Chapter 2

KAIA

“How could you do this to me?!”

I screeched, pounding my fists against his chest as hot tears streamed down my cheeks.

Three years with the man I loved dearly, and this was how I was repaid? I went against my family for him, and this was what I got in return?

A cruel betrayal as an anniversary gift?

My chest tightened, and breathing suddenly felt like a difficult task.

Bryce stood there, unshaken. His lips curled into a mischievous smile, and he spoke calmly like he’d done nothing wrong.

“You brought this upon yourself, Kaia,” he said. “You were nothing but a fool.”

My vision blurred as I stared at him, my chest heaving uncontrollably.

“You know I’m innocent, Bryce.”

“Innocent?” He scoffed, pushing me off him roughly. “But I’ve got lots of evidence against you.”

Whatever he’d given the police wasn’t the real thing. I knew that without a doubt.

Bryce knew the real story. He knew what had happened that morning before my father died, and he knew that I did nothing.

Because…

Only one person knew what had happened that morning.

Bryce.

And somehow, every piece of evidence had found its way into the police’s hands.

“I did nothing to him, Bryce.”

He laughed mischievously. “You were the last one seen arguing with him that morning. And your fingerprints were on everything including the knife next to him.”

That wasn’t true.

I lunged at him again, but two female officers came and held me down. My body trembled as I cried, struggling to break free.

“Let go of me!”

Why were they holding me?

Why weren’t they doing their job properly?

The real perpetrator was standing free, and I was being punished for something I didn’t do.

Everything that happened, and was happening… was my fault. If I hadn’t gone against my father, if I hadn’t fought to get married to Bryce against his wishes, then…

My life would have been more different and better than what I had now.

“She’s a threat to life,” Bryce muttered, brushing his fingers against his suit. “Make sure she’s detained and severely punished for her crimes.”

My jaw clenched before dropping in surprise. Was this the same man who’d sworn forever to me?

“Bryce,” I sobbed, wincing out in pain as the officers grabbed my arms tightly. “Please tell them the truth. Please, I beg of you.”

He smirked, ignored me, and uttered authoritatively to the police officers.

“Take her away and put her behind bars.”

Those were the last words I heard from him before he turned his back away to leave.

My eyes felt heavy and bulgy. I could barely breathe, and I grew weak from all the hours I’d spent waiting for him.

I hadn’t eaten since the day before. I didn’t even get the chance to eat before I was arrested.

I wasn’t starving alone anymore. There was another tiny life depending on me now.

As they pulled me away to my cell, I felt the sharp pain slicing through my stomach. It was a reminder of the life I carried, and the news I’d forgotten to tell Bryce.

Like a nightmare, I was thrown into a cell after being changed into the prisoner’s uniform.

Night came slowly, and my pain worsened. I couldn’t sleep, and my eyes refused to close.

I waited patiently for morning, even though I had no hopes of my situation changing.

Memories replayed in my head and more than half of them were my father. I recalled his constant warnings, and how he’d almost disowned me when I told him I was getting married to Bryce.

“It’s either you call off that wedding, or you lose your inheritance.”

Of course, I was blinded by the fake love Bryce showered on me then. So, I chose him over everything else.

“One day you’ll learn the difference between a man who loves you and a man who needs you,” my father had said.

“I only pray it isn’t too late.”

After that day, the relationship I had with my father was strained. We argued about everything, and things had gotten heated that morning before he died.

I didn’t know he’d died until… Bryce informed me.

*

“Kaia Holloway, you’ve got a visitor.”

I jumped to my feet anxiously and impatiently waited for my prison warden to open the cell.

My heart raced at the thoughts of Bryce visiting me. Instinctively, I rubbed my hands over my stomach, a single tear streaming down my cheek.

For three years, I’d waited patiently to have a baby. Bryce always talked about having one also, and now that our dreams were about to be fulfilled, he’d stabbed me in the back.

Jessie, my prison warden, led me towards the space where Bryce was waiting. I planned silently to tell him about the pregnancy.

Maybe he’d come back to his senses and change his mind.

I was willing to forgive and forget everything if he accepted the baby and cleared my name.

Quietly, I walked to meet him with mixed emotions.

“Good morning,”

I greeted as soon as I saw him, then licked my lips nervously. He glanced at me with an unreadable expression.

“How have they been treating you?”

My stomach churned. “Like a prisoner.”

He simply nodded and pointed at the chair I was supposed to sit on.

“I have something to tell you.”

We said at the same time. And for a few minutes, nothing was heard in the thick silence that hovered around us.

“You go first,” I muttered, hating that we’d gotten so awkward and it made me turn my face away uncomfortably.

“Are you sure?”

I heard him ask, and nodded to confirm. I was eager to know what he wanted to tell me. Maybe it was even more important than what I had in mind.

Without hesitation, Bryce shook his head and pulled out a brown envelope from his suitcase.

I watched him through the corners of my eyes, wondering what the envelope contained.

“Here,” he said huskily, pushing the envelope forward to me. “I need you to sign this.”

I arched my eyebrows suspiciously as I wondered what he needed me to sign. I felt his eyes on me while picking up the envelope, and it made me curious.

“What’s in here?” I asked.

“Open it.”

I tore the envelope open and retrieved the paper inside. My eyes scanned through each line as I read, but my chest tightened a few seconds later after seeing a particular word.

Was I reading it wrong? Or were my eyes deceiving me?

I shifted my gaze to Bryce, with my mouth wide open. Was he being for real? These were—

“Divorce papers?” I said loudly in surprise, my tears already forming again. “You’re filing for a divorce?”

My hands began to shake, and every other word I tried to utter remained stuck in my throat.

“No…” I looked up at him. “Bryce… You can’t be serious.”

He folded his hands neatly on the table, turning a blind eye to my tears and heavy breathing.

“I’ve already signed. I just need your signature.”

My heart shattered. “Why?”

He looked me straight in the eyes without the slightest hint of guilt. Then he leaned forward, the words slipping out of his lips bitterly.

“Because I refuse to spend the rest of my life married to a murderer.”