About two hours later, I was drifting in and out of sleep when a frantic ringing phone jolted me awake.

It was Grant, his voice boiling with rage.

“Zoe, what the hell? Mimi was just messing around and blocked you with my phone. Her emotions are all over the place right now, she needs me. Can’t you be a little more understanding?”

I took a deep breath, my hand shaking as I typed out a text.

The first thing he does after seeing my post isn’t to ask why I’m in the hospital, but to accuse me of not being understanding.

“I lost our baby and I'm in the hospital with no one. Are you being understanding of me?”

Grant was incredibly impatient.

“Can you stop being so childish? Don’t curse our child, no matter how upset you are.”

“The doctor said you still have a few weeks to go. I’ll have the housekeeper look after you for now. I’ll be back in a few days.”

I stared at the ceiling, my eyes dry and bloodshot.

The housekeeper took the day off yesterday morning.

My due date was yesterday.

He couldn't even remember that.

The sharp smell of antiseptic filled my nostrils, making me feel like I was suffocating.

“Don’t bother coming back.”

“Let’s just get a divorce.”

I could almost hear him smiling, his tone dripping with mockery.

“Zoe, my child is still inside you, and you want a divorce?”

“Besides, do you really want to leave me?”

For three years of our marriage, I had chased after him like a shadow.

I dressed him when it was cold, offered a shoulder when he was sad, and comforted him when he was lonely.

Everyone thought he was the sun and I was just a speck of dust on the ground.

I thought so too, which is why I gave him everything, unconditionally.

Before I decided to marry Grant, my mom, lying in her hospital bed, asked me with tears in her eyes, “Zoe, honey, are you really sure about this?”

“Grant and we... we aren't from the same world. If he ever hurts you, I’m in no shape to protect you.”

She clutched my hand with her own, which felt as thin as a dry twig.

I told her not to worry.

“Grant would never hurt me. He said he’d take care of me for the rest of his life.”

My mother’s words were a prophecy, but I never dared to tell her she was right.

The husband I loved so deeply didn’t remember my due date.

While I was on the brink of death in an operating room, he was with his ex-girlfriend.

I used to think that no heart could be made of stone, but Grant’s heart was harder than any rock.

He basked in my limitless devotion but refused to give me even a flicker of love in return.

This unequal marriage should have ended a long, long time ago.

I let out a long breath, my voice calm.

“I do.”

“Once we’re divorced, you can be with Mimi openly. Isn’t that what you want?”

Grant paused, then spoke in a placating tone, as if he finally understood.

“Oh, so you’re jealous? There’s nothing going on between us. Don’t be so petty.”

I managed a weak smile.

“I’m not jealous. You go on and stay with her. I need to rest.”

But hearing that didn't seem to please him.

“I’m your husband. You’re telling me to go be with someone else?”

“Zoe, can you just stop with the drama? Mimi’s situation is much more critical than yours. Would you be happy if she actually jumped off that bridge?”

“That’s a human life we’re talking about.”

His voice rose as he said it.

So, he did understand the value of a life.

Then what about my dead child?

My face was a mask.

“I’ll have the divorce papers mailed to you.”

Grant seemed to laugh, but it was a bitter, angry sound, sharp as ice.

“Zoe, you said it. Don’t you regret it.”