He Chose Tarot Over Our Baby

My fiancé Felix Morgan’s secretary Claire believed in tarot the way other people believed in gravity. The first time she met me, she threw a glass of water in my face. Without missing a beat, she explained to Felix, "You have an important client today. The cards say that if your lover wears makeup, it will ruin your luck." I assumed Felix would punish her for it. Instead, he turned to me. "Audrey, go take it off. The client comes first." After that, she only got bolder. On our anniversary, she said Felix would face bloodshed or even death if he saw me that day. So I did not see Felix once all day. When we planned our pre-wedding shoot, she said I would bring Felix bad luck that year. The photo shoot I had spent weeks planning was quietly canceled. I fought with Felix about it more times than I could count. And every time, he gave me the same self-righteous speech: "Claire is an extremely dedicated secretary. Everything she does is for me and for the company. The more I earn, the better the life I can give you!" Then I found out I was pregnant. Claire said, "This baby was conceived at an unlucky time. It will hold Felix's career back." Felix did not hesitate for a second. "Get rid of it. Claire wouldn't steer me wrong. There will be other babies. We'll have Claire pick a good time later." Something inside me finally broke. I put a hand on my stomach. Fine. Then this baby wouldn't carry the Morgan name. Chapter 1 "Easy, Audrey. Don't be afraid. I'll go to the hospital with you for the abortion." Felix wrapped an arm around my shoulders and gently rubbed my arm. "Have you forgotten what the doctor said?" I looked straight into his eyes, hoping to see some sign that he still cared. "If I terminate this one, I may never get pregnant again." He barely reacted. "Medicine has come so far. Don't worry. I'll find you the best specialist in the country." I couldn't stop trembling. "This is our first child, and it might be our only one. You're the father. How can you be this cruel?" Claire stood off to the side and pushed up her glasses. "Audrey, we're doing this for Felix's sake. If you love him, you should respect his decision!" I couldn't stand her smug face for another second. "There's no proof behind anything you say. You're just making things up. Who knows if you really want what's best for him or if you have some other motive?" Felix's hand fell away from me. His voice turned cold. "Audrey, I'd rather believe her than take the risk. Claire means well. She's doing this for me and the company." Claire gave him a polite smile. "Thank you for trusting me, Felix. But I think Audrey should have the abortion today." Felix frowned. "Today? Isn't that too rushed? An abortion is a serious procedure. We should at least choose the hospital carefully." Claire's tone left no room for argument. "Felix, medicine has come so far. Even a small outpatient clinic can handle an abortion. You don't need to worry." They discussed my abortion right in front of me as if I wasn't even there. Somehow, I was the only person who had no say in what happened to my own body. After a moment, Felix looked at me. He seemed torn, but I could already see his answer in his eyes. "An abortion can do serious damage. Are you sure?" My lips trembled. I hated how desperate I sounded. "Felix, I want this baby." His Adam's apple bobbed. He did not answer. Claire answered for him. "What Felix means is that he's very sure." My legs nearly gave out. Felix caught me and turned to Claire. "Clear my schedule for today." Then he leaned closer and lowered his voice. "I'll go with you. Afterward, you'll have the best care money can buy." Claire coughed to get his attention. "Felix, you can't go to a hospital today. You'll lose money." A few seconds later, Felix's arm slipped away from me. Just like that, he'd changed his mind. "Audrey, I'll have the driver take you. Pick whichever hospital you want." A chill ran through me. Felix had made his choice again. One warning from Claire was enough to make him forget everything I felt. Once, while he was overseas on business, I told him I missed him. He chartered a plane home that very night. I laughed at him for making such a big deal out of it, but he held my face in both hands and said with complete seriousness, "Anything that has to do with you, I handle myself." The Felix I used to know had disappeared the day Claire showed up. So had every promise he'd ever made me. "Don't bother. If I ride in your car today and your company goes bankrupt tomorrow, Claire will probably blame me for that too." I ran out of the office, and the tears finally came. I wandered the streets until dark with nowhere to go. By the time I finally went home, my feet were blistered and bleeding. The lights were off. Felix had not come home. Not one call. Not one message. The last of my strength left me. I collapsed onto the couch and fell into a restless sleep. The next morning, a