A pause. Then Julian snapped, furious. “Kieran, I told you not to touch her. If Mira finds out, I’m done for.”
“She never noticed the difference anyway,” Kieran said lazily. “She doesn’t even know you have a twin.”
That was the moment everything shattered.
The line went dead.
My phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t. The room felt too quiet, too far away. The pregnancy report bent and twisted in my fist. My chest tightened until breathing hurt.
Not now… please, not now.
My body reacted before my mind could catch up—panic crashing in waves, vision shaking, air thinning. I stumbled toward the drawer, grabbing my anxiety pills with trembling hands.
Just breathe. Just breathe.
I poured a few into my palm and swallowed them quickly. Then more.
But the moment they went down, something was wrong.
It burned.
Sharp. Wrong. Like fire sliding down my throat.
I choked, grabbing the counter. My stomach twisted violently. The room tilted.
“What…?” I gasped.
Sweat broke out across my skin. My knees gave out. I hit the floor hard, my body convulsing as nausea tore through me. I tried to reach for my phone—but my strength was gone.
Everything spun.
Then nothing.
—
The next thing I heard was distant—machines beeping, rushed footsteps, voices overlapping like I was underwater.
A doctor’s voice cut through clearly. “This isn’t her prescribed medication. This is incorrect. Completely wrong.”
A nurse answered quickly, “Her records show she’s been on it for months. Her fiancé keeps bringing her refills.”
The doctor cursed under his breath. “This dosage could’ve killed her. Why would she be taking this? Does she even know—”
He stopped.
A heavy silence followed.
“…Someone may have wanted her dead.”
A cold wave ran through me even though I couldn’t move.
And suddenly, it all connected.
Julian was always the one who brought my medicine.
Julian was always the one insisting he’d handle everything.
Julian was always saying, Don’t worry. I’ve got you.
But now…
Someone had been trying to erase me.
And he had been the one making sure I swallowed it.
My eyes barely opened through the blur of hospital lights. My hand moved weakly to my stomach.
My baby.
My voice broke in the darkness.
“Julian… what did you do to me?”
I came to with the sharp sting of disinfectant in the air and blinding white light pressing against my eyelids.