Mag-log inAfter giving birth, I lost my beauty when I started adding weight in all the wrong places. Stretch marks. A soft stomach. Tired eyes. The same body that carried our child became the body my husband couldn’t stand to look at. “I can’t take you anywhere like this.” That was what Marcus Hawthorne my powerful, untouchable CEO husband said the night he stopped bringing me to events. The whispers followed after that. She let herself go. He deserves better. How embarrassing for a man like him. I heard them all. And Marcus? He never defended me. Instead, he grew colder, crueler and distant everyday. The same man I sacrificed my everything for made me feel like I was no longer worth loving. And when tragedy struck and I lost the only thing keeping me togheter —our child. I realized the bitter truth not only was I meant to grieve a failed marriage alone but a dead child too because Marcus didn't hesitate to replace us with his new family. And that was my breaking point. Determined to start all over I fled the country for my sanity. Worked on the body that once made me hate my reflection. Rebuilt the career I had abandoned for love. Became the successful woman I was always meant to be. Now, seven years later, I’m back. And guess who can’t take his eyes off me? Marcus. Only, he isn't the man I left behind. Haunted by a serious problem that only I can help him with he’s willing to do anything to get me back. But here’s the problem. The woman who would have forgiven him no longer exists. And the woman standing here now? Isn’t sure she wants anything to do with him ever again.
view moreBeverly POV
“You’re just so fat and ugly. Take a good look at yourself and tell me if you were me would you still be with someone like you?”
His voice cut through the dining room that morning cold, sharp and deliberate. Each word landed like a blade, slicing deeply into me, reminding me once again how miserable my life had become.
I whimpered quietly from where I lay crumpled beside the kitchen cabinet, my body curled in on itself like I was trying to disappear into the floor as I watched him helplessly, my chest tight, my heart aching painfully.
Marcus sat comfortably on our large dining table, eating like nothing was wrong. Like he hadn’t just shattered me. He shoveled in the food I’d spent hours cooking standing, sweating and forcing myself through the pain while I lay here with an empty stomach.
He said starving me was one of the ways to make me lose weight.
And I didn’t complain infact I never did.
My whole life had revolved around me trying to please him, respect and love him the right way a wife should. But no matter what I did, it never seems to be enough because his cold blue eyes, never left or stopped glaring at me with open disgust every now and then.
Those eyes.
I swallowed the huge lump that had formed in my throat as I adjusted my posture slightly. Yes those eyes, I could still remember when those same eyes had once looked at me like I was the only woman in the world.
That was years ago before the childbirth tragedy. When everything was still normal back when I was still a damsel with soft curves in the right places curves that turned heads, curves that made Marcus proud to hold my hand in public.
I caught my reflection in one of the pots lining the wall and another quiet sob escaped my lips.
The woman staring back at me didn’t feel real at all. Puffy, chubby cheeks. Red, hollow eyes and a swollen body which weigh over a hundred pounds heavier than I used to be.
God… how did I become like this?
It started two years ago when I gave birth to our son, Tristan.
My Tristan.
May God rest his soul.
Complications during his birth had damaged parts of my body and my hormones went wild in the process making me add weight.
The weight had came suddenly, settling in all the wrong places before I knew it until my once-perfect figure became shapeless.
The doctors said exercise would help.
But how do you exercise when your heart is buried with your child?
After Tristan died, I wasn’t myself anymore. Depression wrapped around me like chains. I barely had the strength to get out of bed, let alone work on my body and even with all that the weight never left.
Marcus had hated it from the beginning. Even before Tristan died, he frowned at my new shape always complaining that I no longer look attractive to him anymore that he had began to find it difficult to show me off in public. That was when he first started pulling away. Turning his back on me his back on me like I was nothing but I didn’t mind then because I had Tristan.
But after he died…
I didn’t know how to survive anymore.
“And what the f**k are you sitting down there idly for?!”
His voice thundered across the room again, tearing through my thoughts.
“Don’t you have work to do?!”
I flinched violently, my body jerking in shock.
“I—I’m sorry… I was just—” My voice trembled, words tangling together before trailing off uselessly because I didn’t know what to say. I never did.
“Of course you’re sorry,” he hissed yet again the sound was sharp and venomous. I lowered my head immediately staring at the floor as I was unable to look at him.
“You’re always sorry. F**king pathetic. Is there ever a time you don’t apologize for every little thing?”
“Mar… Marcus,” I whimpered. Tears streamed freely now, blurring my vision. Although this wasn't the first time he abused me with words but no matter how many times he did, it never hurt less and I'd be lying if I say I'd gotten used to it because this was the same man I’d given up my future for, who had once loved me dearly in return and If someone had told me our marriage would end like this, I would have laughed in disbelief.
“Marcus, I—”
“Don’t you f**king dare call my name!”
He slammed his fist against the table so hard the plates rattled. I nearly jumped out of my skin, biting down hard on my lip as I bowed my head even lower.
“You hear me? You’re not permitted to call my name. It sounds disgusting coming out of your mouth. Now get your fat, ugly ass out of my sight this minute before I do something you’ll regret.”
He didn't have to say the words for a second time before I knew he wasn't bluffing the mad, enraged look in his eyes said it all.
I scrambled to my feet immediately, my movements clumsy and unbalanced by my weight and as a result, my foot accidentally slammed into the wall sending a sharp jolt of pain exploding through my toe like wildfire.
I screamed immediately, clutching my foot as agony tore through me.
Marcus didn’t even look at me the entire time he just kept eating pretending and acting as if he wasn't there.
My heart shattered all over again. How could someone be so cruel?
With agonizing slowness, I limped toward our bedroom. Every step sent waves of pain through my body and I sobbed harder.
I reached the room and collapsed onto the bed with a painful groan. The mattress dipped under my weight, but I barely noticed.
