Chapter 4

I arrived with the finalized divorce papers, intending to go back and collect the important documents I'd left behind.

But when I pushed open the door, I froze.

Alongside Falcon's shoes in the entryway were two other pairs , one adult's, one child's.

He had actually brought Katherine and her daughter into our home, bold as you please.

Just then, Katherine walked out, holding Anna's hand.

Before I could say a word, Anna suddenly broke into violent coughing. Then she collapsed to the floor, gasping, and angry red hives erupted rapidly across her arms.

"Anna! What's wrong!"

Katherine screamed and threw herself down beside the girl.

She locked her eyes on me, tears streaming, and pointed an accusing finger:

"Lewis! Did you give Anna the nut candy? You know she has a severe nut allergy! Why would you do something like that to a child!"

I let out a cold laugh. "I never touched her. Stop making things up."

Falcon came running at the commotion. A flicker of panic , and something else, something like relief , crossed his face.

Then he noticed the child, and his expression hardened instantly into fury:

"Lewis, I never knew you could be this vicious!"

I was about to deny it, but Falcon wasn't listening.

He grabbed me and snatched a mango from the table, shoving it toward my face.

After five years of marriage, he knew better than anyone that mangoes were deadly to me.

Even the slightest contact with the juice could trigger a severe allergic reaction , severe airway swelling.

But in this moment, the eyes that looked at me held nothing but hatred and cruelty.

"Since you can't stand this child, let's see how you like the feeling yourself!"

He grabbed my jaw and forced the mango into my mouth.

I thrashed and fought with everything I had, finally shoving him away, and crashed to the floor.

Almost instantly, my throat began to swell. Breathing became nearly impossible , like a thousand needles stabbing into my airway.

The suffocation hit like a wave. My whole body convulsed. Cold sweat soaked through my clothes.

Then a savage cramping pain tore through my lower abdomen. I curled up on the floor in agony, one hand clawing at Falcon's pants leg.

I forced the words out through my constricting throat, barely a whisper.

"Falcon... help me... I'm pregnant..."

His body went still.

A second later, Katherine screamed and sobbed:

"She's faking it! She hasn't gotten pregnant in five years , why would she suddenly be pregnant now? She's lying to you!"

Falcon looked down at me convulsing on the floor, his expression ice-cold.

"Pregnant? Lewis, you'd really make up something this pathetic just for sympathy?"

He kicked my hand off his pants leg, his voice dripping with contempt and disgust.

"A little mango won't kill you. At most you'll learn your lesson. But if something happens to Anna , I swear you'll pay for it."

Then he bent down, scooped Anna into his arms, and walked out.

The front door slammed shut.

I opened my mouth, gasping, but not a trace of air would come in.

Darkness pulsed at the edges of my vision. The pain in my abdomen was getting worse. Something warm was flowing down my legs.

I closed my eyes in despair, and my consciousness sank into an endless dark.