Chapter 56: Not Ivy But Me
The hallway outside the emergency room was cold, too cold for a morning that had started with sunlight and laughter.
Ruby sat in the waiting room with her hands clenched tightly in her lap, the skin around her knuckles pale. Across from her sat Elizabeth, her face buried in her hands, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
The moment Ruby had rushed into the hospital, time had slowed. The smell of disinfectant, the hum of machines, the hurried footsteps of nurses—it all felt like a nightmare when she realized Elizabeth had been right and Stefan had truly been in an accident.
How could he suffer something like this twice in less than a year? The doctors had seemed to make the situation look like it was serious so she didn’t exactly know what to think as all various emotions was running through her.
Ruby glanced sideways at the woman who had pushed her into this life of secrets. A woman who only ever wanted to protect her son. And now, as much as Ruby had hated the plan at first, she found herself silently grateful. Because being here... loving Stefan... carrying his child—it had all come from that one terrible, impossible choice.
"He’ll be fine," Elizabeth whispered suddenly, more to herself than anyone else. "He has to be."
Ruby swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, even though her heart was tearing apart inside her chest. "Yes... he has to be."
She didn’t realize her hand had drifted down to rest gently on her stomach until she felt the warmth of her own touch. A part of Stefan was growing inside her—a little heartbeat that depended on hers. She hadn’t even had time to process the pregnancy fully, but now all she could think about was what if this is it?
What if he never woke up? What if he never knew the truth?
Her baby would never hear his father’s laugh, never feel his arms, never know how gentle and kind he was. That thought scared her more than anything.
Please... please be okay, she prayed silently, her fingers curling tighter over her abdomen. You have to come back. I have to tell you everything. I need you to know that it’s me... Ruby. That I’ve been with you all this time. Not Ivy but me.
Ruby’s eyes stung, but no tears came. Not yet. She was too numb.