ATHENA

    The weight of his words presses down on me like a crushing avnche, suffocating me with each syble. His words... his usations... they pierce through my already fragile heart like daggers.

    The pain frombor suddenly feels numb aspared to how much he has injured me.

    "Not his face, and certainly not his grave."

    The pain that erupts in me is unimaginable.

    I can''t breathe.

    It feels like the air is stolen from my lungs, the very oxygen I need to survive now out of reach.

    I look down at the divorce papers he''s just thrown at me, the words on the page blurring as my tears pool in my eyes. My vision goes foggy. Everything around me seems distant, unreal, like I''m watching this whole scene unfold from far away.

    Did he really just say that? Did he truly believe that I could kill our son? That I could willingly harm the child I carried for so long?

    I don''t know how much time passes. It feels like a lifetime in this silence, this unbearable stillness.

    The tension between us, thick and suffocating, builds with every passing second, my heartbeat hammering in my chest. But it''s not my heartbeat that I hear. It''s the sound of my own soul breaking, shattering, splintering under the weight of his usations.

    "Alex, please..." I whisper again, my voice raw, fragile. I try to reach for him, but he takes a step back, his face contorted with disgust.

    He turns, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the quiet room as he heads for the door. I don''t know how to stop him. I don''t know how to make him understand that I didn''t do this.

    I would never do this.

    I want to scream, to run after him, but I can''t bring myself to move. The pain is too much, the reality of what''s happening too overwhelming. I don''t want to lose him. I don''t want to lose Rayen, even though he''s already gone.

    "Alex, please." I plead.

    How will I live with myself if I can''t even send off my son?

    This is cruel!

    My voice cracks, and desperation in my tone. But he doesn''t stop. He doesn''t even turn around.

    The door ms behind him, and I am left standing in the wreckage of everything I''ve known.

    He wasforting me just minutes ago. What happened? What changed him into this monster?

    My knees give way, and I copse onto the bed, clutching the divorce papers in my hands as though they might somehow provide me with the answers I need, the truth that''s been hidden from me.

    But nothing will fix this. Nothing will bring Rayen back. Nothing will heal the wounds that Alex has just opened up inside me.

    I am left with nothing but the echoes of his words, the weight of the lies, and the

    empty space where my son''s smile should have been.

    Tears fall freely now, each one a bitter reminder of everything I''ve lost.

    “I didn''t do this....." I whisper into the silence, my voice trembling.

    But I don''t know if anyone will ever believe me again.

    Maybe if I wait a little, hees to his senses. I''m angry, broken, and shattered, but I also feel hopeless with no one to call.

    I''ve never felt so lonely since my parents passed. I feel like no matter how much I exin, no one will hear me. Everyone will believe Alex and I''ll be known as the whore who killed her son to be with a lover.

    Just the thought of it sinks my heart to my feet.

    When did life be so hard andplicated? Howe I never have anyone to lean on when my life is falling apart?

    The only rtives I have left will rejoice upon hearing About my downfall. Was I a criminal or a great sinner in my past life that nothing good woulde out of me?

    Tears continue to fall as my shoulders shake while I grip my shirt hoping the pain Will reduce.

    It doesn''t.

    No onees to my room. Not a nurse, not a doctor and not a single person.

    I know it''s Alex''s doing, and I know he will do whatever it takes to ruin the little shell I have left.

    All for a lie I can''t exin myself out of.

    Iy down, unable to go back on the bed and I don''t know how long passes when the door opens.

    I freeze, every muscle in my body locking in ce as I instinctively look up.

    My heart stutters in my chest,

    mixture of hope and dread crashing

    over me. expect to see Alex

    standing there, but instead, a stranger steps through the

    vel

    threshold. His presence is sostarkly different from Alex''s and Lfeel my

    heart sink.

    He''s tall, his posture rigid, his expression unreadable. A sharp ck and white suit, making me wonder who he is.

    I don''t speak at first, just stare at him, waiting for him to say something. "Mrs King, my name is David Halden. I''m Mr. King''swyer." He steps closer, his gaze shifting briefly to the scattered papers on the bed, the divorce papers that seem to haunt me now more than anything else.

    "I''m sorry to intrude under these circumstances, but I''m here to collect your signature on the divorce papers."

    I blink in shock, unable to process his words right away. The room seems to tilt,

    my world spinning even more out of control.

    So he won''t even let me exin?.

    "I know this is hard," he continues, his tone softening for the first time, but there''s a finality in his words. "Mr. King has made it clear he wants to move forward with the divorce. He doesn''t want to have any contact with you, therefore you may speak to him through me."

    I should say something, fight this. But the weight of everything, the crushing truth of what''s happening is suffocating me. I am nothing but a shell of the person I was before. My fingers shake as I reach for the pen he offers, my heart heavy with the knowledge that signing those papers will be the final act of surrender.

    I look up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time. Thewyer''s gaze is sympathetic, but there''s nothing he can do. He''s only here to follow orders, to carry out Alex''s wishes.

    I want to scream, to tell him that this isn''t right, that I don''t deserve this. That Alex doesn''t understand, that he''s blinded by anger. But the truth is, I don''t know how to fix any of this.

    With a trembling hand, I take the pen. My mind is in a haze, my thoughts jumbled and broken, but somehow, I manage to sign the papers.

    David''s eyes soften, just a little, as he takes the papers from my hands. He looks like he wants to say somethingforting, but he knows better than to offer any false hope.

    Without a word, he turns and walks toward the door..

    Tears fall freely now, each one a bitter reminder of what''s gone, what I can never have back.

    What he took from me with no remorse.

    "I will never forgive you for doing this to me." another angry tear rolls down my

    cheek.