CHAPTER FIVE

NADINE

"Congratulations, Mrs. Nadine,” The male gynaecologist told me the moment the door to his office clicked shut, after I had taken a seat on the only other empty chair in the room. “You're pregnant."

I blinked, "What?"

His head raised, staring straight at me after he looked up, and my heart raced as the smile on his face widened.

"You’re three weeks pregnant."

My blood gushed in my ears, I blinked uncontrollably as I leaned in, "Wh-what do you mean? L-Like an actual p- pre- pregnancy?" I asked, both of my eyebrows shooting up so high that they almost disappeared into my hairline.

The doctor nodded, the smile still fixed on his face as he handed me a sealed envelope. Taking it from him, I tore it open, pulled out the paper inside and unfurled it to read its content.

My eyes glanced through the whole thing until it landed right at the positive sign next to the pregnancy heading.

Truly, it was just as the doctor had said.

I-I was pregnant.

If this isn't the cruelest joke from fate at the moment, I had no idea what was. I didn't even know whether to just laugh or cry. My face kept twitching.

One second I wanted to smile, the next I wanted to bawl my eyes out.

How insane was it that the news I'd been waiting for my whole life finally came after I’d cheated on my husband?

Staring at the result, I had no doubt that the child was Ares. Lysander and I had used protection. But to even think that I’d slept with another man while I was carrying my husband's child…

Forget about that, Nadine. It was a one-time mistake! You're finally pregnant.

And just like that, my heart exploded with joy. I was finally carrying Ares's baby. My hands shook as I stared at the paper, the writing getting blurry as hot tears of joy filled my eyes.

I should be happy yet, why did I feel so… sad?

Perhaps because I didn't know how Ares would react to this. Maybe he would be happy, and he would stop cheating with Susan now that I was pregnant.

"As an expecting mother, you're required to come for a full body check and…" The doctor droned on and on, and I tried to force myself to listen in the moment. It was impossible because my mind was stuck on Ares and this great news.

When I finally left the office, it felt like I was radiating and glowing from inside out. I kept staring at my belly in surprise. There really was a baby inside there?

Giggling to myself, I fished out my phone vibrating in my bag. My heart soared when I saw Ares's name on the screen.

"Ares," I said enthusiastically as I picked up the phone. "I have good—"

"Where the fuck are you? I've been home for half an hour now and I haven't seen you." He yelled from over the phone.

The warmth in my chest evaporated instantly, replaced by a familiar chill.

"Uh….I…I'm on my way home now. I just stepped out for a bit." I said, forcing a smile on my face.

"I don't care where you are. Hurry up, I need to speak to you." He reprimanded, dropping the call before I got the chance to tell him the good news.

As I got into my car, I started rehearsing how I would tell Ares, how I would bring it up as the subject matter.

I imagined different ways he'd be surprised by it.

Would he cry from happiness? Would he go down on his knees to beg for my forgiveness?

The thought made me giddy with excitement.

My hand rubbed over my belly.

After everything we had been through, I really hoped that this baby—this good news—would be the glue to bring Ares back to me and change something between us.

It was raining when I got home, and I ran from the driveway to the door. When I stepped in, I found him sitting there and scrolling through his phone like the past three weeks hadn't happened. Like he hadn't just decided to go AWOL and abandon me for three weeks.

"Ares, there's something—"

"Susan is three-months pregnant." The words shot through me like a lightning bolt. "And I'm going to marry her."

The words he added were the sour cherry sitting prettily on the cake. I blinked, not believing my ears. "P-Pregnant?" I repeated, my own hand instinctively landing on my still-flat stomach.

Ares didn't respond but even without wanting to, my brain was already piecing together the entire puzzle.

If she was three months pregnant, that meant the affair had started so long ago and not as recent as I thought.

The pregnancy result in my bag felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, burning a hole next to my body. I hadn't even gotten the chance to…

Of everything, this was not how I imagined the conversation to go.

Ares, looking so unbothered, slid some papers across the table. My eyes caught theheading “Divorce Agreement” written boldly at the top of it. He slammed a pen right on it, "Sign the papers quick."

My hand shakily covered my mouth as I gasped, stunned. “For real?”

“Sign it.”

"So," a dark, empty chuckle escaped my lips as I stared at my husband. "This is what you were working on the entire three weeks you were gone? Or did you always have the papers on standby?"

He hissed. “Don't waste my time. I don't have all day for a barren entity.”

How did I not see it before? Our marriage had long been over before now.

I was the pathetic one still trying to hold on, to cling to him.

"I didn't come here to entertain—"

"I'll sign it." I cut him off, inhaling as I picked up the pen. Tears fell from my eyes, blotching the ink as I scribbled my signature at the bottom of it.

Ares didn't hesitate. He snatched the paper up to stare at it, as if he was making sure I actually signed it for real.

Then he grabbed my arm and began to pull me towards the door. "What are you doing?" I asked, panicked. I screamed as he yanked it open and roughly shoved me out into a raging thunderstorm.

I jumped, flinching as lightning struck over the clouds.

"We are divorced, you're no longer welcome in my house." He grinned maliciously, snatching the car keys in my hands away from me. “And you can not use this either, Mrs infertile.”

My hands went around my body, "Ares, at least let me spend the night. I'll…I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning, please." I shivered, getting drenched from the pouring rain. He shook his head.

"I'm sick of seeing your obese face all day long. And I don't want you polluting my house with your jealousy."

"Please, it's raining heavily and I have nowhere else to go. I-I can e-even stay in the k-kitchen." I stammered through the cold.

"No." He answered and slammed the door in my face.

After hours of begging for him to let me in, I gave up and began to make my way down the street, through the heavy storm. The raindrops mixed with the hot tears I couldn't stop, possibly washing away the last illusion of the life I was trying so hard to hold onto.

And maybe it was for the best.

I stood on the dark street, trembling, wrapping my arms around myself to keep warm. The lights of an approaching car made me look up. It slowed down, stopping right in front of me.

My head tilted to the side as the driver's window lowered.

Lysander.

My eyes grew wide, shocked to see him here. His grey eyes locked onto mine, and like a moth to a flame, I covered the little distance between me and his car.

Then, he spoke, in a low, steady voice. "Why are you standing in the rain, my runaway lover?"