Chapter 14
Louis’s face paled as he rushed past me, his eyes
fixed on Maya’s shuddering form at the bottom of
the stairs. He knelt beside her, his hands trembling
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of the stairs. He knelt beside her, his hands
trembling as he cradled her carefully. Maya let out a
piercing wail, clutching her stomach.
“My baby… my baby!” she sobbed, tears
streaming down her face.
I froze at the top of the stairs, my heart
pounding in my chest. The hallway was deathly
quiet, save for Maya’s cries. The accusing stares of
their coworkers burned into me like fire.
One of them, a man with a stern face, turned to
- me. “What happened?”
“She–she fell,” I stammered, gesturing wildly. “I
didn’t touch her! She moved back on her own!”
But their expressions didn’t soften. If anything,
their gazes grew colder, filled with disbelief.
“You expect us to believe that?” a woman
muttered, her voice laced with disdain. “After that
altercation… the whole office could hear…”
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“I’m telling the truth!” I snapped, panic creeping
into my voice. “It wasn’t me!”
Louis looked up sharply, his face a mixture of worry and fury. “Emily,” he said, his voice low and
hard. “What the hell happened?”
“I–she was taunting me, and then she started
moving toward the stairs. I told her to stop, but she
didn’t listen. I didn’t push her! She did this on
purpose!”
Maya let out another anguished cry, and Louis’s
attention snapped back to her. “We need to get her
to the hospital,” he said, his tone urgent.
One of her coworkers was already on the phone
with emergency services, explaining where they
were in the building. Louis didn’t move, holding
Maya’s hand as the others stood around, glaring at
me over their shoulders. When the ambulance got
there, and they loaded her onto the gurney, I trailed
hahind my mind racing How had avaruthina
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behind, my mind racing. How had everything
spiraled so completely out of control?
At the hospital, the fluorescent lights were
harsh and unforgiving, amplifying the tension in the
waiting room. Maya had been rushed into
emergency care, and Louis paced the floor, his
hands buried in his hair.
I sat stiffly in a chair, my hands clasped tightly
in my lap. I could feel the weight of his anger
pressing down on me. I don’t even know why I am
still here.
“Louis,” I began tentatively. “I didn’t push her.
You must believe me.”
He stopped pacing and turned to face me, his expression unreadable. “Emily, do you have any idea what this looks like? Maya falling down the stairs? Her baby-”
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“She’s manipulating you!” I interrupted, my
voice rising. “This was her plan all along. She wants
to make me look like the villain, so you’ll push me
away!”
Louis shook his head, exhaling deeply. “Says
the woman who keeps hammering on about
divorce.”
I bit my lip.
“I’m not saying you pushed her on purpose, but,
Emily… your anger has been out of control lately.
Maybe–maybe you didn’t realize how far things
were escalating.”
I stared at him, disbelief washing over me. “Why
do you think my anger is out of control?”
“I think,” he said carefully, “That this situation.
has pushed you to your limit. And I think you need
help.”
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Before I could respond, the door to the waiting
room burst open, and Lucy stormed in, her face
twisted with rage.
“You!” she screamed, pointing a shaking finger
at me.
“Mom, calm down,” Louis said, stepping
between us.
She ignored him and marched toward me,
grabbing my collar with both hands. “You did this on
purpose!” she spát. “You tried to kill my grandchild!”
“I didn’t-” I started, but her slap came hard and
fast, snapping my head to the side.
The sting of it jolted me, but before I could react,
she struck me again.
“You monster!” she shrieked, her hands shaking
as she raised them to hit me once more.
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“You monster!” she shrieked, her hands shaking
as she raised them to hit me once more.
“Enough!” I roared, shoving her hands away.
“Don’t you dare lay a finger on me again!”
“Stop it, both of you!” Louis shouted, stepping
between us.
I ignored him, my fury boiling over. “Who do you
think you are, Lucy? This is the second time you’ve
put your hands on me. What gives you the right to
act like this?”
“The right?” she hissed, her eyes blazing.
“You’re nothing but an aggressive, paranoid
murderer! You killed your own child, and now you’ve
gone after Maya’s! I should’ve dealt with you a long
time ago!”
Her words hit me like a slap, and I staggered
back, my chest heaving.
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“I didn’t kill my child!” I repeated, my voice
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shaking. “How dare you throw that in my face?
You’ve done nothing but torment me since the day I
married your son!”
“Don’t you dare try to play the victim!” she shot
back. “You’ve been nothing but a curse on this
family!”
The room felt suffocating, the weight of her
accusations pressing down on me. I turned to Louis,
desperate for support.
“So, you’re just going to stand there? Quiet, not
bothering to defend me? Typical – status quo for
you, Louis.”
“Enough!” Louis shouted, his voice cutting
through the chaos. He turned to his mother, his
expression hard. “Mom, go home. Now.”
“What?” she sputtered.
“You’re not helping,” he said firmly. “Emily
needs to rest. Maya needs to recover. This isn’t the
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time for your anger.”
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Lucy glared at him, then at me, her eyes filled
with hatred. “You’re making a mistake,” she said.
coldly. “You’ll regret this.”
She stormed out, leaving a heavy silence in her
wake.
I turned to Louis, my anger giving way to
exhaustion. “You think I pushed her.”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“Emily, I don’t know what to think right now. I just… I
need time to process this.”
“Process what?” I demanded. “The lies Maya is
feeding everyone? Or the fact that your mother just
attacked me in a hospital waiting room?”
“Just go home,” he said quietly. “We’ll talk about
this later.”
I stared at him, my chest tightening. The man
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who had once been my partner, my confidant, now
looked at me like I was a stranger. Hypocrite.
“Fine,” I said, my voice hollow. “I’m leaving.”
I turned and walked out of the hospital, my head
held high, but inside, I was crumbling. The war
between Maya and I had reached its peak, and I
wasn’t sure if I even wanted to keep fighting.
Emily’s POV
