?<strong>Chapter 178:</strong>


    Joelle slept soundly, her dreams drifting back to when she was eighteen—the year her parents’ tragic idents marked the darkest chapter of her life. Back then, Adrian, ever dashing and regal, had always gone out of his way to lift her spirits.


    When she woke, the sky outside was a tempest of thunder and lightning, casting the day into an unsettling gloom. In the heavy silence, her phone vibrated insistently on the table. She picked it up and saw the same number that had called three times in the past half-hour.


    “Is that Joelle Watson?”


    The voice on the other end was both familiar and foreign. “Who is this?” she asked.


    “Don’t worry about that. You need to know Adrian has been stabbed back home and is in critical condition.” The line went dead.


    For a moment, Joelle was frozen, her mind teetering between disbelief and dread. It could be a cruel scam, but a deep-seated fear gnawed at her. What if it was true? What if Adrian was critically injured? Joelle couldn’t sit still any longer. Cradling her belly, she edged towards the side of the bed, her heart thudding in her chest.


    But as she stood too quickly, dizziness overtook her. She steadied herself against the bedpost just as the phone rang again.


    “Adrian is dead!”


    The words pierced through Joelle, stealing her breath. Fighting to steady her trembling voice, she spat back, “Whoever you are, you will pay for spreading such vile rumors.” But the line had already gone dead.


    When Joelle tried to call back, the phone was off. She had to know if Adrian was truly gone. The man from her dreams, the one who hadforted her, who had once been her warmth and,ter, her despair—how could he just be gone?


    “Adie…”


    Unsteadily, Joelle moved towards the door, but her legs felt like lead, her vision swimming in and out of focus. Suddenly, she felt a warm gush between her legs. A sharp pain struck, freezing her in ce.


    Rafael, hearing themotion from upstairs, rushed to find Joelle copsed on the floor, surrounded by amniotic fluid and blood, her face streaked with tears. “Joelle!”


    “Rafael, my water broke!”


    Rafael was stunned; she was still a month and a half away from her due date. Normallyposed, he now felt the weight of the situation bearing down on him. “Don’t worry. I’m taking you to the hospital now.” Rafael scooped her up just as another contraction gripped her, Joelle’s face contorting with pain.


    As Rafael drove, his hands trembled uncontrobly. He clutched his wrist in a futile attempt to steady himself. Beside him, Joelle sat in the passenger seat, her hair clinging to her damp forehead, a mixture of sweat and tears. Her face was so pale it broke his heart just to look at her.


    “Joelle, hold on; we’re almost there.”


    Joelle was too overwhelmed by pain to respond. She couldn’t tell if she was awake or drifting into unconsciousness. When they finally arrived, doctors quickly whisked Joelle into the delivery room. Just before they wheeled her away, she reached out and clutched Rafael’s hand with surprising strength.


    “Rafael,” she whispered, her voice a fragile thread, her lips drained of color. “I got a call, saying Adrian’s dead.”


    Rafael froze, his mind reeling. Joelle’s grip tightened, desperation filling her eyes. “Please, Rafael, can you check for me? I’m begging you. He can’t just be gone.”


    Rafael nodded, though the words seemed stuck in his throat, barely managing to choke out a soft, “Okay.” The delivery was anything but smooth. Joelle stared at the ceiling lights, her body wracked with effort, each push draining her of what little strength she had left.


    Adrian’s voice echoed in her mind.


    “Joelle, don’t be scared. Your mom is just a star in the sky now.”


    “Joelle, if you’re ever sad,e to me.”


    “Joelle, you can win thispetition.”


    Memories surged through her, each one striking her heart like a dagger.


    “Ah!” she cried out as the baby began to crown. “Keep pushing! Come on! You’re doing great! The head is almost out!”


    Joelle tried to focus, drawing in deep, shaky breaths, using the Lamaze techniques she had read about to manage the pain. Then, an image of her wedding day shed before her eyes. She remembered the happiness she felt that year, eagerly awaiting Adrian’s return every day. She knew he had been forced into the marriage, and she had desperately wanted to make him happy.


    She had tried tofort him as he hadforted her, but it was all in vain. One day, she identally saw Reba’s posts on Twitter, and at that moment, she realized her husband loved another woman. The three years had been nothing short of torture for both of them.


    Joelle felt utterly spent. A voice cut through the haze. “The patient is hemorrhaging! Prepare for a transfusion!” But Joelle was tired—so very tired. If Adrian was really gone, then maybe it would be better if she left this world too.


    “Adrian, I owe you nothing anymore. In the next life, let’s not meet again.”


    The heart monitor beeped steadily, showing Joelle’s heartbeat slowly stabilizing. Outside, Rafael paced anxiously, eventually learning that Joelle’s prematurebor had been triggered by the news about Adrian.


    A doctor, covered in blood, rushed out and demanded, “Who’s the patient’s family?”


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