No Longer Yours, Dear Husband

“Sage has stayed away all these years just to avoid upsetting you,” Ryder snapped. “She finally comes back and you have to embarrass her like this? What kind of sister does that?”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Oh? And what exactly should a sister do? Should she turn a blind eye when her own fiancé steals her college acceptance letter and runs off with her sister? Or should she keep pretending not to notice when that same sister gets a little too close to her husband?”

I couldn’t hold it in anymore. All the resentment, all the pain—I finally let it spill out. But Sage gasped dramatically, tears welling in her eyes.

“Amber, I know you hate me, but you can’t just slander me like this!” she cried. “I swear, nothing ever happened between me and Ryder! If you don’t believe me, I can die to prove my innocence!”

Before I could react, she grabbed my wrist and dragged me into the middle of the road, her body trembling as if she truly meant to throw herself into oncoming traffic. But then, in the split second before she clutched my hand tighter, she leaned in, whispering just for me to hear.

“You’re pathetic,” she sneered, her voice dripping with venom. “Both the men you loved only ever wanted me. Tell me, if something happens to me today, do you think Ryder will have you thrown in jail?”

A chill ran down my spine. My pulse pounded in my ears. I tried to yank my hand free, but before I could, Ryder rushed forward and wrenched Sage into his arms.

The force of his pull sent me stumbling backward—right into the path of an oncoming car.

Pain exploded through my body as the vehicle struck me. I crumpled onto the pavement, curling in on myself as agony engulfed me. Blood pooled beneath me, warm and thick, spreading rapidly across the asphalt.

Ryder, however, didn’t even spare me a glance. Instead, he glared at me with pure disgust. “Have you lost your mind? Are you really trying to drive Sage to her death? God, how can anyone be as cruel as you?”

“Sage, are you okay?”

Sage, safe in his arms, peeked up at me through her lashes. A satisfied smirk ghosted over her lips before she feigned unconsciousness, her body going limp like a rag doll.

Ryder didn’t hesitate. He scooped her up and sprinted toward the nearest clinic, completely ignoring the weak, desperate sounds escaping my lips as I fought to stay conscious.

I could only watch as my blood continued to seep into the pavement, as the world around me faded in and out.

Thankfully, a kind stranger called an ambulance and got me to the hospital.

When I woke up, the doctor informed me that I was pregnant.

“You’re showing signs of a miscarriage,” he explained. “You need an immediate procedure to stabilize the pregnancy.”

Shock and fear tangled inside me. Miscarriage? Am I pregnant? I barely had time to process it before the door swung open—and Ryder walked in, still carrying Sage.

She was clutching her stomach, whimpering in pain. “Ryder, it hurts,” she whimpered, voice weak. “Is our baby going to be okay? I don't want anything to happen to him.”

“Ryder, hurry up and get a doctor to check her out!”

Ryder's expression darkened with panic. He immediately turned to the nearest doctor, who was about to operate on me.

“Doctor, help me. I came with a woman. I think something's wrong with the baby. She needs help now.”

The doctor hesitated, glancing toward me. “Sir, we already have a patient in need of urgent care. we can’t–”

“I know her.” Ryder cut him off with a sharp glare. “She’s my wife. She’s fine—she’s just faking it.”

His words landed like a slap. I barely had time to react before he pulled out his phone and flashed our wedding photo, solidifying his lie.

“But, this woman… She just got hit by car,” he added, voice edged with desperation. “She needs surgery soon or the baby won’t be saved.” The medical staff sprang into action, pushing Sage’s gurney toward the operating room. And just like that, I was forgotten again.

I lay there, bleeding, my vision swimming, the pain unbearable. I clutched at Ryder’s sleeve as he turned to leave, my fingers barely able to grasp him.

“Ryder, please,” I choked out. “The baby… our baby… I’m losing it.”

Ryder yanked his arm away as if my touch burned him. His eyes, once warm and full of love, were now cold and empty.

“Enough with the act, Amber!” he spat. “We were together for three years and you never got pregnant once. Sage is pregnant and her life is at risk, you really gonna compete for a doctor too? ”

“Fine! Since you love putting on a show so much, let me help you with that!”

Ryder yanked me off the hospital bed and, without hesitation, kicked me in the stomach.

I curled into myself, arms wrapped tightly around my belly, trying to shield my unborn child. “Please, Ryder, stop!” I begged, my voice breaking. But my pleas meant nothing to him.

He didn’t stop until the operating room’s light switched off and Sage was wheeled out. Only then did he abandon his assault, rushing to her side with worry etched all over his face.

Sage leaned weakly against him, her voice barely above a whisper as she played her part flawlessly. “I’m fine, Ryder. Maybe… maybe you can tell the doctor check on my sister?”

She let out a small, pained sigh before adding, “Even if she’s faking, she’s still my sister.”

Her words only fueled Ryder’s rage. His eyes, already filled with contempt, darkened as he turned back to me.

“Check on her? For what? You just had surgery; the doctors need to stay with you,” he said, his voice dripping with venom. “As for that pathetic bitch who insists on competing with you for everything… let her die for all I care.”

He held Sage protectively as they left, his cruel words cutting through me like a blade. I lay there on the cold hospital floor, abandoned, bleeding and utterly broken.

But I didn’t die.

A familiar voice broke through the haze of pain. Nick Westwood, the son of the bookstore owner who sold me my study materials, happened to pass by. He immediately called for a doctor and I was rushed to emergency care.

I survived, but my baby did not.

“The patient suffered blunt force trauma to the abdomen,” the doctor explained. “The pregnancy was forcibly terminated.”

His words felt like a death sentence. My trembling hand found its way to my stomach, to the place where my child should have been growing. Now, there was nothing. Just an unbearable emptiness.

I hadn’t even had the chance to feel the joy of becoming a mother before it was ripped away from me. Just like everything else in my life.

Because of Ryder.

Because of my own blind love for him.

Tears slid down my face, silent and unending. Nick clenched his fists beside me, his voice laced with fury. “Amber, I know everything now. I swear, I’m going to make that bastard pay!”

I shook my head, my voice hoarse from crying. “He won’t admit to anything.”

And even if he did… what difference would it make?

Would it bring my baby back? Would it erase the three wasted years of my life?

No.

I wanted him to suffer. To lose everything he held dear. To wake up every day drowning in pain!