Leaving was the Only War I Won

Marcella struggled to get up, even though she only had a scrape on her leg.

But the dull ache in her belly was getting worse. When she looked down, she saw herself lying in a pool of blood.

Her face turned deathly pale. There was no time for fear—she hurriedly dialed Grady.

“Grady, I—”

“Dee is in the shower. He doesn’t have time to answer your call. If you have any self-respect, you should step aside and give up your position as Mrs. Walquist. Playing hard to get won’t work, you know. It’ll only make him hate you more.”

Before Marcella could finish her sentence, Zeth hung up on her.

Marcella called again, but all she got was the beeping sound of a powered-off phone.

The pain in her belly became unbearable, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably.

‘Grady, I will never forgive you! You will never be happy in this lifetime!’

That was the last thought in her fading consciousness before everything went dark.

When she woke up, she was in a hospital bed.

A security guard on patrol had found her. By the time she was brought in, she had already lost consciousness.

She instinctively placed a hand on her belly. A nurse who had just walked in sighed at the sight.

“You’re still so young. You’ll have another child in the future.

“Try calling your family. They should be here to take care of you.”

The memory of that phone call before she passed out nearly crushed her.

Even a stranger could offer her comfort and concern, yet Grady was as cold as ice—completely unaffected no matter what she did.

Marcella couldn’t help but wonder, ‘In those seven years, how many moments had been real?’ Or had I been nothing more than a way to pass the time whenever Zeth wasn’t around?’

“I don’t have any family. Thank you, but I’ll be fine on my own.”

Her voice was soft, but the nurse still caught the loneliness in it. She looked at the patient with sympathy but didn’t press further.

As soon as the nurse left, Marcella finally broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

She never expected to find out she was already two months pregnant.

And now, before she even had the chance to process it, the baby was gone.

She wondered how Grady would react when he found out they lost their second child because of him.

‘Would he feel relieved? Or would there be even a flicker of sadness?’

Marcella let out a bitter laugh.

‘He’ll probably be thrilled—one less tie between us.’

Just then, her phone buzzed with a message from Grady.

[I’m on a business trip. Go home and take care of Seth.]

Marcella gripped her phone tightly, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washing over her.

‘Business trip? Is that what he called lying in bed with Zeth?’

But she didn’t reply. Instead, she blocked him on Telegram.

There wasn’t much time left, anyway.

As she stepped out of the hospital room, she suddenly froze.

Standing by the OB-GYN’s office, where she never should have been, was Zeth—leaning into Grady’s arms, gently cradling her belly.

Marcella’s mind went blank. Her whole body started shaking.

“Dee, since I’m pregnant now, why don’t we let Seth stay with Marcella?”

From a distance, Marcella heard Zeth’s voice.

At that moment, everything around Marcella seemed to fall silent.

She stared at Grady, waiting for his answer.

“You know I’ve never liked Seth.”

Grady’s response made Zeth smile. She was still smiling when the elevator doors closed behind her.