Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

"My kid..." Giselle's face went ghost-white with pain, curling up like a shrimp, her voice barely a whisper. Nobody in the booth dared to move a muscle, and I just stood there, totally stunned.

Bella stared down at Giselle, her face a blank slate.

One was on the floor, the other standing tall. It made Bella look like she was the one who shoved Giselle. Oliver's eyes were locked on Giselle, his face all tight and tense.

"Oliver, help me," Giselle croaked, reaching out to him.

Oliver crouched down, scooped her up, and slowly looked up at Bella, his emotions all jumbled up. They had history, after all. I figured he still had some soft spot for her.

"You think I did this?" Bella asked, way too calm.

Oliver swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, and said, "Call an ambulance."

I felt Bella tremble under my hand, but she still pulled out her phone and dialed 911.

The ambulance showed up in no time, and we all headed to the hospital.

Outside the operating room, it was dead silent.

Bella suddenly broke the silence, "Do you believe me if I say she just fell on her own?"

Oliver, leaning against the wall, looked at her, exhausted, and just nodded softly, saying nothing more.

Two hours later, the doc came out and dropped the bomb: the baby didn't make it. Miscarriage.

When they wheeled Giselle out, her eyes were puffy from crying.

In the regular ward, Oliver stood by her bed.

Giselle clung to his hand, bawling her eyes out. "Oliver, you know how much I wanted this baby? 'Cause he was yours. I even had a name picked out, but now he's gone." Oliver stood there like a statue, his brows furrowed tight.

I knew he wasn't a total jerk. He couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh, just muttered, "Giselle, I feel for you. But I can't take the blame for this kid being mine."

Giselle's sobs got louder. "Have you forgotten? Three months ago, I came to Blue Ocean Bar for the first time. I didn't know you owned it then. You got wasted that night. Have you forgotten what happened after?" She hesitated, but the message was clear.

Oliver's face changed, like he couldn't believe it.

He glanced at Bella, panic flashing in his eyes, and I looked over too.

Bella's face was pale but still calm.

"I..."

"Don't explain," Bella cut him off, cool as a cucumber.

"What you did drunk doesn't count. Handle this mess first; we'll talk later."

Bella's reaction threw me for a loop.

She had a fiery temper, but when it hit the fan, she was ice-cold calm.

I gave Bella's shoulder a gentle pat, trying to comfort her without saying a word.

Giselle, tears streaming down her face, looked at Bella, probably not expecting her to be so chill.

Today, Giselle had shown up like a total drama queen and even slapped Bella. No one had ever dared to slap Bella before. Bella only held back because Giselle was pregnant.

As for her fall and miscarriage, I had my doubts. Was it an accident or a setup by Giselle?

Did she step on that beer bottle by mistake or on purpose?

From where I stood, it looked more like she did it on purpose. When she kicked that bottle, she knew what was under her feet and could've avoided it.

When we left, Oliver trailed behind us out of the ward.

Facing Bella, Oliver seemed too chicken to even look her in the eye. "Giselle doesn't dare tell her family about this."

Bella got what he meant right away. "Take care of her. Giselle just had a miscarriage; you can't just leave her hanging." Oliver looked at her, totally helpless.

When we left the hospital, I was about to comfort Bella, but she seemed to have already made peace with it.

"It's cool, Emily. Maybe I just don't care about him that much. I don't see this as a big deal, and I'm not gonna overthink it."

It wasn't that her feelings weren't deep; Bella just knew Oliver well. She looked confident, like she knew exactly what Oliver would do.

I envied Bella's confidence.

If I were in her shoes, I'd be a mess.

In the car on the way back, I asked Ethan about what went down between Oliver and Giselle.

Ethan said, "When Oliver and Giselle were dating, he hadn't opened his bar yet. He was just a DJ at someone else's bar, a pretty basic gig with not much pay. His dream was always to open his own bar. I offered to back him, but he turned me down. Said he wanted to earn it himself, that only then it would be a real career and give him confidence."

Oliver might seem laid-back, but he had a lot of pride.

Ethan went on, "At first, they probably got together because they liked each other. Oliver might seem unreliable, but if he really likes a girl, he'll treat her like a queen. Back then, he spent most of his paycheck on her, buying her bags and clothes, never stingy, spoiling her rotten."

I asked eagerly, "So why'd they break up?"

At the intersection, he stopped the car at a red light and lit a cigarette.