wave of nausea jerked me awake. I made it to the bathroom and threw up until there was nothing left but bile. I rested a hand over my stomach and thought about the tiny life growing inside me. What am I going to do? Morning sickness this bad isn't something I can hide. Just then, my phone chimed with a message. It was from Felix. "Audrey, Claire says a woman who has just had a termination carries bad energy and attracts bad luck. I'll come see you in a week. Use the card for whatever you want. Don't skimp on yourself." The message was short, but every word cut like a blade. And somehow, I had still been foolish enough to hold on to one last bit of hope. There was no point hiding the fact that I had not had the abortion. I stroked the small curve of my stomach. "Don't be scared, baby. Mommy is going to get you out of here." Chapter 2 Keeping the baby on my own didn't make much sense. But I wanted a family of my own. My parents divorced when I was very small, and both remarried soon after. I became unwanted baggage. Neither of them wanted me around. Growing up like that made me desperate for a family that was truly mine. Felix came along, and for the first time, I felt that kind of warmth. He made sure I ate, cared about how I felt, and remembered little things about me that even I forgot. He always put me first, as though my feelings mattered more than anything. The future he promised me was sweeter than a fairy tale. For a while, it even seemed like he was making it real. He wanted to give me a better life, build a home with me, and plan our wedding. We were even going to have a child together. Now all of it was gone. I went through my bank accounts. I had some savings, enough to support me for a few years. The problem was that I could not leave right away. The doctor said this month was high-risk. Too much exertion, long-distance travel, or severe emotional stress could trigger a miscarriage. I sighed. One month. I could stand anything for one month. A few days later, Felix showed up. Claire came with him. "Audrey, you've had a rough week." He waved his phone at me. "Why haven't you used my card at all?" I answered coldly. "I used my own money." Felix didn't seem to notice my tone. "Look at you, all grown up and saving your future husband money." He tapped the tip of my nose like he used to. As if he hadn't ignored me for days. As if he hadn't tried to make me abort our child because Claire told him to. Claire quickly interrupted us. She stepped forward, deliberately closing the space between herself and Felix. "Felix, let's get to what we came for." She moved so close to him that there was barely any space between them. Felix didn't pull away. They looked far too comfortable together. Felix lifted his chin. "Oh, right. Claire did a reading earlier. She said today is a good day for cleaning the house. But there's a proper way to do it. We can't just clean however we want, so she kindly offered to do it herself." Volunteering to clean someone else's home. Talk about full-service. I had no interest in whatever she wanted to do. "Fine. Go ahead." "Let's start with the bedroom. Where a person sleeps has the biggest effect on their fortune." Claire seemed excited about the idea. Felix didn't question her at all. The two of them went into the bedroom and left me in the living room. Soon, I heard banging and crashing in there. It sounded like they were throwing things onto the floor. Then, suddenly, something shattered. My heart jumped. I hurried toward the bedroom. The room was a mess. A crystal jar lay shattered on the floor. We had gotten it from a witch after Felix proposed. It was meant to protect our love and keep us together. "Felix..." I looked at him, demanding an explanation. "Audrey, I broke that jar. It protects a relationship, yes, but it drains Felix's drive." Claire smiled at me. "The two of you are so devoted. You don't need a thing like that. Push it too far and it turns on you." Listening to her say that, then looking at what she had just done, I found it beyond absurd. "You believe in tarot, but you smashed that jar without even thinking twice? Felix, does any of this seriously make sense to you?" Felix's brows drew together. Instead of questioning Claire, he turned on me. "Claire meant well. Don't talk to her like that." Claire sighed. "Felix, I think you need to live apart from your fiancée for now. Thank goodness I came with you today or there could have been real trouble." Felix did not argue. I froze. Only then did I notice that the crystal jar was not the only thing on the floor. My clothes were scattered everywhere too. "Felix, go through the whole place carefully. There can't be a single thing belonging to her left in this house." Claire delivered the order with a stern face. Felix finally looked uncomfortable. "Then... how long?" "A month, minimum." Felix hesitated for only a moment before turning to me. "Audrey, move out for now. There's an empty