I Paid the Man Who Crippled My Husband

I went to the OB-GYN first and handed my appointment form to the nurse.

I completed the registration, paid, and finished all the paperwork before sitting down on a cold bench in the hallway to wait for my name to be called.

The doctor looked over my test results and frowned. "You're young and healthy. This is your first pregnancy. Are you sure about this? Have you talked it over with your family?"

I looked at her and answered calmly, "We did. The father's dead."

That was the truth. At least to me, Henry was already dead.

By the time I came out of the operating room, my legs felt weak and unsteady, and a dull ache pulsed through my lower abdomen.

I braced a hand against the wall and slowly made my way down the hall as I went by myself to the ICU viewing window.

Inside lay the girl Henry had saved, Ariana Larson. Tubes covered her body, and her life hung by a thread. Her parents stood outside the room, their faces clouded with sorrow.

I had barely stopped walking when Henry's parents stormed toward me with a crowd of relatives behind them.

"Winona!" Helen pointed at me, her eyes red-rimmed. "You've dragged our family through the mud, and you still have the nerve to show up here? You'd better get that wedding money back right now!"

I looked at her calmly. "The driver's family already used it to hire a lawyer. That money is gone."

"You—"

Just then, Mom came running toward us with tears streaming down her face and a receipt in her hand. "Winona, did you really go to the OB-GYN? Did you really get rid of the baby?"

She slapped the receipt against my chest. "How could you be this cruel? That was your own flesh and blood!"

"What?" Helen snatched the paper out of her hand.

The moment she saw the words on it, she started shaking. "You vicious bitch! You gave the money to the person who ruined my son, and now you've killed my grandson! I'll kill you!"

She lunged at me like a madwoman, but Henry's father, Keith Zander, held her back.

The scene drew everyone's attention in the hospital. Countless phones were raised, their cameras all pointed at me.

"You bitch! Just you wait!"

Keith stared at me, hatred flickering in his eyes. He then pulled out his phone and dialed a reporter. "Hello, Mr. Wright. This is Henry Zander's father. I've got a hell of a story for you!

"My daughter-in-law, Winona Burke, the woman who handed the wedding money to the driver who caused the accident, just came to the hospital and aborted our grandson. Even tigers don't eat their cubs. She's a monster!"

At this point, he was practically shouting. He listened for a moment, then hung up.

Less than ten minutes later, my phone started vibrating nonstop.

"#WinonaBurkeAbortion"

"#Hero'sFianceeHands880ThousandDollarsToTheDriverWhoHitHim"

"#WinonaBurkeMostViciousWomanOfTheYear"

"#EvenTigersDon'tEatTheirCubs"

The hashtags shot to the top of the trending list almost instantly.

Right after that, Henry's parents started a livestream, crying in front of the camera as they spoke.

"Winona, do you have any conscience at all? Henry got hurt saving someone! The city is honoring him with a Medal of Honor the day after tomorrow. You're going to get on that stage and apologize to our son in front of everyone!"

The internet was outraged, and countless people in the livestream were hurling insults at me.

"How are you still alive? Someone like you should be dead! Henry must've had the worst luck on earth ever to have met you!"

"I'd love to know what your heart is made of. Stone? How could you kill your own child? You don't deserve to be a mother!"

"Somebody dox her address, her workplace, everything. We're going to take her down!"

In just over ten minutes, my phone number, my home address, and all my personal information had been posted online.

My phone started blowing up, and people edited photos of me to make it look as if I were dead.

At the same time, another piece of news sent Henry's reputation soaring even higher.

"The city has decided to honor Mr. Henry Zander with a Medal of Honor in recognition of his heroic actions."

Henry became a hero, while I became a person detested by everyone.

"#Henry'sParentsCallForWinonaBurkeToApologize"

Just then, a new hashtag appeared. The Zanders' livestream had gone viral.

Ariana's parents also made an appearance o, the two of them looking like they had aged overnight.

"We truly can't understand how someone could be this cruel. Mr. Zander saved our daughter, and this is how his fiancee repays him. Our daughter is in the ICU, and yet she gave money to the person responsible!"

Those words further cemented me as everyone's enemy.

Amidst the internet's fury and anticipation, I logged in with my real profile and joined the Zanders' livestream, delivering a single response.

"Fine. I'll be there at the awards ceremony."