Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

It took time for the drug to work its way out of her system.

Chloe Reed soon fell into a deep sleep.

The hospital was quiet, the air thick with the smell of disinfectant. A little after ten that night, her phone rang.

She startled awake and reached for it, only to see Walker Grant pick up her phone and answer.

”She’s asleep.”

His deep voice was devoid of inflection. He hung up as soon as he spoke.

Chloe Reed’s eyes were still hazy. ”Give me my phone,” she said.

Walker didn’t. He placed it on the nightstand and said, ”Go back to sleep.”

Chloe Reed reached for the phone.

But he suddenly stood, lifted the covers, and slid onto the bed, pulling her into his arms as he lay on his side.

”What are you doing?! Get off! This is a single bed!” Chloe Reed said in shock, trying to push him away.

Walker held her still and closed his eyes. ”You want me to sit in a chair all night? Don’t you feel sorry for me?”

Chloe let out an exasperated laugh. ”You can leave. I never asked you to stay.”

”Can’t do that.” Walker pulled her tighter. ”I’m not comfortable leaving you here alone.”

His warmth enveloped her, a domineering presence that gave her no chance to resist and asked for no consent.

Chloe was completely drained of strength. His heartbeat thudded next to her ear. She turned her face away to look out the window as the familiar, bitter sorrow welled up in her eyes again.

Just then, a phone rang again.

This time, it wasn’t hers.

It was his.

Walker took out his phone and glanced at the screen. He frowned but answered anyway. ”Hello?”

”Walker, Noah’s gone!”

Sunny Reed’s frantic voice came through the phone.

Walker’s voice turned grave. ”What happened?”

Sunny’s voice was thick with tears. ”I came home from work and we were playing... I took him to the park downstairs, but I looked away for just a second, and he was gone. I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find him. What do I do? Walker, I’ve lost Noah...”

They were so close that Chloe could hear every word from the phone with perfect clarity.

She closed her eyes, the corners of her mouth twisting into a silent, mocking smile.

Walker started to get up. ”I’ll send people over. You go straight to the security office and check the surveillance footage.”

”O-Okay. Walker, please hurry. I... I’m so scared I can barely stand...” Sunny’s voice was filled with helplessness.

”Okay.”

Walker hung up.

He hadn’t gotten off the bed yet. His gaze fell to Chloe beside him.

Her eyes were closed, her face devoid of any expression.

In the past, when something like this happened, she would have tried to stop him, erupting in a hysterical rage.

But now, she was calm.

So calm it made him panic.

He instinctively took her hand. ”I’ll be back as soon as I find Noah.”

Chloe still showed no reaction.

Walker held her hand, moving to kiss the back of it.

Chloe snatched her hand away and turned to her side, leaving him with nothing but her back.

It was like a knife stabbing into his heart. A dull, agonizing pain instantly struck Walker.

But nothing could happen to Noah.

Walker gave her one last, deep look, then got up and left.

The door clicked shut, and the hospital room fell into silence.

The warmth was fleeting, gone as quickly as it had appeared.

Chloe kept her eyes squeezed shut, but the damned tears streamed down anyway. She hated herself for crying, hated that she couldn’t control this feeling at all.