Chapter 4

ELEANOR-

It’s crazy, that during my four years of being married to this man, I’ve never seen such an outburst from him, such visible livid fumes curling out of his ears.

He is making me feel small and I wish for nothing but the ground to open up and swallow me.

I just wanted to help. I didn’t mean to cause any ruckus.

I never could have imagined that a single phone call could trigger such a drastic chain of events.

But as I stand there, frozen in shock, I realize that it's not just the call itself - it's the venomous words that spill from Arthur's lips like poison.

My heart plummets into my stomach as I watch him unleash a fury I've never seen before. His eyes blaze with a fierce intensity, and his voice is low and menacing.

"If anything happens to Brianna, you'd better be prepared to face the consequences," he growls, his words dripping with malice. "And worry about being able to afford to take responsibility."

.Arthur spins on his heel and strides out the door, leaving me reeling in his wake.

A knock comes on the door and Cassandra walks in before I can even reply.

I immediately wipe my almost-falling tears before she can spot them at the brink of my lids.

Cassandra is way too observant.

She pauses and looks around.

“I heard yelling. Is everything okay? Where is Arthur?” She gawks at me.

Shit.

Crap! What am I supposed to tell her? It’s already heart-wrenching enough that she’s still referring to him as my husband. She’ll land in the hospital if she finds out about our divorce or worse, Brianna.

“Arthur is.. he’s gone” The words leave my mouth without caution.

Cassandra’s jaw drops.

“Gone?”

I place my hand on my stomach.

“I was craving this really good pastry and he offered to go get it. I know it’s late but it’s a 24-hour open store and I am craving it, that’s why Arthur’s gone” I lie with a bitter smile.

Cassandra’s eyes light up and she buys the awful lie immediately and asks the question that almost takes me off my feet.

“Are you pregnant?”

I almost choke on my spit.

“Oh. No.” I shake my head.

“But you could never know honey, it’s been four years, it’s time a baby ends up in that belly of yours.”

Yes, it’s been four years, four years of so many challenges and less intimacy.

We only had proper intimacy just recently when he decided to drop the bombshell of our divorce.

Cassandra takes my hand.

“Dear, you know how Arthur can be, he is not very expressive, with words and actions, even if he wants a baby he might find it difficult to make the first move or have a say in it. So why don’t you take the first move? Instigate it, honey,” she urges with enthusiasm.

I bite my bottom lip and force out a bitter smile.

“Come on answer me, say you’ll do it. I’m dying. I need my grandbaby.” She says it's a little too painful but it stings.

“Don’t say that grandma, you’re not dying” I sigh.

I scrunch my nose when in truth all I just want to do is bawl my eyes out and tell Cassandra about the divorce and tell her there’s never going to be a baby when her grandson will rather be with another woman.

“Well, I’ll leave you two for now. When he gets back, you can enjoy your pastry, I won’t disturb your alone time” Cassandra beams and leaves the room, humming lullabies one sings for babies.

I sigh and shut my eyes, letting the tears crawl out.

My body vibrates with intensity and pain, and I let it hurt.

—

The night is old when Arthur finally comes home.

I can hear shuffling before I hear him announce the words.

“We’re home…”

We?—

I get on my feet and walk out of the room unwillingly.

What does he mean by we?

I get to the living room, and it’s like in slow motion when I see the lady behind Arthur, understanding what he meant by “we?”.

My body system freezes as I drink the sight of her.

It’s Brianna.

And now standing close to her, I can see all of her, and it is shocking.

Standing at exactly five to seven feet tall like me. She has sharp auburn hair that cascades to the small of her back, she is dressed in a small dress, too small for her that it’s revealing too much of her legs.

She is thin, with long fingers, and she looks sick.

My eyes dart to her face.

I gasp silently under my breath.

What is alarming is that she looks too much like me.

—*