Three Years Blind, One Song Broken Chapter 04
The second Jackson saw me standing there, something in him finally snapped.
“Mira, what the hell is wrong with you?”
The veins in his neck stood out sharply.
“You wanted me home, so I stayed home. You wanted a baby, so I gave you one.”
“Sloane’s carrying twins and she’s already far along. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me watching her struggle just to walk?”
“They’re all my children. Why can’t you accept that?”
“But you promised me!”
My fists shook so hard my nails cut into my palms.
Sloane suddenly smiled and rubbed her stomach deliberately.
“Mira, these babies are growing so fast I can’t even fit into my own clothes anymore.”
She tugged lightly at Jackson’s oversized shirt.
“Good thing Jace’s shirts fit perfectly.”
She laughed softly.
“The doctor said I’m a machine for carrying twins.”
“I swear I could still do backflips if Jace would let me.”
“He won’t let me ride my superbike anymore. Won’t even let me watch horror movies.”
Then she tilted her head with a smug little smile.
“But I’m not some fragile princess. I can handle way more than he thinks.”
Something inside me finally broke.
I grabbed the nearest vase and hurled it at her.
“You’re disgusting!”
“Sloane!”
Jackson moved instantly, shielding her with his body.
The vase shattered against the wall beside him. Then he turned toward me with terrifying fury in his eyes.
“What is wrong with you?”
“She’s pregnant with twins!”
His voice hit like a slap.
“Mira, I’ve taken care of you for half your damn life.”
“If you can’t live with this, then leave.”
Nausea surged violently through my stomach.
I wiped my mouth slowly and laughed bitterly.
“Fine.”
“I’ll leave.”
By the time I walked out of that house, I felt hollow. Like something had scooped out everything inside me and left nothing behind.
I went straight to my best friend’s apartment.
The second she opened the door, I burst into tears and told her everything.
But instead of comforting me, she only frowned.
“Mimi… honestly? You’re overreacting.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
She sighed impatiently.
“Sloane’s actually really nice.”
“She just wanted a baby with Jackson. Why are you acting like she murdered someone?”
For several seconds, I genuinely thought I’d misheard her.
“You can’t be serious.”
“Mira, asking her to terminate the pregnancy was cruel.”
“That’s still a life.”
“She hasn’t even fought you for anything this entire time, and you keep making scenes.”
Then she casually continued browsing baby gifts on her phone.
“What do you think I should send Sloane after the twins are born?”
Something lodged itself deep in my throat.
Sharp. Heavy.
I couldn’t swallow it down.
Couldn’t spit it out either.
Even my closest friend had chosen Sloane over me.
I left without saying another word.
Outside, the streets stretched endlessly around me, but suddenly there was nowhere left to go.
I wandered into a convenience store wanting to buy gelato out of pure spite, then realized I didn’t even have ten dollars left in my account.
I sat alone in the small public square near home from sunset until sunrise.
The baby kicked softly inside me the entire night.
By morning, I finally dragged myself back home.
The second I opened the door, Jackson grabbed my arm hard enough to hurt.
“Where the hell were you?”
His eyes swept over me frantically.
“I’ve been looking for you all night.”
“You want to act reckless? Fine. But the baby’s suffering with you.”
I didn’t answer.
I simply held out my hand.
“Gimme your phone.”
Jackson hesitated before handing it over.
I unlocked the screen and tried my birthday first.
Wrong.
Then our wedding anniversary.
Still wrong.
The silence between us turned suffocating before Jackson finally said quietly, “0225.”
My fingers froze above the screen.
February twenty-fifth.
Sloane’s birthday.
For a moment, I stopped breathing entirely.
Then I calmly unlocked the phone and transferred five thousand dollars into my own account.
Jackson’s expression shifted immediately.
Without another word, he pulled out a black card and handed it to me.
“No limit.”
“Buy whatever you want.”
“Mimi… stop running away from home.”
The sharp edge of the card dug painfully into my palm.
Jackson reached toward me like he wanted to hug me, but I stepped back before he could touch me.
Then I went upstairs and shut myself inside the bedroom.
After that, I stopped asking questions about him and Sloane.
Stopped fighting.
Stopped crying.
As my stomach grew bigger, the only thing I cared about anymore was my baby.
Then one afternoon, Sloane showed up at the house wearing one of Jackson’s shirts, smiling like she’d already won.
“You know what Jace told me recently?”
She leaned casually against the doorway.
“He said once the babies are born, he’s coming to stay with me full-time to take care of us.”
Her smile widened slightly.
“I told him I felt tired one time and he nearly lost his mind worrying.”
“I heard you’ve been throwing up until you’re coughing bile lately. And he didn’t even notice?”
She clicked her tongue dramatically.
“God, Jace can be so cruel sometimes.”
“If I were him, I’d never let a woman suffer like that.”
I turned to leave without responding.
Then suddenly—
A scream.
Sloane tumbled violently down the staircase.
“Mira!”
Her voice cracked instantly into sobs.
“I just came here to talk!”
“Even if you hate me, you can’t hurt the babies!”
“Sloane!”