December, 1999
The bathroom was suffocating. The air thick, unmoving, pressing against Addie’s chest as she sat, knees drawn to her chest, her back pressed against the cold tile wall. The overhead light was off, the only glow coming from the small sliver of light seeping in from the hallway from the crack in the door. It barely reached her, leaving her in the dark. And honestly, at this point, she preferred it.
Her tears had stopped at some point. She wasn’t sure when. Maybe minutes ago. Maybe hours. The tests still lay scattered around her, each one mocking her in silent accusation. Positive. Positive. Positive.
Her mind was blank, her body heavy, unresponsive. Like the weight of what she had just learned had turned her to stone. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t… couldn’t breathe.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Her life—her carefully laid-out, painstakingly planned life—wasn’t meant to lead here. She had spent years mapping out her future. Her education. Her career. Her purpose. And now… now everything had derailed.
She was supposed to go to college next year. She had taken the year off for the wedding, but after that? Politics. She was meant to change the world, not bring another one into it. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
She had never let herself imagine it before. The idea of getting married to Leo? Yes. That was an easy yes… But children? No. She had always told herself there would be time for that later, if she ever wanted it.
But now?
She pressed a hand to her stomach, her fingers shaking as she tried to feel something. Tried to understand what this even meant.
Her body didn’t feel any different. But inside, her world had already shattered.
A tear slipped down her cheek, and she barely registered the way it dripped onto her thigh, warm against her freezing skin.
She should move.
She should… do something. But her body wouldn’t listen.
And so, she sat.
Still. Silent.
And at some point, exhaustion dragged her under.
The warmth came first.
It spread over her skin, soft and golden, like sunlight filtering through an open window. There was laughter, light and unburdened, filling the space around her.
She blinked.
It was a garden. A breathtaking, endless stretch of wildflowers and green. The scent of lilies filled the air—her favorite, comforting and familiar.
And then she saw him.
Leo stood only a few feet away, his head tipped back in laughter, a little girl in his arms. She had Addie’s golden waves, wild and unkempt, and the brightest blue-grey eyes Addie had ever seen—Leo’s eyes.
Beside them, a small boy clung to Leo’s leg, his arms wrapped tight around his father’s knee as he giggled uncontrollably. His hair was golden like Leo’s, but his smile—his smile—was hers.
The sight of them hit her like a blow to the chest.
Her family.
She didn’t move. She didn’t breathe.
Leo turned to her, his expression impossibly soft, filled with something so tender, so unbreakable, that it made her heart ache.
“Come here, love.” His voice was warm, welcoming.
The little girl wriggled in his arms, reaching toward Addie with small, chubby hands.
And then—
Noise. Loud. Sharp. Reality crashing in like a violent wave, sweeping the dream away before she could hold onto it.
Her eyes snapped open.
The warmth was gone, ripped away so violently that she gasped, her body lurching forward.
Her skin was clammy. Her heartbeat pounded against her ribs, disoriented and frantic.
For a moment, she couldn’t remember where she was. The dream still clung to the edges of her mind, hazy and beautiful and painful. She reached for it, but it slipped through her fingers like sand.
And then she heard it.
Voices.
Addie stilled.
She could hear Leo’s voice outside the bathroom. Low. Familiar. But there was another voice, too. One that sent ice through her veins.
Richard.
Leo’s father.
She sucked in a breath, forcing herself to stay silent as she strained to listen.
The conversation was already heated. She could hear it in the tension laced through every syllable.
“…the wedding needs to be perfect.” Richard’s voice carried through the walls, cold and sharp.
A long silence.
Then—
“Train her so she doesn’t talk about all this working in politics nonsense.”
Her stomach turned violently.
Her nails dug into her palms, her entire body stiffening as she waited—prayed—for Leo to say something. To argue. To stand up for her. To… to be there for her when she wasn’t fcking there to stand up for herself.
But he didn’t.
Instead, there was only silence.
And then Richard’s voice again, firmer, colder.
“I’m serious, Leonardo. Get married. Get that fucking girl pregnant so she realizes where her place is.”
Addie’s world shattered.
She felt sick. Physically sick. Her ears rang. Her body felt like it wasn’t hers.
It was like drowning.
Leo’s response was quiet. Detached.
“Of course, Father.”
That was it. No argument. No defense.
And for the first time since she had met Leo, she felt something snap inside her.
Her heart didn’t just break—it disintegrated.
Footsteps. The conversation was ending.
Leo said something about having the file his father needed, and then they were leaving.
The front door closed softly.
And Addie finally let out a sound.
A broken, muffled sob.
Her hand clamped over her mouth, her shoulders shaking violently as the dam inside her cracked wide open.
Leo’s words—his silence—echoed in her head.
Get that fucking girl pregnant.
Yes, Father.
She was pregnant. And she had never felt more alone in her life.
Her body moved before she even realized it.
She reached for the pregnancy tests, grabbing them with shaking hands, stuffing them into the trash. She yanked the bag from the bin, clutching it so tightly her knuckles turned white.
She stumbled into the living room, her vision blurred, her chest tight.
And then she saw it.
The engagement ring on her finger.
It had once been the happiest thing she had ever worn. The promise of a forever she had dreamed of since Leo had put it there.
But now?
Now, it felt like a shackle.
Her breath came in short gasps as she sat down at the table, grabbed a piece of paper, and forced herself to write through the blur of tears.
𝐼’𝓂 𝓈𝑜𝓇𝓇𝓎,
-𝒜
Her fingers trembled as she set the ring on top of the note.
She stared at it for a long, long time.
Every moment of their love—every kiss, every whispered promise—flashed in her mind like a cruel, painful montage.
Her body shook as she reached for her phone and placed it beside the letter.
And then she stood.
Her steps were slow, unsteady.
Her hand reached for the doorknob, her heart hammering.
And then—
A soft bark.
She turned.
Holly sat by her feet, looking up at her with wide, confused eyes. The tiny Maltese had been their baby. Their baby.
Addie choked back a sob.
She couldn’t leave her. She couldn’t leave everything.
So she bent down, scooped Holly into her arms, pressing her face into her soft fur for just a moment, before she turned back to the door.
One last look at the life she had built with Leo.
And then she stepped outside, into the cold California night.
Putting her hand out, she called for a taxi. And when it drove over, she climbed inside, her voice barely a whisper as she gave the address - her hand still clutching the garbage bag.
Her brother’s house.
And then she was gone.