Chapter 1

"My decision is final, we're still getting divorced. My future's way more important than our marriage. Besides, we're still too young to be married," Damian said.

"Your future? You're talking about your future while I'm here carrying your child? You don't think my future matters, Damian?" I asked.

Damian let out a long sigh, his fingers adjusting his tie that was already perfectly straight. His cold demeanor was what hurt me the most. Not his anger, not his yelling, but his indifference. As if me and the baby in my belly were just a minor inconvenience in his perfect life.

"You know how all of this happened, you're the one who approached me at that party and you're the one who kept flirting with me," I said.

He turned around, his eyes staring at me coldly.

"What happened at that party was a mistake. I was drunk, you were drunk too. We were both wrong but you're the one who chose to keep the baby, not me."

"I'm keeping it because this is our child! Do you think I wanted to get pregnant at 19?"

Damian walked over to his red suitcase in the corner of the room.

"Listen," he said while opening the suitcase and starting to pack his clothes neatly.

"I've already talked to my lawyer. The divorce process will be quick. We've prepared all the documents. I'm going to win, you know that, and there's money behind this," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"My Dad won't let this marriage continue and he's already assembled the best legal team. They're going to prove that this child isn't mine."

"You're lying," I whispered.

"Do I look like I'm lying? Do you have proof? A DNA test? During pregnancy, DNA testing can be done, but it's risky for your baby. And you know what? I'll never agree to that test. Without my consent, you can't prove anything."

He was right, I knew that. All this time I'd been too busy crying and hoping he would change. I never thought about strategy and I never thought about lawyers.

"You're truly cruel, all this time you've been planning all of this, while I..."

"While you what? While you were dreaming about a happy family? About me becoming a good father to your baby? You're too naive, Alissa. Did you think our marriage would last?"

Damian never hit me, never yelled at me harshly, but the wounds he carved through his words cut much deeper than any physical blow.

"I admit it, I knew you already had a fiancée when we got married. Laura, that girl. But you said you loved me. You said you would choose me," I said.

"I lied, I just wanted to please my father who was furious at the time because I got a girl like you pregnant. But now my father's calmed down and he's already set up a strategy. Laura's also forgiven me. We're going to get married after this divorce is final."

"So our marriage was just a cover?"

"Our marriage was a mistake, Alissa. A mistake that needs to be fixed immediately. It's better for us to get divorced. We're both still 19 and our future's still long. I have to continue my studies in America as my father requested."

"I know you're going there to see Laura. Do you think I'm stupid? I know you two have been in touch all this time and I know she's the one who sent you those messages in the middle of the night," I said.

Damian's face remained blank, "This has nothing to do with her. Besides, we got married because of an accident, you got pregnant out of wedlock."

His eyes stared at my six-month pregnant belly with a cynical look. I felt my baby move, as if he could feel his mother's tension. I placed my hand on my belly, trying to calm the little one.

"And I'm not sure it's mine. At that time it wasn't just the two of us, my friends were there too. But why did you come after me? Is it because my parents are rich so you accused me of being the father of that baby?"

I slapped his cheek. My patience had run out.

"You and your friends were indeed drunk, but you were the only one who touched me. I'm going to find the CCTV footage from that hotel and you're going to see how you seduced me," I said.

"Stop it, I don't want to remember any of that."

"Because you know this is your child and you're too much of a coward to admit it!"

"You never understand what I mean. We're still too young," he said.

"I understand that me and my baby are just obstacles to your future," I said.

He moved his suitcase toward the door. "You're going to get a settlement. It's already been arranged. You can start a new life with that money."

"I don't want your money! I just need you to be a father to this child!"

"Damn it, Alissa!" Damian spun around, for the first time showing emotion. "Do you think I'm happy leaving my wife and child? But I don't have a choice! My Dad threatened to cut off my entire inheritance! I can't lose that!"

"So you chose money over us?"

"I chose my future! I chose the life I was supposed to live, not a life forced upon me because of one night of mistake!"

We were silent for a moment. I could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall, the sound of my ragged breathing, and my racing heartbeat. My baby moved again, stronger this time, as if he was angry.

"Then go. Go to America with Laura or whoever you want. But remember this, one day, this child's going to look for his father and when that happens, I'm going to make sure he knows how his father chose to abandon him for money and another woman," I said.

Damian opened the door and looked at me one last time.

"Goodbye, Alissa," he said.

Then he left and the bedroom door closed, I fell to my knees on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. My baby kept moving, as if trying to comfort me. I hugged my belly, whispering to the little one that we were going to be okay.

But I knew nothing was okay. Damian was gone, his lawyers were ready to destroy me and I was just a 19-year-old girl six months pregnant with no money, and no one I could ask for help.