When Love Becomes a Cage by Nora

The moment I was wheeled into the hospital, I was utterly dazed.

My hand drifted downwards, and sure enough, there was a lot of blood. But why didn't it hurt? Why couldn't I feel anything?

Nurses kept reassuring me, urging me to take deep breaths, but why should I be reassured?

It wasn't until Warren Chandler's stoic face came into view that I realized I was crying.

"Dr. Chandler, my baby..."

"We'll handle the procedure, just a minor one. You just stay calm. Eliana has arranged for a hearty beef and vegetable stew for you after the surgery. It'll help you recover... just sleep it off..." He and a few other medical staff pushed the gurney along.

Looking up at his tightly pressed lips, I saw him anxious for the first time.

Feeling my gaze, he looked down. This time, his usual sharp tongue was replaced with a simple reassurance, "Don't worry."

A smile flickered across my face. "Tell Eliana not to come."

Clyde was her unrequited love from college days, the one that got away.

I knew she claimed to despise Clyde, but deep down, she was still hung up on the college version of Clyde, just like me.

Would she become disillusioned with love upon knowing what had become of Clyde now?

Tears rolled down my cheeks, uncertain if they were for her or for me, as I slipped into unconsciousness under anesthesia. When I woke up, I knew the child was gone.

was a

my belly was flat before, I could feel the presence of a child. Now, with the same flat belly, I knew I

mustered a weak

"What's up..."

like a broken horn, so I quickly

Eliana burst into tears.

Clyde, that idiot, how

just knock him out cold? Or better yet, knock some sense

went too far, your

was on the verge

you feeling alright anywhere?

get you

want." evel.

squeezed her hand in response, shaking

never meant to be kept. You both know

alright; I've come to terms with it a

both their hands, I tried to

Eliana's crying only grew louder, eventually drawing Warren

would think you're the

expressionlessly, checked my IV,

slight fever. Your body's like an old bike at this point;

on your body, lost