---- He was there, kneeling at Lily's bedside, clutching her hand tightly, murmuring softly to her, "It's alright...you and the baby are safe. Our little family will be just fine..." Again and again, he whispered it. And somewhere in the flood of his words, I recalled a memory from nine years ago. That night, he had clutched my hands and sobbed, " Nikki, don't scare me. I can't live without you." But everything had changed now. Nothing remained the same-only the ruins of what we once had. This time, I didn't hold back. I let the tears pour down my face. Let it be the final requiem for the love that had sustained me for nearly a decade. Before heading into surgery, I sent Levi a photo of my hospital admission slip-and then turned off ---- my phone. As the anesthesia began to take effect, I placed my hand gently on my abdomen and silently apologized to the child I would never meet. "T'm sorry...Mama can't love you right now." Back in the hospital room, Levi's phone buzzed. He glanced at it absentmindedly, and then the blood drained from his face. The image on the screen sent a bolt of terror straight through him. His hands trembling uncontrollably, he tried to call me. The phone rang once and went straight to voicemail. He tried calling again and again. ---- Panic seized him. Without thinking, he bolted down the stairs. But it was too late. The glowing red letters outside the surgery room screamed the words: IN SURGERY. Those two words devoured him whole. His legs buckled and he collapsed onto the cold floor. And for the first time, a devastating truth struck him with absolute clarity. His relationship with Nikki was over. For good.