Chapter 2: The Sanctuary
Chapter 2: The Sanctuary
The sterile white lights of the military hospital were blinding, but for the first time in seven months, I didn't feel the urge to hide. I lay on the examination table as a team of doctors, moving with quiet urgency, cataloged every bruise, every fracture, and every scar.
My father stood guard by the door, his dress uniform now wrinkled, his jaw set in stone. He refused to leave my side.
The most terrifying moment came when the obstetrician wheeled in the ultrasound machine. The cold gel hit my bruised stomach, and the room fell into a suffocating silence. I held my breath, terrified that Ryan’s cruelty had stolen the one thing that had kept me alive. Then, a fast, rhythmic thump-thump-thump filled the room.
May you like
My baby’s heartbeat.
I broke down, the tears I had suppressed for months finally spilling over. My father walked over, resting a heavy, warm hand on my head. "The baby is a fighter," he said softly. "Just like her mother."
