Chapter 424

• The sun hitting my face forced me to open my eyes. The sterile smell of antiseptic assailed my nostrils and made me wrinkle my nose. The hospital remained one of the worst places for me. It reminded me of the many long hours I used to spend in fertility clinics trying to conceive. I touched my stomach or I tried to. One of my hands felt numb and the other was gripped in someone else’s hand.
• I took a deep breath to calm myself as a flood of memories passed through me. It was as if I was being held at knifepoint again and my heart trembled. My lips pursed and tears rapidly filled my eyes. I’d been so scared, goddess, I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I’d been as scared as I was then. My life had flashed before my eyes and I saw everything I was about to lose.
• I tried to breathe but my chest felt like it was caving in on me and I could still feel a hand around my neck choking the breath out of me. The nightmare was over but the scars it left were permanent. As I lay there in bed choking on my sobs, the hand around mine tightened and a soft touch brushed my hair out of my face. Despite the cold room, sweat made my hair cling to my forehead and the hospital gown to my back.