Broken Hearts and Second Chances

That night, Matthew and Patrick arrived at the hospital with Megan in tow. Their faces were grim, while she wore her usual weak, teary-eyed expression, as though she was on the verge of crying.

It was the kind of look that would easily evoke pity, though, to me, it was nauseating.

“Cat, Sarah, please, don’t divorce my brothers,” Megan pleaded, her voice trembling.

“It’s all my fault. From now on, I’ll keep a proper distance from both of them. Can we try that?

“Before you came into our lives, they’ve always protected me. But that changed after they got married. I only want us to get along with each other. They’re my brothers. Nothing more than that.”

She almost got on her knees but Matthew and Patrick stopped her.

“Get up, Megs. This isn’t your fault. You’re our sister. What’s wrong with us saving you?” Matthew said firmly.

“Exactly,” Patrick chimed in. “Why apologize? They’re the ones being petty.”

“But…” Megan whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes, “If my presence is causing your marriages to fall apart, I should...”

She looked as though she might break into sobs at any moment while her brothers looked on grimly.

At that moment, I finally understood that Sarah and I could never compete with Megan. That fragile, helpless expression was something I could never master.

Men have a natural instinct to protect girls like her.

All she had to do was stand there and look pitiful, and they’d rush to shield her without hesitation.

I could not do that. I would not.

I chose to ignore Megan and fixed my gaze on Matthew. “Did you sign the divorce papers yet? If you have, let’s head to the courthouse right now. I don’t want to waste another second with you.”

Matthew threw the signed agreement in my face. "It's signed. Let's go."

Patrick mirrored his brother as he spoke to Sarah. "I signed it. We're done. Let's go now."

She glanced at him calmly. "Did you get my gift?"

“What gift? What’s the point of gifts after a divorce? Ridiculous."

Sarah looked like she had been slapped. Her gaze softened and her voice trembled as she spoke, "When you get home, look for it. You’ll realize you just lost the most important thing in your life."

The four of us got ready to head for the courthouse, but just as I stepped out of the hospital room, Megan suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Cat, please don’t divorce Matthew! It’s my fault, I was wrong. Please, don’t leave him… I want you two to be happy."

She desperately clung to me.

Out of instinct, I pushed her hand away, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground.

Matthew rushed forward out of nowhere and shoved me back.

I stumbled, hit the edge of a nearby table, and felt sharp pain pierce through my abdomen.

I felt warmth spread down my legs, and in moments, blood pooled on the floor where I stood.

"My baby... my baby..." was all I could manage.

"Hold on, Cat! I’ll get a doctor right now!"

I saw Matthew and Patrick turn to me, their faces drained of color.

Patrick’s voice quivered as he spoke. "There's so much blood... was she really pregnant?"

I wept, pounding my fists against Matthew’s chest as he held me.

"You! You killed our child with your own hands!"

Matthew stared at me in shock.

The doctor rushed into the room and quickly assessed my condition. He shook his head in regret, his expression heavy. "I'm sorry. Your child can’t be saved."

"She was really pregnant? She wasn’t faking it?" Someone asked.

“She nearly lost the baby during her last hospital visit, and now it's gone for good,” the doctor said as he hurriedly wheeled me into surgery.

Matthew stood frozen, unable to process what had just happened, muttering soft apologies under his breath.

Half an hour later, I was back in the hospital room. He stood by my side, staring at my pale, exhausted face. His eyes filled with unshed tears.

"I'm sorry, Cat. I didn’t know you were pregnant..."

I gave him a bitter smile as tears slipped down my cheeks. "It’s not that you didn’t know. You just didn’t want to believe me. Just like how Patrick treated Sarah."

Patrick stayed silent.

At that moment, the door creaked open, and Patrick’s assistant entered, carrying a small box.

"Mr. Patrick Brosnan, this was delivered to the house. I didn’t dare open it, so I brought it to you."

Sarah sat up quickly. "Go on, open it. That’s my gift to you," she said, her voice heavy with emotion.

With trembling hands, Patrick opened the box. Inside was a small vial.

His voice quivered as he looked at her, barely able to get the words out. "What... what is this?"

She smiled faintly, her voice tight with sorrow. "That, Patrick, is our child."