Chapter 16: How Can I Miscarry if I’m Not Pregnant?
David’s grip on Caroline’s neck tightened, cutting off her breath entirely. His fingers were like iron, and her pulse hammered against her throat, desperate for air. Her vision blurred as she gasped in vain.
“What did I tell you?” he demanded, his voice as cold as ice, filled with fury. “Hmm?”
His words were like a deadly whisper, each one more menacing than the last.
“I told you, Caroline,” he spat, venom dripping from his words, “even if you were pregnant, I would choke you like this… and choke the life out of that child.”
Caroline’s pulse quickened, the pressure in her throat suffocating her. He was serious. He would kill her and her baby without hesitation if she didn’t submit to his will.
Her mind raced, trying to find an escape, but there was none. She was at his mercy.
“What kind of woman do you think could bear my children?” he continued, his voice mocking. “Lowly, manipulative, the kind who would use her child to climb the social ladder, enjoying the wealth and power of a family that isn’t hers.”
Tears slipped from Caroline’s eyes as she struggled to breathe. Her body felt heavy, her mind hazy.
“No… No…” she managed to whisper, her words weak and shaky. “The child… he… he’s not…”
Her words trailed off as she tried to explain that the child wasn’t his. But every time she spoke, his grip on her neck tightened further, cutting her words short.
David’s expression twisted with disgust, eyes filled with scorn. He had been warned by his mother to show some restraint, but he could see through Caroline’s “schemes” now. To him, she was just another woman trying to stay within the Ellison family’s grasp.
Caroline’s vision blurred completely, her mind fading as she lost consciousness. She feared that the rage in David’s eyes would be the last thing she ever saw. She had feared this moment, but the reality of his anger was even more terrifying than she had imagined.
As she struggled for breath, she managed to look up at him, her hand trembling as she reached for the pregnancy test.
David swatted her hand away, his expression growing colder. He threw the test back at her with force, hitting her in the face.
“Dying in my hands? I wouldn’t touch it; it’s beneath me,” David said, his tone casual, as if her life meant nothing.
Caroline staggered back and collapsed onto the floor, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. Blood began to trickle from the cut on her forehead where the test had struck her. The blood fell steadily, dripping onto the pregnancy test lying beside her hand, turning the scene even more grim.
Her hands shook as she stared at the test. Something caught her eye—something that made her stomach drop. The name on the test wasn’t hers.
What was going on? She thought in a panic. Did she take the wrong test when she left the hospital? Had the hospital made a mistake? The possibilities raced through her mind.
But this was her chance. Her chance to get out of this alive.
She lifted her head, wiping the blood from her forehead with a trembling hand.
“I’m not pregnant,” Caroline said, her voice calm but defiant. “How could I miscarry? What would be miscarrying?”
David’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he studied her, his expression growing more suspicious.
Caroline continued, her voice steady despite the blood dripping down her face.
“David, take a good look. The name on this test isn’t mine.”
David’s eyes flicked to the paper. The name on the test wasn’t hers.
For a moment, he stood still, confusion flickering in his eyes. Had he misunderstood her? Had he been wrong?
Caroline pressed on, sensing that this was the only chance she might get.
“I just got back from the hospital after my IV treatment,” she explained slowly. “The doctor handed me a physical check-up report as I was leaving. I didn’t look at it—just stuffed it into my bag. I didn’t expect it to cause such a misunderstanding.”
Her voice was calm, controlled, and she could see David’s anger shifting ever so slightly.
“I don’t even know whose pregnancy test this is,” she said, her words deliberate, “but I’m not pregnant.”
David’s eyes flashed with disbelief. But what could he say now? His grip on her had been based on his own assumption.
Caroline had just given him a plausible explanation, and for the first time, she saw a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes.
