Chapter Two

I stared at the divorce papers on the table, but the words refused to make sense. Four years of marriage had somehow been reduced to several sheets of paper Nathan had prepared before I even knew there was another woman. My fingers trembled as I touched the first page, and for a moment, I wondered how long those papers had been waiting for me. Had he prepared them after Vanessa became pregnant, or had he already decided to leave me before then?

“You already prepared divorce papers?” I asked as I slowly lifted my eyes toward Nathan, my fingers tightening around the edge of the document.

Nathan released a breath and loosened his tie. “I was going to tell you everything tonight. I did not expect you to meet Vanessa at the clinic.” He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided my eyes.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. “So that is what bothers you? That I found out before you were ready to tell me?” I pushed the papers away as my chest tightened painfully.

“Angela, shouting will not change anything. Just sign the documents, and we can handle this peacefully.” Nathan picked up a pen from the table and placed it beside the papers before taking a step away from me.

I stared at the pen before looking at him, this was the same man who had held me whenever another pregnancy test came back negative. He was the one who told me not to blame myself whenever I cried about our inability to have a child. Now he was standing in front of me asking me to end our marriage as though the last four years meant nothing.

Before I could speak again, the front door suddenly opened. I turned around, and my stomach twisted when Vanessa walked into the living room. She had changed from the blue dress she wore at the clinic into a loose cream dress, but there was no mistaking the curve of her stomach. What shocked me more was the way she entered my home without knocking, as though this was not her first time coming here.

“What are you doing in my house?” I asked as my hands slowly curled into fists at my sides.

Vanessa stopped and glanced at Nathan. “Nathan told me to come over. I thought you already knew I was coming.” She placed one hand beneath her stomach and moved farther into the living room.

My eyes immediately moved toward my husband. “You invited your pregnant mistress into our home on the same day you handed me divorce papers?” I asked as disbelief spread across my face.

“I wanted everything settled tonight.” Nathan walked toward Vanessa and stopped beside her, his expression remaining cold.

Seeing them standing together made me crack, my eyes darted to Vanessa’s stomach again before returning to Nathan’s face. I needed to hear it directly from him, some part of me was still hoping Vanessa had lied.

“Is that child really yours?” I asked as my throat tightened and my fingers pressed into my palms.

“Yes. Vanessa is carrying my child.” Nathan gave a small nod before slipping one hand into his trouser pocket.

I swallowed painfully as tears burned behind my eyes. “You spent four years telling me it did not matter that we did not have children yet. You told me we should leave everything to God and that our time would come.” I pressed one hand against my chest as the memories rushed through my mind.

“I meant it when I told you those things, but things have changed. I need an heir, Angela, and I cannot keep waiting forever for something that might never happen.” Nathan glanced at Vanessa’s stomach before meeting my eyes again.

His words struck harder than I expected. I had spent years believing we were struggling together, but apparently, I had been struggling alone. “You think I wanted this? You think I enjoyed going from one clinic to another, taking medications, praying every month and wondering what was wrong with me?” I wiped the tear that escaped down my cheek as my breathing became uneven.

“I never said you wanted it, Angela. I know you tried, but trying does not change our situation.” Nathan rubbed his forehead before releasing a frustrated breath.

Vanessa moved closer to him. “Nathan, maybe we should leave for now. She clearly needs time to accept everything.” She touched his arm and gave him a concerned look while her other hand remained over her stomach.

My eyes dropped to her fingers resting on my husband’s arm. “Do not stand inside my house and touch my husband in front of me as though I am already gone.” I stepped toward her as anger pushed through the pain in my chest.

Vanessa removed her hand, but Nathan picked up his car keys from the table. “We are leaving. Sign the papers, Angela. I will collect them later.” He placed his hand against Vanessa’s lower back and started guiding her toward the door.

“Wait. There is something else I need to know.” I followed them and stopped a few feet behind Nathan as another terrible thought entered my mind.

Nathan turned toward me. “What else do you want to know?” he asked as his fingers tightened around his car keys.

“How long have you been sleeping with her?” I asked as I looked from Nathan to Vanessa, my heartbeat becoming louder in my ears.

Vanessa lowered her eyes, and that small reaction frightened me more than anything she could have said. Nathan looked at her briefly before returning his attention to me.

“Two years.” Nathan straightened his shoulders and held my gaze without trying to soften the truth.

My breath caught as I stared at him. “Two years? You have been having an affair with her for two years of our four-year marriage?” I asked as my face slowly went numb and my legs suddenly felt weak.

“I never planned for it to continue this long, but things between Vanessa and me became serious.” Nathan pressed his lips together and looked away from me.

Half of my marriage had been a lie. For two years, I had kissed Nathan goodbye in the mornings, waited for him to return at night, worried whenever work kept him away from home, and believed every explanation he gave me. The late business meetings, unexpected trips, unanswered calls, and nights he came home exhausted suddenly made sense. I had ignored everything because I trusted the man I married.

“Get out. I cannot look at either of you anymore.” I pointed toward the door as my entire body trembled with anger and heartbreak.

Nathan stared at me for several seconds before turning toward Vanessa. “Come on. We will give her time to calm down.” He placed his hand against Vanessa’s back and walked with her toward the door.

I watched them leave together, and when the door finally closed, the silence inside the living room became unbearable. My eyes returned to the divorce papers on the table. Four years ago, I had signed a marriage certificate believing Nathan and I were beginning our lives together. Now I understood that there was nothing left for me to fight for.

I walked toward the table, picked up the pen, opened the divorce documents and found the line meant for my signature. My hand shook as I remembered every promise Nathan had made and every night I had cried against his chest because another month had passed without a child. He had watched me blame myself while betraying me with Vanessa for two years.

I pressed the pen against the paper and signed my name, Angela Williams, across the empty line. When I finished, I placed the pen beside the papers and wiped the tears from my cheeks.

Nathan wanted his freedom, and now he had it.