Blood on the Sheets

The heavy car door slammed shut, sealing out the precinct's suffocating air. Bound to Declan’s presence like an invisible specter, I watched from the passenger seat as he aggressively mashed his thumb against his screen, redialing my number. It went straight to the same robotic voicemail.

Giving up, he swiped open WhatsApp.

A sickening jolt hit my phantom chest. Pinned permanently to the top of his chat list was Maya’s name, decorated with a glaring red heart emoji.

That premium spot used to belong exclusively to me.

I remembered exactly when the shift happened two years ago. Initially, he had her saved as "Bothersome Serena"—a pathetic attempt to hide her identity—before finally dropping the act and just using "Maya."

When I had confronted him about that pinned chat back then, he went straight on the defensive, tossing out elaborate excuses and accusing me of being petty and aggressive.

It all started three years ago. The moment Maya moved back into the Vance family home, she launched a quiet, systematic campaign to erase me. With flawless acting, she convinced my parents and even my brother to see me as the villain, fostering a deep resentment toward me.

I had foolishly believed Declan would be my exception. We grew up side by side; he knew me perfectly well.

But he had changed quietly, too.

His gaze had slowly morphed to mirror the exact same disdain everyone else held for me. The signs were always there, glaring and obvious, while I stubbornly held onto a past that no longer existed.

Declan’s thumb swiped impatiently past a flood of unread wedding congratulations until he finally unearthed my profile.

He opened the thread and stared at my final message, accompanied by the location tag.

*Declan, we need to talk.*

He glared at the screen for a long, heavy minute.

Eventually, he held down the voice record button, his tone dripping with tired condescension. "Serena, where are you?"

"I told you not to play these games," he demanded into the microphone. "We're married now! Why are you making things difficult with Maya? Do you have any idea how upset she was yesterday?"

He let out a harsh breath. "If you come back now, I'll overlook what happened last night."

Declan released the button and threw his phone aside onto the passenger seat.

From the driver’s seat, Felix observed his weariness through the rearview mirror and spoke up softly. "Mr. Sterling, Mrs. Sterling has always been reasonable. Even when you left her at the wedding, she didn't lose her temper. I don't think she would play such a cruel prank involving the police. Maybe we should go look for her?"

"You know her well, huh?"

"No, Mr. Sterling. I just think she's had an unfortunate turn of events."

"Unfortunate?" Declan scoffed.

"She's always enjoyed creating drama for attention," he spat. "Fine, if you're so idle, send someone to Crystal Coast. Let's see if you can recover her body."

When someone starts to hate you, there is no need to ask them why. Every twisted justification they come up with will seem perfectly valid to them.

I had noticed the shift in Declan's attitude long before this.

He used to claim he despised Maya, but later, he couldn't stop talking about her. His loyalty had clearly shifted. He memorized her likes and dislikes, and whenever he traveled, he brought back gifts for both of us.

Six months ago, he went abroad for a project.

When a sudden earthquake caused a massive landslide, I immediately booked a flight to join him. But Maya had deliberately hidden my passport and visa.

Unable to travel legally, I was forced to watch helplessly as Maya flew out of the country that same day. I took a massive risk and traveled across the Pacific illegally, encountering a brutal tsunami in the process. If not for the help of some compassionate strangers, I would have drowned.

When I finally made it back, relieved simply to be alive, Maya accused me of having taken a luxury pleasure cruise.

I tried to explain about the missing passport, but she publicly produced it from a drawer, leaving me entirely unable to clear my name.

Declan wouldn't listen to a single word of my side of the story and spoke to me harshly.

Exhausted by his transformation into someone I no longer recognized, I decided it was time to end things.

"Declan, let's call off our engagement."

"What are you talking about?" he frowned, clearly irritated.

I replied calmly, "I've done all I can for this relationship. I don't want us to go from being partners to complete strangers. Let's end things while we still have some good feelings left."

Seeing my absolute determination, real panic finally appeared in Declan's eyes.

From that moment on, he promised to set strict boundaries with Maya. He showered me with gifts, organized an elaborate proposal, and began meticulously planning our wedding.

I had thought we would be happy like this forever.

Three months ago, that deceptive sweetness was completely shattered.

After a night of heavy drinking, we had been intimate, and I found out I was pregnant. I was so excited to share the news with him.

But Maya orchestrated a scheme first and faked a fall down the stairs. At the time, Declan rushed over and lifted her up in a furious panic. When I tried to step forward and explain, he shoved me violently to the floor.

That was when I truly realized that his recent behavior had been nothing but a fragile facade.

It was glaringly apparent that he had always trusted Maya over me, regardless of the truth.

When I hit the ground, the pain in my abdomen was so intense that I fainted. The doctor informed me that the fetus was dangerously unstable, forcing me to stay in the hospital for days of strict bed rest.

His assistant, Felix, told me that Declan was working on a major project. Despite knowing about my hospital stay, he never came to visit once.

At that point, I didn't care about him anymore. My focus was solely on the child. I needed to ensure its safety.

Unexpectedly, my hospital room door opened, and Maya showed up at my bedside. She leaned in, describing in vivid, excruciating detail exactly how Declan had embraced her, how he had kissed her, and where he had touched her.

A sickening churn hit my stomach. Suddenly, I felt a terrifying wetness between my legs, as if fluid was leaking out uncontrollably.

Weak, trembling, and unable to reach the call button, I used every ounce of my strength to shout for a doctor.

In my sheer desperation, I got out of bed. Even if I was to separate from Declan, I was going to protect this baby.

As I stood up, I saw the dark blood staining the pristine sheets.

The intense pain caused me to break into a freezing cold sweat. I took slow, agonizing steps toward the door.

Blood continued to flow from me, spilling in gruesome drops across the floor.

Ignoring the knife-like pain and everything else around me, my mind was solely on the baby, my baby...

The edges of my vision blurred, everything went pitch black, and I collapsed helplessly into the expanding pool of my own blood.