Chapter 4 - Awakening to Safety
Maya woke up to the smell of sterile hospital sheets and the gentle hum of an IV pump. When she opened her eyes, the room was bathed in the warm, golden light of late afternoon.
Panic seized her chest instantly. “Leo—” she gasped, trying to sit up, only to be met with a sharp, burning pain in her abdomen.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’ve got him.”
Liam was beside her in an instant. In his arms, swaddled tightly in a soft blanket, was their son. Leo was sleeping peacefully, his tiny chest rising and falling in a perfect, healthy rhythm.
Tears immediately flooded Maya’s eyes. The memories of the previous night came rushing back like a nightmare. The burning grease. The endless demands. Eleanor standing over her, calling her weak. The agonizing tear in her stomach as she collapsed.
“Liam, I’m so sorry,” Maya sobbed, reaching out for him. “I tried to make the dinner, I tried to be a good hostess, but she just kept adding things, and the pain—”
“Stop,” Liam said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed. He pressed his forehead gently against hers. “Do not apologize. You did nothing wrong. I am the one who is sorry. I left you alone with a monster because I was too blind to see her for what she was.”
Maya looked at him, her lip trembling. “Is she coming back? Liam, please, I can’t go back to that house if she’s going to be there. I can't do it.”
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“We aren’t going back to that house,” Liam promised. He shifted Leo slightly to hold Maya’s hand. “We’ve moved. Dad is here setting up a secure apartment for us. The locks are changed. Security is in place. Eleanor will never, ever be allowed near you or our son again.”
Maya stared at him, the heavy, suffocating weight of fear finally beginning to lift from her chest. For the first time since she married him, she felt entirely safe.