I opened the bedside drawer, pulled out the healing balm, and applied it to my broken toenail, which was still bleeding.
The menthol burned instantly as it came in contact with the skin I screamed, my fingers digging into the sheets as the sting intensified, tears soaking the pillow. When it finally dulled, I stood up, preparing to leave—
But then the sound of a ringing phone suddenly sliced through the air.
I froze immediately and halted on my track. Turning around, I saw it was Marcus’s phone that was lying on the bed.
My breath hitched as I rushed up to pick it up, ready to go give it to him, but then my eyes caught the caller ID, and the name I saw literally punched the breath out of my lungs.
My Missing Rib?
My eyes dimmed immediately alongside the screen as the call ended, my brain trying to process it.
Who could this be?
His mom?
No, she was dead; there was no way this could be her. My chest lightened slightly as the thought of her suddenly crossed my mind.
That woman, she was such a sweet and nice person; she'd practically loved me more than anything, more than I had seen any woman love her daughter-in-law.
She was the main driving force of I and Marcus's wedding, always ready to give her support, and at some point I'd felt like her own daughter. That was before the cold hands of death snatched her away from us too.
My throat tightened. If that woman were alive, she would never watch me suffer under her son’s hands like this, and there was no way I'd have gone through the grief of Tristan's death alone because she'd have comforted me...
Before I could stop it, a lone tear rolled down. I didn't know what I did to deserve it and why the people I love and who care about me were always being taken away from me.
Just at that minute the phone started ringing again, cutting through my reverie. I jerked slightly and looked down, only to see it was the same person calling. I moved to go give it to him this time, curious to get the answer from him.
But as I did, one of my tears suddenly fell directly on the phone screen. My eyes widened immediately as I quickly tried to wipe it off, my heart lurching in panic. God forbid I give Marcus another reason to scream at me. He was always one to pick offense with everything I did.
But then my finger slipped.
The tear had landed right on the green button, and in my haste I accidentally answered the call.
I froze immediately, my heart racing.
The last time I mistakenly answered one of his calls… I almost followed his mother to the afterlife.
My breath turned ragged with panic, but before I could think of what to do,
“Hello, baby…” A woman’s voice suddenly chimed from the other end of the line, breathy with excitement. “I just did the scan. It's a baby girl and—”
"How dare you f**king pick up my call?" I was still listening when the phone was sudde
nly snatched from me from behind, and the next thing I knew, I saw stars as a thunderous slap landed hard against my cheeks.
Adrian POVIf there was one kind of person I wasn’t particularly fond of, it was people who were so nosy they couldn’t stay out of other people’s lives.People who hovered too close, too often, until they started to feel like something crawling on your skin—something you just wanted to push off.And that was Claire.One of the many reasons why I didn’t like her.Like I said earlier, I’ve got my eyes on only one woman.Beverly Hamilton.The woman in my diary. The only one who ever made every other woman feel… unnecessary in my eyes.And Claire?She was the opposite of everything I wanted. Too much. Too proud. And so full of herself. And the worst part was how she thought that because she was the Senator’s daughter, she could have anything she wanted.Including me.That alone made something in my chest tighten in irritation."You do know what you’re doing is inappropriate, right?" I said, my voice coming out calm even though my fingers had already curled tightly at my side. "Going throu
Adrian POVThe familiar route that led to the Cruz Villa, one of my properties and the most expensive building in the whole of Michigan, came into view immediately as my driver turned the corner into the deserted street that led to the compound.My compound.A faint smile touched my lips as I took in the view.Seven years ago, this place used to be nothing but dust and dry grass, and I could still remember when I used to walk across it with worn-out shoes and empty pockets, sweat sticking to my back, my stomach tight from hunger.Now the entire land belonged to me.My fingers tapped lightly against my thigh as I stared harder at the land through the window, my chest rising slowly.Every inch of it. From the brick walls to the guarded gates. All of it belonged to me. Built from nothing but blood, sweat, sleepless nights, and sacrifices I didn’t like remembering.Funny how life works.Because people look at me today and all they see is money, power, and fame. They think I was born into
Beverly POVAdrian Cruz.The name didn't just click in my head.It slammed into me. Like something sharp and cold pressed against the back of my skull.For a second I couldn't breathe as I stared at the man who stood a few feet ahead of me with his back slightly turned to me.The morning sun fell directly on him glistening his jet black hair and alighting the side of his face which I could see from where I stood.My pulse began to pound in my ears.No.It couldn't be.But it was.My fingers slowly curled at my sides until my nails bit into my palm. I barely felt the sting. My insides tightened too, twisting in a way that made me slightly nauseous. Not excitement. Not nostalgia.Something darker.Years had passed. Seven long years since I left this city. Ten since everything fell apart.Yet Adrian Cruz wasn't a face I could forget.Not after what he did.Not after the blood.Not after Mariam.My throat tightened at the memory of her name.Mariam Hawthorne.Marcus’s mother literally my
Next MorningBeverly POVI couldn’t sleep the previous night. How could I, when I had been told a piece of news so heart shattering it felt like my chest had been torn open and left bleeding?How could I, when I just found out that some anonymous people had paid her to keep shut on the truth about my son allowing me to wallow in lies for years because obviously they killed him and they didn't want the world to know.So all through the night, I sat by the window, unmoving, staring at the few pictures I had of Tristan it was the only thing I could do not to over think myself to death.They were pictures from when he was still a baby. One when he was barely one, chubby and smiling with his tiny fingers wrapped around mine. The last one from his second birthday, cake frosting smeared on his cheeks, eyes bright and innocent, shining with excitement he never got to grow out of.Even as dawn cracked open the darkness and gave way to morning, I was still there, sitting at the window side. My






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