duplex in the suburbs. I'll send someone to clean it right away." Chapter 3 A few words from Claire were all it took for him to throw me out. I gave a bitter smile and said nothing. I looked down and gathered my things, one piece at a time. Then I packed them. "Audrey, it's only a month. You can move back when it's over. Just think of it as a vacation." Felix sounded perfectly relaxed. As if kicking me out of my own home because of Claire's tarot reading was no big deal. He did whatever she said, and this time, she wanted me gone. What about next time? So I asked him, "If Claire ever tells you that staying with me will cost you money or bring you bad luck, who will you choose?" He froze. Then he laughed. "That won't happen." Claire chimed in. "And even if it did, you're reasonable. You'd put Felix first. Wouldn't you?" Felix started to say something. Maybe he wanted to deny it. Maybe he wanted to make me feel better. I didn't want to hear either one. I no longer had faith in him. Because I knew he would always give Claire whatever she wanted and believe every word she said. I answered Claire before he could. "Of course. That's what you'd want too, right, Felix?" His Adam's apple bobbed, and he smiled stiffly. "Audrey, what are you talking about? We're getting married." I turned and headed for the moving truck parked outside. So he hadn't forgotten we were getting married. Yet here he was, forcing his fiancée to abort his baby and kicking her out of their home. I took a deep breath. Maybe this was for the best. I had been wondering how to hide my terrible morning sickness for a month. Now that I had been kicked out, I did not have to hide anything. I told the driver, "We're not going to that address. I'll send you a new location." I would never leave another thing of mine in any home Felix owned. I moved into a hotel near the hospital where I had my prenatal checkups. It made things much easier. A few hours later, Felix called. "Audrey, I told you to go to that house. Why did you get a hotel instead?" He sounded angry. I said calmly, "I didn't spend your money." He took a sharp breath. "This isn't about money!" "Then why are you calling to lecture me?" He went quiet. For a moment, all I heard was his heavy breathing. "Audrey... you're still angry with me." My lips twisted. "Don't flatter yourself, Felix. Go run your company with that dedicated secretary of yours." Then I hung up. My stomach churned again. Stress made my morning sickness even worse. My arms and legs felt heavy. I lay down and quickly fell asleep. Not long after, someone knocked. I thought it was room service. But when I opened the door, Claire stood outside. "Audrey. Here we are again." Before I could stop her, she walked right in like she owned the place. "Felix said you're angry with him, so he sent me over with this little labor of love!" She lifted the container in her hand and gave it a shake, then looked around. "Now I'm starting to wonder. Did Felix send me because you're angry with him, or because this place is a dump?" I kept a hand on the door. "Yes, it's a budget hotel. I'm sure it's far beneath you and Felix. Now get out, and don't come back." She made no move to go. "You're not playing hard to get with Felix, are you? Fair enough. I guess it takes a few tricks to keep a man interested. You seem to love him a lot. Now I'm curious. If you knew he'd slept with someone else, what would you do?" Chapter 4 Her words hit me like a punch to the chest. Then she smiled and made it worse. "And what if that someone were me?" I could barely stay on my feet. I fought back the nausea as sweat broke out across my body. Then I could not hold it back any longer. I ran to the bathroom and threw up over and over. Claire followed me in. Her eyes narrowed. "You didn't get rid of it?" I glared at her and said nothing. She gave me a cruel smile. "You won't get to keep it." Bang. The door slammed shut behind her. The home-cooked meal was still on the table, with a note in Felix's handwriting on the lid. "Eat the food I cooked myself and don't stay mad at me." Thud. I threw the whole thing into the trash. A few hours later, I got a phone call. The caller said she was the witch's assistant. She said they were inviting former clients to a spiritual cleansing the next day. The crystal jar Felix and I had bought was from that witch. I thought of its shattered pieces scattered across the floor. A small part of me still felt guilty about what had happened to it. So I accepted the invitation. But when I arrived at the address she'd given me, no one was there. There were only a few abandoned buildings. Something felt wrong. Every instinct screamed at me to leave. It was already too late. When I turned, two huge men in suits blocked my way. I recognized them. They were Felix's security guards. "This way, Audrey." There was no way I could get past them. So I forced myself to stay calm and followed them into one of the rooms. The