Page 38 of Severance

Keeping my gaze on my feet, I pinch my eyes shut as the puzzle pieces fall into place. “I didn’t take them,” I whisper, feeling the tears fill my eyes

“Fuck,” he breathes in disbelief and a pained expression forms on his face as I glance up at him.

I completely and utterly fucked everything up.

It all makes sense… the subtle weight that I had gained, the sickness that I experienced early on.

“I didn’t know what they were,” I whisper, shakily as the tears fall from my eyes. “I’m so sorry.” My voice cracks. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

Kai reaches for me and pulls me to my feet before pulling me into his arms. The tears flow freely as I cry into his shirt. “I fucked everything up,” I sob.

“Shh,” he says quietly, stroking my hair. “It’s not your fault,bambolina. You didn’t know and I should have told you.”

Pulling back, Kai takes my face in his hands and brushes the tears from my cheeks. “I’m the one who fucked up, not you. I was supposed to keep you safe, from everything and anything.”

Anthony let us have our moment to collect ourselves as much as possible.

“How did no one know?” I choke out, swallowing hard over the lump still lodged in my throat.

Anthony shrugs lightly. “Everyone’s body is different and sometimes their bodies don’t show that they’re pregnant like they typically would.”

The whole night plays in fast forward in my mind, although most of it is hazy and hard for me to remember the specifics.

“How did they hide it from me?” I question him as Kai holds onto me silently.

Clearing his throat, Anthony leans forward and rests his arms on his desk. “They had you heavily sedated after they separated you and Kai. When they got you to the hospital, you started bleeding and your water had broken, which was when they realized that you were in preterm labor.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Kai breathes as he squeezes me tighter, but I can barely feel his touch. I’m numb and feel as though I’m not even in my own body as I listen to Anthony speak.

“You were around thirty-three weeks and they found that the cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck so they rushed you in for an emergency C-section.”

I stare at him in confusion, but also in a state of shock. “They told me that I had to have my appendix removed.”

Anthony frowns apologetically. “They didn’t give me all of the details, only the ones that they felt were pertinent to the situation.”

Kai shifts slightly underneath me as he clears his throat. “So, what happened with the baby then? What did you do with her?”

Silence fills the room for a moment as Anthony’s eyes shift to mine. The little girl floats into my mind as I recall the incident at the coffee shop. She was looking for her mom, who I now realize recognized me when she found her daughter.

“You gave her to another family,” I announce, fighting against the emotion building deep inside of me.

Kai’s body goes rigid and his arms lock around my waist. “Who are they?” he demands loudly.

Anthony scowls as him. “A family that I would trust my own child with.” A flash of sadness passes through his eyes as his last words are spoken.

“That doesn’t answer my fucking question,” Kai growls, tightening his grip on me subconsciously.

Running his hands over his wrinkled face, Anthony lets out a deep breath. “Dahlia’s mother knows them personally. She made the arrangements with them.”

My brows pinch together as I shake my head at him. “That’s not possible. None of my parents’ friends had any young children. I would have seen her, she would have been around.”

“Dahlia, you have to understand that is one thing that I cannot tell you.”

“So, who the fuck are they?” I demand, raising my voice slightly. “What fucking family are they then?”

“Like I said, I don’t know the specifics, but they are a good family,” Anthony explains. “You need to go talk to your parents, Dahlia.”

“Fuck no,” I scoff. “So they can lie to me about more shit than they have already? Hard fucking pass.”

---