My phone vibrated against the hardwood floor, sending a dull buzzing sound through the silent room.<\/p>\n
Another notification appeared on the screen, showing that Tyler had posted a new video from the luxury cabin.<\/p>\n
He was standing in front of a massive stone fireplace while raising a glass of expensive bourbon toward the camera.<\/p>\n
In the background, I could hear his friends cheering and laughing as Tyler added a caption about choosing himself and leaving toxicity behind.<\/p>\n
Then a new post appeared from my mother-in-law, showing her smiling proudly at her son during the celebration.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son deserves to have a rest because some women only know how to use manipulation to get what they want,\u201d she had written under the photo.<\/p>\n
That was the moment that finally broke my spirit because I realized that they had discussed my pain as if it were a joke.<\/p>\n
Earlier that morning, I had sent her a message telling her that the bleeding was getting worse and that I was scared.<\/p>\n
She had responded with a short voice message telling me not to be a drama queen because she was washing diapers three days after she gave birth.<\/p>\n
After she sent that message, she had blocked my number or simply ignored every other plea for help I sent.<\/p>\n
My eyes began to flutter shut as a heavy fog started to settle over my mind and my heartbeat slowed down.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, I heard the sound of someone pounding aggressively on the front door of the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cOlivia! Open this door right now!\u201d a familiar voice shouted from the porch.<\/p>\n
It was Isabel, my older sister, who lived on the other side of Nashville but always kept a close eye on me.<\/p>\n
She had been calling me every few hours since the baby was born, and I had promised to send her a picture of Parker that afternoon.<\/p>\n
When I didn\u2019t answer her nine phone calls, Isabel didn\u2019t wait for permission to come over and check on her sister.<\/p>\n
I heard the sound of the back door being forced open with a loud bang followed by the sound of heavy footsteps running through the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cOlivia!\u201d she screamed as she burst into the nursery and saw the state of the room.<\/p>\n
She fell to her knees beside me and grabbed my face with her hands, her voice trembling as she dialed the emergency services.<\/p>\n
I remember her wrapping a warm blanket around Parker and pressing every towel she could find against my body to stop the flow.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not you dare die on me, Olivia, because we are not going to give those people the satisfaction of winning,\u201d she whispered through her tears.<\/p>\n
The rest of the evening was a blur of blue and red lights, the loud wail of sirens, and the frantic voices of paramedics.<\/p>\n
One of the medical technicians mentioned that my blood pressure was bottoming out and that I was going into shock.<\/p>\n
When the nurse asked how long I had been in this condition, Isabel answered with a voice full of pure rage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer husband went on a birthday trip and left her to bleed out on the floor like she meant nothing to him,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Everything went black after that, and I slipped into a deep unconsciousness that lasted for nearly two days.<\/p>\n
When I finally opened my eyes in the intensive care unit, I was surrounded by machines and the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor.<\/p>\n
\u201cParker,\u201d was the first word I managed to choke out through my dry and swollen throat.<\/p>\n
Isabel stood up from the chair next to my bed and gripped my hand so tightly that it almost hurt.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is going to be fine, even though he was dehydrated and terrified when we found him,\u201d she reassured me.<\/p>\n
I began to cry quietly as the weight of everything that had happened finally started to sink in.<\/p>\n
Once I was strong enough to speak, I asked Isabel to hand me my cell phone so I could see what had happened while I was asleep.<\/p>\n
There were dozens of missed calls from my mother and my neighbors, but there was not a single message from Tyler.<\/p>\n
I opened his social media profile and saw that he had continued to post updates from his mountain getaway.<\/p>\n
There was a photo of him eating a massive steak and another of him smoking a cigar with his friends by the lake.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really needed this weekend to get away from people who constantly play the victim,\u201d he had written in his latest post.<\/p>\n
Isabel snatched the phone out of my hand before I could see anything else that would break my heart further.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are never going back to that house and you are never going back to that man,\u201d she said firmly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not going back,\u201d I replied with a cold clarity that I had never felt before in my entire life.<\/p>\n
Isabel let out a long sigh of relief, but I looked her in the eyes and told her that I wasn\u2019t finished with Tyler yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want you to go to the house and pack up all of my belongings and everything that belongs to Parker,\u201d I instructed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will handle it today,\u201d she promised.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I want you to leave the nursery exactly the way it was when you found me,\u201d I added.<\/p>\n
Isabel looked at me in silence for a long moment, her eyes searching mine for an explanation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rug stays where it is, the bloody towels stay on the floor, and the empty bassinet stays in the center of the room,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want Tyler to walk into that house and see exactly what he chose to abandon when he walked out that door,\u201d I explained.<\/p>\n
The following day, I sat up in my hospital bed and used Isabel\u2019s phone to log into our home security camera system.<\/p>\n
At exactly six o\u2019clock in the evening, I saw Tyler\u2019s truck pull into the driveway and park in the garage.<\/p>\n
He stepped out of the vehicle looking tanned and happy, carrying a shopping bag from a high-end jewelry store.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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