The Last Seven Days

Jared once told me he'd love me forever, even if we never had children. He'd even gone so far as to get a vasectomy to ease my worries. But now, he was having a child with someone else.

Before switching off my phone, I sent her a simple response.

"Alright."

-

The next morning, Jared returned.

Trailing behind him were Melody with swollen red eyes, as well as several of his men. As soon as she saw me, Melody dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

"Rosalia, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have sent you that message. Jared said I can only keep my baby if you agree to it. Please, I'm begging you, let me keep my baby."

As she spoke, she banged her head against the floor, and soon blood was trickling from her temple.

Jared glanced at her, his eyes full of distress—but in order to get my consent, he held himself back from helping her.

One of his men stepped forward first and pulled Melody to her feet. Perhaps he was clearly fed up with how Jared usually treated me, so he said sharply, "Even if you're going to get upset, I'm going to say something fair. Melody once took a bullet for him. It's not too much for her to keep the baby for that alone, is it? And since you can't have children, I think our boss should give her and the baby a proper place in this family."

"Shut up!" Jared's angry roar cut him off. "I told you, Rosalia will always be my only wife! As for Melody, I'll find a way to make it up to her."

Then, he showed me the scars on his body. The man who was usually so cold and full of pride dropped to his knees, pleading softly to me.

"Rosalia, I've already atoned with my own body. Melody can't bear losing the baby, so please, let the baby live. You can't have children, so when the baby is born, I'll have the baby call you Mom. You'll be the baby's mother from then on."

His words were a blade stabbing my heart deep, twisting it.

All the words I could have said came down to just one word.

"Alright."

After all, in six days, I would be gone from this world forever. Nothing else mattered anymore.

Hearing me relent, Jared let out a sigh of relief and turned to Melody, joy in his eyes.

I turned to leave, but he stopped me. He took a blanket and draped it over my shoulders, gently brushing back the stray hair with my ear.

"Why are you wearing so little? You'll catch a cold."

For a moment, he looked like the man who used to have only eyes on me.

However, his next words sent me plummeting into the icy abyss.

"Rosalia, Melody's pregnancy left her quite weak. Let's give her the master bedroom."

I stared at him in disbelief. He wanted another woman to move into our marital room… The climate-controlled bedroom he had designed just for me.

He avoided my eyes, sounding guilty as he added, "Don't worry. Once she has the baby, I'll send her away!"

I gave up completely and lowered my gaze.

"Alright."

Jared kissed my forehead. "I knew you'd understand."

Then he went to Melody's side, warming her hands before scooping her into his arms and carrying her into the master bedroom.

My fingers were ice-cold, my body trembling uncontrollably.

-

I didn't know how long I lay in bed, half-asleep, half-awake.

Suddenly, someone yanked me up from the bed with brutal force.