Chapter 3
The moment Mrs. Davies found out Liam and I were estranged, she called me. Her voice, when she spoke, was laced with accusation: “Avery, what is going on with you? I hear you’ve moved out? How can a wife abandon her husband like that? Liam made a mistake, yes, but he’s learned his lesson. Chloe’s baby will be your child too, someday. You need to show some care. It’s done, Avery. Can’t you just be the bigger person?”
Mrs. Davies didn’t give me a chance to speak, her accusations tumbling out one after another. She had no idea I’d already decided to divorce Liam. Whatever happened to Liam and Chloe, it had nothing to do with me anymore.
Before anything else, I needed to go back to the family estate, to the old graveyard. I wanted to visit my twelve lost children. They were still buried in the Davies family plot.
When I arrived home, I could hear Liam’s triumphant sneer from a distance. “Oh, look who decided to come back. I thought you’d be out running wild forever.”
Chloe nestled into his arms, then leaned in provocatively and kissed the corner of his mouth. She raised an eyebrow at me. “Liam, darling, don’t blame Avery. She just doesn’t like me, that’s all, right? If she’s constantly around us, I’d worry about it affecting our baby.”
I scoffed, ignoring them both, and headed towards the back hill of the estate. I had erected a tombstone for each of my twelve lost children, burying them in the Davies family graveyard. One after another, the cold, stark tombstones lined up before me. My eyes burned, and tears freely streamed down my face. If I hadn’t walked in on Liam and Chloe, I would have remained completely oblivious to the truth.
After burning some offerings for my children – a tradition I’d maintained – I went back inside, packed the things I’d prepared for my unborn babies into a suitcase, and headed out. Liam saw me and, displeasure etched on his face, strode over to block my path.
“Where are you going now?”
He snatched my suitcase impatiently, opened it, and frowned. “Aren’t these things for our child? They’ll be perfect for Chloe’s baby. After all, it’s still my child. The agony of childbirth – you don’t have to suffer it now. Chloe’s doing it for you. Shouldn’t you be grateful? We’re not even asking you to thank her. Why the long face all the time? Who are you trying to impress?”
Liam’s accusations rained down on me, one after another. Each word was a knife, twisting deeper into my heart. I looked up at him.
“They were my flesh and blood! I yearned for them, dreamt of them coming into this world, giving them names, watching them grow. But in the end, they never even got a chance to live, their lives snuffed out by their own father. Now, there’s nothing but cold, desolate tombstones. You never even bothered to see them once! Just because they weren’t carried by someone you loved, does that make you so heartless, so cruel? Liam Davies, when you lie awake at night, don’t you ever worry that our children will come back to haunt you, demanding retribution?”
My frenzied outburst clearly terrified Liam. His face went ashen, and he stumbled back, step after step. Finally, a faint flicker of guilt crossed his features. Seeing this, Chloe stepped forward, cradling her swollen belly, shielding Liam. She pointed an accusing finger at me, indignant.
“It’s your own weak body that couldn’t hold onto those babies! What does that have to do with us? Besides, Liam never liked you from the start. He certainly wouldn’t have liked your babies. Our child is the crystallization of true love. Yours were nothing. Why should Liam feel sad for a bunch of embryos? They died in your womb. They deserved it.”
I snapped. My hand shot out, delivering a stinging slap across her face. Chloe was stunned. Liam immediately stepped in front of her to shield her. I kicked him away, grabbed his shirt collar, and slapped him, hard, again and again. But the pain of my palms striking his face was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.
I roared, “How dare your ‘true love’ be built on my suffering? If you didn’t want me to have those children, you could have just said so! Why did you have to murder them in secret? Your hands are stained with their blood! Both of you murdered them!”
Liam was so startled, he forgot to fight back for a moment. Chloe reached out, clawing at my arm, trying to pull me away. But reason had abandoned me. All I wanted was for the people who’d destroyed my children to feel a fraction of my pain. I violently shook Chloe’s hand off, just as I was about to unleash more.
Then, a pained shriek erupted from behind me. I froze, turning to look. Liam had shoved me, hard, sending me sprawling onto the floor. Chloe was curled on the ground, trembling with agony. Her white dress was rapidly blooming with scarlet.
“Help! My baby! Someone, please, help my baby!”