Part 2The Truth in Five Fingers

Slowly, I raised my hand and folded down a second finger.

Misty saw my movement and choked on her drink, then nudged Ryan with her elbow. "Look! Lena's reacting! You can thank me later!"

Ryan just smiled and ruffled her hair, his voice dripping with indulgence. "Go easy on the drinks. You're always the one with the crazy ideas." He turned his head slightly, and his voice drifted over, quiet but clear. "If you can actually snap her back to her old self, I'll owe you one."

My own voice was as flat and cold as a frozen lake. "Continue."

Misty let out a drunken hiccup, her eyes glazed over, her smile widening into a manic grin. "Okay, one time, I swapped out Ryan's vitamin pills with Viagra!"

The booth exploded.

"Holy shit, Misty! You're savage!"

"What kind of move is that?!"

Ryan froze for a second, then gave a weary smile and tapped her forehead with his finger. "When was this? How do I not remember this?"

Misty playfully punched his shoulder, slumping into his arms. "It was at the villa party three years ago! You were complaining to me, remember? You said Lena was pregnant and you were going crazy. I was just trying to help you out!"

She winked, her voice rising. "Don't thank me too much for creating an opportunity for you!"

Ryan's head snapped up. His eyes met mine, and the smile on his face froze. "You're drunk! Stop talking nonsense!"

I lowered my head, my hand instinctively pressing against my lower stomach. The memories flooded back like a hemorrhage, thick and suffocating.

Three years ago, in early autumn, I was pregnant with our second child. Overjoyed at this second chance, I agreed when Ryan wanted to throw a party at a rented villa.

That day, balloons hanging from the ceiling popped, showering me in a cascade of pink petals.

It was a girl.

I cried with joy, a joy that was immediately followed by a wave of intense fear. I had learned my lesson. This time, I barely left my bed. I was meticulous about what I ate. I spent my nights online, ordering every adorable baby item I could find, dreaming of my daughter in her tiny dresses.

Then Ryan had burst into the room.

His eyes were bloodshot, his breathing ragged, his skin burning hot. I fought him, screaming, begging him to stop. "My daughter! There's a baby inside me!"

In the chaos and the tearing pain, I thought I heard a tiny, faint cry, as if my daughter was saying goodbye.

I was rushed to the hospital again. D&C, induced labor. The feeling of that small life being scraped from my womb.

When I woke up, Ryan was sitting by my bed, peeling an apple. "Thank God it was just a girl," he said. "Don't worry. The doctor said there was no permanent damage. You can still have more."

Without a moment's hesitation, I snatched the fruit knife from his hand and lunged, stabbing him with all my strength. Once, twice… I lost count, my arm moving mechanically until someone finally pulled me off him.

My mother-in-law's slap came immediately after, so hard it perforated my eardrum. "It's a wife's duty to relieve her husband!" she shrieked. "You can always have another baby! What if my son's health was at risk?! It's better than him going out and finding another woman!"

Everyone crowded around, telling me to let it go.

I couldn't. All I could think about were the shipping notifications for all the baby things I had ordered. They were useless now. I was useless. I couldn't even protect my own child.

Did my daughter think I was too weak to be her mother? Is that why she left me?

But she was kind. She forgave me. A few weeks later, she came back to me, a third miracle inside my womb. This time, I took no chances. I had myself committed to a psychiatric ward, demanding to be placed in a fully padded, isolated room. It was stark white and terrifyingly quiet.

But I wasn't afraid.

I could feel her moving inside me. I knew she was still there, keeping me company.

On the day she was born, I was delirious, unable to tell sunrise from sunset. Just before I lost consciousness completely, I heard her loud, healthy cry.

I wept. All the pent-up anguish, all the terror, came pouring out.

I named her Grace.

Not because she was a gift from heaven. But because she was a gift from my kind daughter, to her useless, despairing mother. The greatest grace I would ever know.

"Wow! Lena's smiling! She's actually smiling!" Misty's shrill voice yanked me from my memories.

I subconsciously touched the corner of my mouth. It was true. It was turned upward. Just the thought of Grace could always soothe my fractured soul.

Ryan let out a visible sigh of relief, his body sinking into the sofa cushions.

Misty clapped her hands in excitement. "You're definitely going to lose, Lena! The best is yet to come!"