Deeper Betrayal

3; Deeper Betrayal 

 Day 2/365 Days

VICKY

I woke up to silence.

The morning light peeked through the curtains; it was soft and warm against my face, but something felt off. The house was too quiet. Valerie wasn't beside me anymore. We had slept together in the same bed last night like when we were younger. 

Val had never been a morning person, so it was surprising that she was up so early.

"Val..." I called out, my voice still groggy with sleep, but there was no response.

"She couldn't have gone to work already... Not this early." I yawned.

My throat was dry. I doubted I ate anything yesterday. 

"Maybe Val made breakfast," I muttered, dragging myself out of bed slowly, my body still sore from everything I'd been through. The ache in my chest wasn't just physical—it was emotional too. I had cried too much.

I didn't want to think about today. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water.

Then I heard it.

Two voices. Low, hushed. A man's voice, and then another. These were familiar voices. It was coming from the storage room, the room Valerie turned into the nursery. 

My feet strolled closer, and I stopped at the door, my body trembling as I pressed my ear against the surface. 

"...I just wanted to talk to you about the baby," Williams said.

My stomach tightened.

Why the hell would my husband want to talk to my sister about her baby?

Valerie responded quietly. "You shouldn't be here. Not today... not with everything going on. She's sick, Williams."

"I told you I was coming."

"Will... why don't we wait till she gets better? She's sick right now and I want to keep an eye on her so she won't suspect me."

Suspect her? Suspect her of what? 

I continued eavesdropping. 

"I know she's sick," he said coldly. "But that doesn't change anything. I'm scared you'll leave me for her... Her sickness shouldn't ruin our plans…” There was a pause. Then his voice came again, firmer. "Do you love me?"

I clutched the glass tighter.

"Yes," Valerie whispered.

"And I love you. I can't wait to be with you, that's why I'm serving Vicky the divorce papers today."

I felt the world tilt slightly under my feet.

Valerie let out a sigh. "Williams... finallys, this is great news. But please keep me out of it for now. She's my sister. I don't want her to know we’re together. Not now.”

"She's my mistake," he muttered. "You're the only one I want."

I took a step forward quietly, barely breathing. I couldn't move fast—my hands were shaking. They must have been doing something ungodly to not hear me open the door. They didn't even see when I pushed my head inside the room. 

Then I saw my husband standing with his hands gently cradling Valerie's stomach. She had her arms around his neck. They weren't just standing close—they were kissing. Kissing like he was her husband and she was his wife. Kissing like two people who were about to make love for the first time. 

I felt the glass slip from my hand and crash to the floor.

They both turned sharply at the sound. Valerie's eyes met mine, and for a moment, her expression wasn't guilt—it was annoyance. She pulled away slightly and crossed her arms.

Williams didn't flinch. His face hardened when he saw me.

"Really?" he scoffed. "You're up already?"

I couldn't speak. My lips parted, but nothing came out. My knees buckled, and I grabbed the wall for support.

"Valerie... Williams..."

Valerie stepped forward, rolling her eyes like I was the problem. "Vic, calm down. Don't start this drama—not this morning. Let me explain."

"Explain what? You kissing my husband?! Williams, what is this?!" I yelled.

"Calm down..." she said like it was so easy.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" I stared at her, wide-eyed, my breath catching in my throat. "You... you're my sister," I whispered. "What are you doing with my husband?"

She shrugged. "You weren’t supposed to see that. You are the one who walked in on us." Valerie immediately switched, like she was tired of hiding in that skin.

My chest tightened.

"I told you I was dying," I said, my voice cracking. "I told you everything I went through yesterday, and this is what you choose to do today?"

Williams chuckled bitterly. "Oh, so now your illness is a guilt card? You always play the victim, Vic. Maybe if you'd been a real wife—"

"Shut up!" I screamed, trembling. "Don't you dare blame me for this!"

Valerie moved closer, her face cold. "You never made him happy, Vic. You were too busy being miserable and dragging everyone down with you."

"You're heartless," I whispered. "Both of you..."

"You're the one with a heart disease," Valerie said coldly under her breath.

"Val... how could you do this to me? Your twin sister? Your other half?"

"Oh please," she snapped. "You took him from me first. Don't act like you didn't know I had a crush on him. You got the ring, but he was mine long before that. I was his first—and I'll be the only one. If you didn't trap him with that pregnancy, he would have never married you.”

"How long has this been going on?" I whispered, clutching my shirt, trying to hold the pieces of my heart together.

"Since the first year of your marriage. After you had the miscarriage, Williams saw that we belonged together and not you two. It only got better when he moved in with us. Look, sis... we expected you to catch on eventually, but you were too busy playing 'dumb wife' to notice your man wasn't yours."

I stumbled back. "This has to be a bad dream..."

Williams stepped forward. "Okay. That's enough. Since the cat's out of the bag, let me make this clear—I'm responsible for Valerie's pregnancy. We're getting married."

"WHAT?" My voice cracked under the weight of shock.

"You heard him," Valerie added, rubbing her stomach. "Since your barren womb can't give him a child, I am.”

"Valerie... you just called me barren?"

"Isn't that what you are?" she said with a scoff. "Williams, let's get this over with. I'm tired of seeing her face."

"When did you change so much?" I gasped, still in shock.

"There's no use pretending anymore... Williams, get this done with."

Williams reached into his bag and pulled out a file. He threw it in front of me. 

Valerie burst into laughter. “Sign it."

"What is this?" I whispered, my voice shaking.

"What does it look like?" he replied coldly. "Sign it."

"You're divorcing me? Just like that?" I stuttered.

His face twisted in disgust. "You think I want to stay married to you after all this? After your pity-party life and constant drama? I'm done."

My fingers clutched the edge of the paper, crumpling it. "You're doing this because of her—because of Valerie?"

He said nothing.

Tears poured down my face. "She's my sister, Williams. My blood. You—You slept with my sister and now you want to throw me away like I'm nothing?"

I turned, stumbling toward the hallway. Before I could move farther, Williams grabbed my arm—hard.

"Let me go!" I shouted, struggling.

Instead of letting go, he shoved me against the wall.

A sharp nail tore into the side of my forehead. Blood rushed down my face, but the sting was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.

"Sign the damn papers," he growled.

"No!" I cried, resisting. "You can't force me—"

He slapped me.

The first hit sent my head sideways. My ears rang.

He hit me again.

The second slap blurred my sight.

"You want to keep playing the victim?" he shouted. "Fine! But sign it and get the hell out of my life!"

Tears blurred everything as I grabbed the pen and shakily signed the paper.

"Now get this thing out of here!" Williams barked.

Valerie obeyed, dragging me out of the house—the same house our parents had given to us. I was too weak, too stunned to fight.

When she finally pushed me out through the gate, she leaned in and whispered one last thing: “Why don't you just die and leave this world already? Kill yourself. It'll save you the stress... You're already dying anyway."