Chapter 6: The Child He Never Knew About

"Dr. Merrick! Dr. Merrick, are you still there?"

The phone went silent for a long time.

So long that I thought Callum had hung up.

When he finally spoke, his voice was hoarse.

"You terminated the pregnancy."

It wasn't a question.

I stared through the hospital window at the passing cars outside.

"Yes."

His breathing became uneven.

"Why?"

I closed my eyes.

"Because you already decided they weren't important."

"Maren, you aborted our child without even talking to me. Why?"

I almost laughed.

"Our child?"

My fingers tightened around my phone.

"When did you last act like this was our child, Callum?"

He went silent.

"You gave away my blood without asking me."

"You moved Brielle and Poppy into our home without asking me."

"You let Poppy sleep in the nursery I prepared for our baby."

"And when she asked if this was her home, you told her yes."

My voice remained frighteningly calm.

"So don't stand there and pretend you suddenly remembered you were supposed to be a father."

"Maren, I didn't know you were this serious about leaving."

"That's because you never listened."

A long silence followed.

Then Callum's voice cracked.

"How bad was the bleeding?"

I looked down at the hospital bracelet around my wrist.

"Bad enough that I needed emergency treatment."

His breathing stopped for a second.

"Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Why would they?"

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat.

"You were busy celebrating Poppy's recovery."

Callum didn't answer.

For the first time, I could hear something other than anger in his silence.

Fear.

But it came too late.

***

"Maren, come back to the hospital."

His voice was low and urgent.

"Let me see you. We can talk face-to-face."

"There's nothing left to talk about."

"There is."

He sounded desperate now.

"You can't make a decision like this while you're sick and angry."

My heart went completely cold.

"You still don't understand."

"This wasn't an impulsive decision."

"I thought about it while lying in that hospital bed."

"I thought about it while the nurses were trying to stop the bleeding."

"And I thought about it when I realized the man I loved had willingly put my life behind someone else's."

His voice dropped to a whisper.

"I never wanted you to get hurt."

"But I did."

The words landed between us.

Simple.

Final.

"Callum, you don't get to decide which consequences matter just because you didn't intend them."

He didn't respond.

I could hear hospital monitors beeping faintly in the background.

Then someone called his name from the other side of the line.

"Dr. Merrick, Poppy's awake."

Callum hesitated.

I waited.

A few seconds later, he spoke.

"I'll come home tonight."

"Don't."

His voice caught.

"Maren—"

"I'm not going to be there."

"Where are you going?"

"Somewhere you can't reach me."

I ended the call.

***

I sat alone in the hospital room for another hour.

Then I called my lawyer.

"I want to cancel the wedding."

There was a pause.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"And the house?"

I looked at the engagement ring on my finger.

For seven years, I had imagined this ring as the beginning of my future.

Now it felt like a weight dragging me backward.

"I want my name removed from everything we planned together."

"Understood."

I ended the call.

Then I slowly pulled the ring from my finger.

I placed it inside the small velvet box on the bedside table.

For the first time, I felt nothing when I looked at it.

No heartbreak.

No longing.

Just relief.

***

That evening, Callum finally returned home.

He opened the front door and immediately froze.

Half the nursery had already been emptied.

The tiny crib was gone.

The decorations had been taken down.

The little clothes I had bought were packed into boxes.

And on the dining table sat his wedding ring and the keys to the house.

Beside them was a single note.

"You wanted Poppy to have a home."

"Now she can have this one."

Callum's face went completely pale.

"Maren?"

He ran through every room.

Bedroom.

Kitchen.

Living room.

Empty.

My closet was bare.

My shoes were gone.

Even the framed photographs of us had disappeared.

He stood in the middle of our home, staring at the empty walls.

For seven years, I had filled that house with memories of us.

It took me less than one day to remove myself from it.

Callum pulled out his phone and called me again.

This time, the call went straight to voicemail.

He tried again.

Nothing.

He opened our messages.

Then he realized something that made his hands tremble.

I had blocked his number.

For the first time in seven years, Callum Merrick had no way to reach me.