Chapter One

Four years of marriage and still no child. I sat in the clinic waiting room with my hands folded tightly over my handbag, staring at the white floor as I waited for my name to be called. I had been here so many times that I already knew most of the nurses. Different appointments, different tests, different medications, yet every month ended with the same disappointment. Nathan always told me not to worry. He said our child would come when the time was right, and I had believed him because he was my husband. I believed we were facing this together.

I rubbed my fingers over my wedding ring and released a slow breath. Maybe today would finally give me some answers. I was tired of wondering if something was wrong with me. I was tired of waking up every month hoping my period would not come, only to lock myself inside the bathroom and cry when it did.

“You have been married for quite some time, haven’t you?” The woman sitting beside me suddenly asked as she turned slightly in my direction, one hand resting over her stomach.

I looked at her properly for the first time. She was beautiful, with long black hair falling over her shoulders and a fitted blue dress covering her noticeably swollen stomach. “Four years.” I gave her a small smile as I rubbed my palms together.

“Four years is a long time to stay in a marriage that isn’t giving you what you want.” She tilted her head slightly as her fingers moved slowly over her stomach.

My brows pulled together. There was something about her voice that made me uncomfortable. “I don’t understand what you mean.” I shifted slightly in my seat as I studied her face.

“You should leave your husband, Angela.” The woman smiled as she turned fully toward me.

My body went still.

How did she know my name?

I stared at her face again, and recognition slowly settled in. I had seen her before. Not enough times to know her personally, but enough to remember her name.

Vanessa.

I had seen her at two events Nathan and I attended. Nathan had introduced her as someone he knew through business, and I had never thought about her again.

“Vanessa?” I whispered as my fingers tightened around my handbag.

“So you remember me.” Vanessa crossed one leg over the other as a small smile touched her lips.

“How do you know anything about my marriage?” I asked as my heartbeat started beating faster.

Vanessa glanced down at her stomach before looking back at me. “Because your marriage concerns me more than you realize.” She rested both hands over her swollen belly as she held my gaze.

A strange feeling settled inside my stomach. I looked at her pregnancy again, then at her face. “What are you talking about?” I asked as my shoulders stiffened.

“I am telling you that it is time to leave Nathan. You have had four years with him. I think that is enough.” Vanessa leaned back against the chair as though she were discussing something completely normal.

My lips parted. “You don’t get to tell me when my marriage is enough. Nathan is my husband.” I straightened in my seat as anger replaced my confusion.

“And he is the father of my child.” Vanessa’s smile disappeared as she placed one protective hand over her stomach.

For a moment, everything around me became quiet. I could see her lips moving slightly as she said something else, but I couldn’t hear it. My eyes remained fixed on her stomach while my fingers slowly loosened around my handbag.

“What did you just say?” I asked as my throat tightened painfully.

“Nathan is the father of my baby.” Vanessa repeated herself as she rubbed her palm over the curve of her stomach.

I stared at her, waiting for her to laugh and tell me it was some sick joke, but she didn’t. She simply sat there watching me.

“You’re lying.” I shook my head as I pushed myself to my feet.

“Ask him yourself if you don’t believe me.” Vanessa looked up at me calmly as she crossed her arms beneath her chest.

I didn’t wait for the nurse to call my name. I grabbed my handbag and walked toward the exit, ignoring Vanessa when she called after me. My hands shook so badly that I struggled to open my car door when I reached the parking lot. Nathan couldn’t have gotten another woman pregnant. He couldn’t have spent years telling me everything would be fine while creating the family we wanted with someone else.

I drove home with tears blurring my vision. Every memory from the past few months suddenly looked different. The late nights at work, the unexpected business trips, the calls he sometimes ignored when I asked who was speaking. I had trusted him through all of it.

When I reached the house, Nathan’s car was already outside. I rushed through the front door and found him sitting in the living room with his laptop open in front of him.

“Nathan, do you know a woman named Vanessa?” I asked as I stopped several feet away from him, my chest rising and falling quickly.

His fingers stopped over the keyboard, that small reaction was enough.

“Where did you see her?” Nathan asked as he slowly closed his laptop and looked at me.

“At the clinic. She’s pregnant.” I swallowed hard as tears burned behind my eyes.

Nathan stood but said nothing.

“She told me you’re the father.” My voice cracked as I searched his face for denial.

Nathan released a breath and rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Angela, sit down. We need to talk.” He pointed toward the couch as his expression hardened.

“No. Tell me she lied.” I shook my head as my fingers curled against my palms.

He remained silent.

“Nathan, tell me that baby isn’t yours.” I stepped closer as a tear slipped down my cheek.

“I can’t tell you that.” Nathan looked away as his jaw tightened.

My eyes widened, i pressed one hand against my chest as though that could stop the pain spreading through it. “So it’s true?” I whispered as my lips trembled.

“Yes. The baby is mine.” Nathan slipped both hands into his trouser pockets as he finally met my eyes.

A broken laugh escaped me. I couldn’t understand how he could stand there so calmly while my entire world was falling apart. “How could you do this to me? Four years, Nathan. Four years I’ve blamed myself because we couldn’t have a child.” I wiped angrily at my tears as my breathing became uneven.

“This isn’t the time for this.” Nathan turned toward the table as frustration crossed his face.

“When exactly is the right time to find out my husband got another woman pregnant?” I followed him as my hands shook at my sides.

Nathan opened one of the drawers beneath the table and removed a brown envelope. My anger slowly disappeared as I stared at it.

“What is that?” I asked as my eyes followed his hands.

Nathan pulled several documents from the envelope and placed them on the table in front of me. “I was going to talk to you tonight.” He pushed the papers toward me as his face became unreadable.

I looked down at the words written on the paper, my eyes stopped on the words printed across the first page.

Divorce Petition.

My fingers went numb, I slowly lifted my head and stared at the man I had called my husband for four years.

“You want a divorce?” I asked as my hand trembled against the edge of the table.

Nathan didn’t look away.

“I think it’s better for both of us.” He straightened his shoulders as he watched me.

I looked back at the papers, and for the first time, I realized that Nathan hadn’t just betrayed our marriage.

He had already planned how to end it.