As I fell, the first thing I felt was cold. I didn't know if it was because of the water or because of the realization that I was leaving this world, not by my own will, not by fate or nature, but by the hands of two people who were my family. The ones I could swear would never do anything to harm me.
Well… this is my fate now.
I couldn't fight it. I didn't even have the will to. I was already at the point where there wasn't really any reason to live.
Jules' voice echoed in my mind.
No family. No money. No status. Just an orphan.
The words didn't even hurt the same way anymore. It was like my body had already accepted them long ago.
Not even the child I was carrying gave me a reason to fight.
For a moment, I thought about it properly.
A life inside me… and I was still letting everything end like this.
But even that thought faded.
Finally, I just resigned myself to fate.
There was no strength left to struggle.
No anger left to fight.
Only silence inside me.
Slowly sinking deeper, the water began to fill my mouth, my chest tightening as I struggled for air. My body reacted on its own, but my mind was already far away.
And that was it.
Darkness.
.......
At another part of the river…
A diver was moving on his own when something unusual caught his attention. The water was calm, but something about it felt wrong.
He stopped.
Looked closer.
And then he saw it.
A woman. Sinking.
For a second, he froze, like his brain needed time to process what he was seeing. Then he reacted immediately.
He swam toward her as fast as he could, cutting through the water with urgency. The current wasn't strong, but every second felt heavy.
When he reached her, she wasn't moving.
He grabbed her arms and pulled her upward, using all his strength. It wasn't easy. Her body was heavy, lifeless, like she had already given up completely.
But he didn't stop.
He dragged her to the surface, gasping for air himself, then pulled her into his small boat.
For a moment, everything was still.
He checked her breathing.
Nothing.
He started CPR immediately.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
There was no response.
His hands didn't stop even when doubt started to creep in. He kept going, pressing, trying, refusing to accept what his eyes were seeing.
Then finally...
A faint cough.
Barely there.
But enough.
He exhaled sharply, like he had been holding his breath the entire time without realizing it.
She was alive.
Barely.
Without wasting another second, he started the boat and rushed toward the nearest hospital.
.........
The smell of antiseptic hit me the moment I became aware again.
My head felt like it was floating somewhere far away from my body.
This is why I hate hospitals, I thought weakly.
Hospital…
Am I alive?
Didn't I die?
Or does heaven smell like hospitals?
I tried to open my eyes, but they refused. My lashes felt heavy, like they had been glued shut. My body didn't feel like mine anymore.
Everything hurt.
My throat burned like I had swallowed fire. My chest ached with every small movement. My head throbbed so badly I thought it might crack open.
Then I heard it.
A faint voice.
"…she's breathing."
That one sentence didn't feel real at first.
I'm breathing…
I'm alive.
Alive.
Why?
Suddenly, everything came rushing back without warning.
The pregnancy confirmation.
The hospital visit.
The kidnapping.
The black vans.
The bridge.
Kelly's voice… sharp and full of hate.
Jules' cold eyes, like I meant nothing.
Their words.
The gunshot.
The fall.
My breathing got uneven.
My chest tightened again, but not from water this time.
My baby.
My breath caught painfully.
"No…" I whispered weakly.
My fingers twitched slightly, like they were trying to reach for something that wasn't there anymore.
"My baby… they tried to kill me…"
"Don't move."
The voice was firm. A man.
It didn't sound cruel. Just controlled. Calm in a way that didn't match how broken I felt.
I forced my eyes open a little.
My vision was blurred. Everything looked like shapes and shadows.
A tall figure stood beside me. Broad shoulders. Still. Watching.
"Where am I?" my voice came out cracked and dry.
"You're safe," he said.
Safe.
The word felt strange in my mouth. Like something I had forgotten how to believe in.
"And… my baby?" I asked.
The silence that followed was different this time.
He didn't answer immediately.
That was enough.
"I'm sorry… you lost it."
Something inside me stopped completely.
A bitter laugh escaped before I could stop it.
Gone.
I lost it.
It didn't even feel like shock. Just emptiness spreading slowly through my chest.
This just adds to the list.
Even my own baby rejected me.
Even everything I had left… was gone.
I laughed again, quieter this time.
Then again.
And before I knew it, I was laughing while crying at the same time, like my body didn't know what else to do with the pain.