Dear Ex Wife Please take me back by The Every Woman

Chapter 69 ~ A report

ALEX

The room is too quiet. The kind of silence that feels like it's pressing down on me, suffocating, heavy with things

unsaid. The machines beep in slow, steady intervals, a cruel reminder that life moves forward even when it feels

like it shouldn't.

Athena hasn't woken up yet.

| haven't moved since mum had them take Rayen. | couldn't find the strength to bury my son with his mother

still unconscious

So | decided to wait until she wakes up so we can figure this out together.

| should say something. Do something. But all | can do is stare at her, at the way her eyelashes rest against her

cheeks, at how fragile she looks against the hospital bed.

| don't want her here. | want her resting in my bed back at hwhile | rub her feet even though I know it will be

a drop in the ocean.

My grip tightens around her hand as if holding on will somehow keep her from slipping further away from me. As

if it will undo what's already been done.

| never knew that childbirth was this risky. | have taken it for granted, knowing I had the best doctors and the

best hospital in the country. Having gone through this with all the money in the world, it makeswonder how

those with barely anything feel.

"I should open you a foundation dedicated to pregnant women with you leading it." | whisper as | brush a strand

of hair away from her face.

The door opens, but | don't look up. | know it's my mother by the way she moves, soft steps, hesitant, as if she's

afraid to disturb the quiet. She comes to stand beside me, her hand brushing my shoulder.

"Alex," she says gently. "You should get srest."

| shake my head. "I can't."

She doesn't argue. Instead, she pulls up a chair, sitting besidein the silence.

"I'll be back. Letcheck in on your grandmother." Mum says as she kisses my hair before walking out.

Minutes pass. Maybe hours.

Then

A small shift.

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Athena's fingers twitch beneath mine.

My heart lurches.

Her breath changes, her eyelids fluttering, and then, slowly, she opens her eyes.

At first, she just stares at the ceiling, dazed, disoriented. Then her gaze moves, landing on me.

For a second, there's nothing. Just quiet recognition.

Then | see it. The moment the memories crushing back.

Her brow furrows. Her lips part. And then the question I've been dreading slips out of her mouth,

"Where's the baby?"

Her voice is barely above a whisper, raspy from disuse, but it shattersall the

same.

I can't answer. | can't even breathe.

Athena tries to sit up, her body trembling with the effort. Panic flickers in her eyes

as she looks around the room, searching. Waiting. Expecting.

And then, realization dawns.

"No," she breathes. Her hand tightens around mine. "No, Alex. No, please."

Her voice cracks, and something insidecracks with it.

| should say something. | should tell her it's going to be okay. But | can't lie to her.

| can't take this pain away.

Tears spill down her cheeks, her body shaking as sobs wrack through her. She clutches at me, desperate,

pleading for something | can't give her.

"Please," she cries. "Tellthey're wrong. Tell me-"

Her breath catches, her entire body folding in on itself. And all | can do is hold her. Hold her as she breaks apar in

my arms, as the weight of our loss crushes us both.

"I'm so sorry," | whisper, over and over, pressing my lips to her hair, her forehead,

anywhere | can reach. "I'm so sorry, Athena."

But sorry isn't enough. It will never be enough.

Because our baby is gone.

And | don't know how to bring her back from this.

| don't know how long we stay like this when | eventually pull away so | can call

the doctor in charge to check on her.

As | step into the hallway, my mind

is a body

e of grief and e

S on autopilot as!

my way toward the nurses

Then, out of nowhere,

A sudden impact.

bet

my

A nurse collides into me, nearly sending a stack of patient files flying to the

ground.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," she rushes out, kneeling to gather the fallen papers.

"It's fine," | mutter, barely registering the moment.

But as she scoops up the documents, my gaze snags on a nprinted in bold

letters across one of the reports.

Athena Dawson.

My stomach clenches.

"Wait," | speak out, making her freeze. My hand shoots out, grabbing the edge of

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the paper before she can tuck it away. "What is this?"

The nurse hesitates, glancing around as if checking for prying eyes.

"It's nothing, just a routine medical report," she says too quickly.

I level her with a hard stare. "Letsee it."

"l-1 can't," she stammers, holding the documents closer to her chest. "It's

confidential. | could get in serious trouble if-"

"Givethe report."

Her eyes flicker with hesitation, but something in my expression makes her falter.

With a small, nervous exhale, she glances around again before finally handingthe paper.

My eyes scan the page, taking in line after line of the medical report. But after what | see, | wish | hadn't

requested it.

My breath catches.

| read the words again.

And again.

A brutal, cold shock crashes throughlike a tidal wave.

No.

But the words don't change.

My pulse pounds in my ears as | turn

to the nurse, my grip tightening around the paper. "What the hell

0.

does this mean?” My voice is hoarse, barely controlled. Content-belongs

She wrings her hands, looking like she deeply regrets lettingsee it. "I-1 don't

know all the details," she admits in a hushed voice.

“But..... the patient was trying to abort the child. It failed but had an effect causing

the death of the baby at birth."