Chapter 2 - The Glass Walls of Regret
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was a forest of wires,
beeping monitors,
and plastic boxes.
Michael stood behind the glass,
looking at the two tiny humans he had dreamed of for years.
Aiden and Savannah.
They were so small,
their skin almost translucent,
their chests moving in rapid,
shallow breaths.
They were fighting for their lives,
and they were doing it without him.
He wasn't allowed to touch them.
He wasn't allowed to hold their tiny hands.
Because the legal papers Emily had signed before her collapse had already been processed into her medical file.
She had stripped him of his right to make medical decisions.
She had named Nicole,
her best friend,
as her healthcare proxy.
Michael was nothing more than a visitor with a biological connection.
Behind him,
the elevator doors opened.
Jessica was there,
looking out of place in her high heels and designer coat.
"Michael,"
she said,
her voice reaching out like a claw.
"I've been calling you."
"This is all so much drama,
don't you think?"
"She's doing this to punish you."
Michael didn't turn around.
He kept his eyes on the babies.
"Get out,
Jessica."
"I mean it."
"If you ever speak her name again,"
"I will make sure you regret it."
Jessica scoffed,
the sound echoing in the quiet hallway.
"You're emotional right now,"
"but remember who was there for you when she was just a pregnant,
boring wife."
Michael finally turned,
and the look in his eyes was so cold that Jessica actually stepped back.
"She wasn't boring,"
he said,
each word a stone.
"She was home."
"And I burned it down for a woman who doesn't even care that my children are dying."
He walked toward her,
forcing her back toward the elevator.
"The divorce papers were right."
"I made my choice."
"And my choice is to never see your face again."
He watched the elevator doors close on her shocked expression.
But the victory was empty.
He walked back to the glass,
pressing his forehead against the cold surface.
He stayed there for hours,
watching the nurses move like silent angels around his children.
He watched the monitors,
terrified every time a line dipped or a light flashed.
He was a billionaire in the making,
a man of power in the city of Jackson,
but here,
he was powerless.
He couldn't buy their health.
May you like
He couldn't negotiate with the shadows.
He could only wait for the woman he had betrayed to wake up and decide his fate.
