Chapter 10
654words
When they lost the baby, Callista couldn't bring herself to step inside again. Over time, even Luther stopped going in.
His hands trembled uncontrollably as he approached the door. He dropped the key twice before finally managing to unlock it.
When the door opened, Luther immediately noticed the envelope on the table. In his haste, he bumped into the storage box on the table. It toppled over.
A thick stack of medical reports and hundreds of used syringes spilled onto the floor, scattering everywhere. These were the items he had once collected over the years, though they weren't even all of them.
The words written on the box were his own, from four years ago.
"Luther Spencer, never forget. Every ounce of pain Callista endured was for you. You must treat her incredibly well, love her forever, and never betray her.
"If you can't do that, you don't deserve her love."
Though the ink had faded, the words were etched deeply into Luther's heart, and his panic grew. He picked up the envelope on the table and carefully opened it.
Inside was an ultrasound image dated a week earlier.
Callista was pregnant.
Luther's eyes reddened instantly. So this was the surprise she had prepared for him. It was no wonder she had been so upset and was just hiding herself away.
Holding the delicate ultrasound image like a priceless treasure, Luther examined every detail carefully. This was the child they had been waiting for over the past five years.
Luther immediately tried calling Callista again, but her phone was still off.
He sent message after message.
"Honey, where are you? I got your surprise, and there's so much I want to tell you.
"Kai got into a conflict earlier, and I didn't want to worry you, so I didn't mention it. But don't worry, it's all resolved now.
"Cally, I've messed up. I'll take whatever punishment you give me, but please don't disappear on me. I'm scared."
None of his messages received a reply. By midnight, with no other options, Luther turned to Kai for answers.
"Is Callista with you?"
"Why would she be with me? Luther, weren't you spending your fifth wedding anniversary with her?" Kai's response hit Luther like a bucket of ice water.
Feeling colder by the second, Luther frantically searched through his contact list but couldn't find a single friend of Callista's to reach out to.
Out of desperation, he even asked his own friends.
"Are you sleepwalking? Why would your wife be with me?" they replied.
Luther then drove around aimlessly like a headless fly. He was unable to figure out where Callista could have gone—especially while pregnant.
He didn't sleep a wink that night.
As soon as he heard the door open in the morning, he turned hopefully.
"Honey, you're finally back—"
However, the person entering was Jane.
"Mom, do you know where Callista is?" Luther's bloodshot eyes betrayed his desperation.
Jane's expression darkened. "You still have the nerve to worry about her? Focus on yourself! You and Wren are all over the trending topics."
Luther stumbled back as if he was struck. The weight of her words had knocked the air out of him.
Jane continued to rant.
"I knew something was wrong when you missed the wedding anniversary celebration yesterday. If it weren't for her inability to have children, you wouldn't have needed someone else. Let me warn you—don't you get soft this time.
"If she still wants to remain part of the Spencer family, she'll have to cooperate and clear things up."
Jane handed him her phone. At the top of the trending page were two photos.
The first showed him passionately kissing Wren in front of the blue rose garden.
The second photo drained all the color from Luther's face.