When the car started moving again, he blew out a smoke ring and said, "It's normal for girls to have a bit of vanity. But Giselle was never satisfied. She thought Oliver's paycheck was too low, with nothing left at the end of the month. She couldn't see a future with him. Plus, there was a rich guy who wanted to date her. She couldn't resist the temptation, so she dumped him."

So, in the end, love couldn't handle the cold, hard truth.

I said, "But she came back. I think she still loves Oliver."

Ethan sneered. "Oliver won't take her back."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Leaving when a guy's broke and coming back when he's made it? Guys have their pride. He'd rather be alone forever than accept that kind of fake love," Ethan replied.

I finally got why Oliver once said he didn't dare to have real feelings. His heart had been stomped on before, and now it was ice-cold. He wasn't gonna get all passionate or excited for anyone again.

Giselle was too embarrassed to tell her family about the miscarriage, so none of them came to see her. It was pretty sad.

Oliver hired a nurse for her.

I visited the hospital twice. As Bella's best friend, I probably shouldn't have, but I felt bad for Giselle.

I had a miscarriage before, so I knew that not taking care of yourself afterward could mess you up for life.

When I visited her that day, the doc came in and said she could be discharged.

Giselle had kept the miscarriage a secret from her family, which meant she had nowhere to go after being discharged.

She clung to Oliver's clothes, looking all pitiful, asking to go home with him.

Oliver's face was stone-cold, his tone distant. "I have a girlfriend. It's not right for you to stay at my place."

Giselle slowly let go, looking crushed.

But Oliver wasn't heartless. He didn't take her home, but he did rent an apartment for her.

When moving, Oliver called me to help buy some stuff for her.

As I was about to hang up, he added, "Help me explain to Bella. She's been super short on the phone lately, hanging up after a few words. When I ask her out, she's always got some excuse." Bella might seem cool about this, but she still had her moments of pettiness.

I agreed.

I called Bella right away. When she heard I was going to drop off stuff for Giselle, she said she wanted to come with me.

When we got to the address Oliver gave, the door was open.

Oliver was inside, looking like he had just arrived.

Giselle saw us and suddenly rushed over, hugging Oliver from behind.  "Oliver, the baby's gone, but we can have another. You still care about me, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't be taking care of me." Oliver, with his back to the door, didn't see us.

I didn't know how he'd respond, and I was nervous for him.

If he still had feelings for Giselle, then he and Bella would be done.

Bella, on the other hand, was way cooler than I was. She even crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, like she was watching a soap opera.

Oliver stiffened for a moment, then firmly removed Giselle's hands from around his waist. "The baby is gone, and we can have another, but not with you."

When he finished speaking and turned around, his eyes landed on Bella, and he looked a bit surprised.

Giselle lowered her head, looking both heartbroken and embarrassed, and turned to walk back inside.

We dropped off the stuff and didn't stick around long before heading out.

As we were going downstairs, my phone rang. It was Mary.

Mary called to share the good news that Katherine Ward had given birth to a healthy baby boy.

As we exited the building, Oliver called out to Bella. Knowing he wanted to talk to her, I made myself scarce.

Since Mary had informed me, it wouldn't be right not to visit. I could never be as indifferent as they were.

I bought a set of baby clothes and, following the address Mary gave me, found the construction site.

They were living in a temporary mobile home on the site.

Mary was super enthusiastic when she saw me. Seeing the clothes I brought, she said I shouldn't have spent the money but quickly took them.

I looked around the room. The living conditions were pretty basic. The main issue with these kinds of homes was that they were cold in the summer and hot in the winter. Katherine, whom I had never met, was lying in bed, wearing a woolen hat.

When I walked over, she looked up and gave me a shy smile.

She seemed like a really kind woman, not very talkative. When Mary told her to feed the baby, she did. When Mary said she wasn't holding the baby right, she quickly adjusted. Before long, Kyle came back. He wasn't surprised to see me at all.

He took off his hard hat, still covered in dust, and went to hold the baby.

As soon as he picked up the baby, his expression changed. Pointing to a red mark on the baby's face, he asked Katherine harshly, "What's this on his face?"

Katherine seemed scared of Kyle and said softly, "The baby scratched himself."

Kyle angrily said, "You're home all day watching the baby, and you let him scratch himself? Can't you be more careful?"

Katherine blushed and lowered her head, not daring to say a word.

Mary added fuel to the fire, saying things like how a careless mother made the baby suffer and what if he scratched his eye.

I couldn't help but want to speak up for Katherine.

But before I could, seven or eight people suddenly burst in, each holding a steel rod, looking fierce.