place looked like it had been abandoned for years. Dust coated everything. Footsteps approached, then stopped at the door. I looked up. It was Claire. "Audrey, you should have listened to the cards. You agreed to the abortion, then changed your mind and tried to hide the pregnancy from everyone. Your selfishness is going to ruin Felix." Her righteous words didn't match the hatred in her eyes. "What do you want?" She glanced at the guards. They grabbed my shoulders and shoved me to my knees. Then they tied me up. I could not move. I could not even stand on my own. "You brought this on yourself. You went against the cards, so now you need to stay here and repent." I glared at her. "Aren't you afraid Felix will find out?" She laughed and did not answer. A moment later, I understood why. Someone stood in the doorway. I had no idea how long he had been there. With the light behind him, Felix looked colder than I'd ever seen him. He spoke. "Audrey, you shouldn't have hidden it from me. Stay here and do your penance. They won't hurt you. I'll come back tomorrow." Then he turned and left. He didn't give me another word or even a backward glance. The others followed him out. The door was locked from the outside. The room was thick with dust, and every breath made my throat burn. In the corner, someone had lit a burner filled with incense. Mixed with the dust, the smell made me sick. Night fell, and the temperature dropped sharply on the mountain. I shook with cold. Then my stomach started to hurt. At first, it was only an occasional cramp. Then the pain came faster and grew worse. Something warm trickled down my legs. The metallic smell of blood hit me, and my heart dropped. Suddenly, I recognized the incense. It was musk, something that could trigger a miscarriage. I let out a weak, bitter laugh. The pain in my lower belly grew so intense that everything else started to fade. My vision blurred, and the room began to spin around me. Am I going to die? I'm sorry, baby. I'm failing you. I can't protect you. But don't be scared. If we go to heaven, Mommy will be right there with you. Chapter 5 After leaving the abandoned house, Felix could not calm down. The last thing he had seen there played over and over in his head. He couldn't forget the shock and hatred in Audrey's eyes. For a moment, he'd wanted to call the whole thing off. He couldn't bear seeing Audrey suffer like that. Who cared what the cards said? Who cared about the consequences? But Claire had told him not to worry. It was just a formality. Audrey wouldn't actually get hurt. She promised to arrange food, bedding, and anything else Audrey needed. One day. Just one day. After this, I'll make it up to Audrey. Claire wrapped her arms around him from behind and whispered in his ear. "It's almost dawn. You're still not asleep?" Felix frowned. "In a minute." Claire was not done. Her hands moved over his body and slipped lower. "You said you weren't in the mood last night. What about now? The cards say 3:10 is a good time for us to sleep together." She laughed softly and climbed onto his lap. Felix lost his patience and shoved her away. Claire stared at him. "What's wrong?" Felix felt sick, both with Claire and with himself for sleeping with her behind Audrey's back. The first time had been six months ago. The company had just expanded overseas, a huge milestone. He was abroad and had drunk too much. He was thrilled, and the only person he wanted to share it with was Audrey. Then Claire took him back to the hotel and helped him undress. One thing led to another. His head was cloudy, and in his drunken state, he'd thought she was Audrey. Afterward, Claire had an explanation ready. She claimed she had done a reading just for him. At that hour, he needed to be with a woman whose fate was "aligned" with his. She used that excuse again and again. Claire knew her place. She said she would never ask him to make their relationship official. She insisted that everything she did was for him and the company. So he let it continue. But afterward, the same question always bothered him. How much of her nonsense did he really believe? He knew the truth could come out at any moment. Felix gave himself a deadline. Once he and Audrey were married, he would end things with Claire for good. Audrey could never find out. "I'm going to sleep. I have to pick Audrey up tomorrow." Felix closed his eyes and ignored Claire. He never noticed the anger in Claire's eyes as she stared at him through the darkness. The next day, Felix arrived at the abandoned house early. Claire had kept telling him they needed to wait the full 24 hours. He could not wait. For some reason, his heart had been pounding all morning. It's just guilt. In a few minutes, I'll see Audrey and apologize properly. But when the abandoned house came into view, his chest tightened. A terrible feeling washed over him. The door, which had been locked from the outside, had been pried open.