"That's not my baby! My baby can't be dead!" Esaaba screamed, breaking down in tears, resisting anyone who tried to console her. "It's not my baby! My baby was healthy when I went to sleep. Reggie, tell them!" she pleaded, hysterical, as doctors tried to calm her. Reggie sat in silent guilt and confusion, unsure whether to confess or maintain his silence.

"Reggie, say something! They claim our baby is gone!" Esaaba cried, scolding him. He tried to comfort her with a hug, but she resisted and became increasingly agitated. Finally, the doctors administered a sedative, calming her and allowing her to lie back on her bed. By morning, Ruby and Esaaba's mother arrived to be by her side.

"I have scars and marks to show that I carried a child, but now I have no baby to prove it," Esaaba wept bitterly. "But how did this happen?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know… Reggie was sleeping beside me, taking care of the baby while I rested. When I woke up, he was asleep, and the baby was stiff and cold," Esaaba said, breaking into tears again. "That's not my child! Someone took my baby!" She looked around desperately, though her family believed she was in denial.

As Esaaba struggled to accept her loss, Reggie began to disappear, visiting the hospital less and less. When she was discharged, he brought her home. “I’ve arranged for your mother to stay here with you,” he said.

“What about you? Where are you going?” she asked, weakly lying in bed.

“I need some time alone to cope with the loss,” he replied.

“Away? Reggie, I need you now more than ever. Please don’t leave,” she begged.

“I can’t stay here,” he said firmly.

“Then take me with you,” she pleaded. Reggie shook his head.

“No, I can’t,” he replied.

“Reggie, if you walk out now, it’s over. You’ve barely been here since this happened,” she said, crying.

“So be it. It’s over then,” Reggie said, leaving without looking back.

He returned home to his wife and newborn, where Nancy and her mother happily bathed the baby, celebrating each tiny cry. As he watched, Nancy caught his gaze, and they shared a lingering moment of silent understanding, each feeling the weight of their choices.

Other chap: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22