2. A divorce

Sophie 

I finally saw the woman he cheated on me with. 

Lucinda. The secretary in her twenties who he never shut up about. 

My knees were shaking so badly I thought they’d give out. My throat burned. 

“How could you?” The words finally ripped out of me, hoarse and trembling. “How could you do this—right here—on our bed—on our anniversary?”

For a moment, I genuinely thought I was hallucinating. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. 

"You weren't supposed to see it..." He said with his head bowed down. 

"I...I was planning a surprise for you. I thought—" My voice cracked. “I know our marriage got rocky at some point but I thought we could fix things." 

"Fix what?" he snapped suddenly. "I didn’t mean for you to find out about Lucinda like this but honestly, you brought this on yourself!" 

My head jerked back like he had slapped me.

“What?” I exclaimed in shock. 

"When was the last time you satisfied my needs? When was the last time you did what I wanted..." 

It felt like the room was spinning. I struggled to catch my breath. 

“What needs are you talking about? I gave up my job for you,” I yelled, unable to fathom the nonsense he was spewing. “I gave up my dreams. I stayed home because you said you wanted a traditional wife. I did everything for you.”

“And what do you have to show for it?” he scoffed. “Your family isn’t rich. You don’t bring anything to the table. You just sit at home,  eating. The sexy wife I married five years ago has turned into this fat, shapeless woman.”

Each word he uttered sliced through me like a knife. "I'm pregnant with your child, Ryan. What do you expect?" 

I didn't know when the tears started running down my face. Before I knew it, I was bawling my eyes out and he just stood there, staring at me without emotion.

Lucinda crossed her legs slowly, watching like this was entertainment.

I slowly cleaned my eyes and straightened my back. 

​I couldn’t let my husband go just like that. After nine years of dating and five years of marriage, I refused to let everything we’d built simply go down the drain.

"I forgive you, Ryan" I said desperately. "What you had with her was just a fling...a mistake. I'm ready to forget so we can start over"

He scoffed at me. "It's not a fling. Lucinda is moving in today"

The room continued spinning. My ears felt hot.

“What?” I whispered in shock. 

"I want a divorce" he demanded coldly 

I let out a humorless, hysterical laugh.

“You’re joking.” I said 

“I’m not.”

“It’s our anniversary,” I whispered, pained.

“Then let our anniversary be the day our marriage ends.”

At that moment, something inside my chest snapped and I couldn’t breathe.

At first, I thought it was just panic. But then the pain started. I felt a sharp, twisting pain in my lower abdomen. I gasped, clutching my stomach.

“Drop the act, Sophie,” Ryan muttered. “You won't change my mind.”

The pain intensified. My vision blurred.

“I—I can’t—” I tried to speak, but my lungs wouldn’t cooperate. My breaths came in short, desperate gasps.

Lucinda frowned slightly. “Ryan, she doesn't look good…”

The pain became unbearable. My ears rang and my vision blurred. 

The last thing I heard was Ryan’s irritated voice saying something about drama.

And then everything went dark.