Chapter 3

Cara’s POV

Tears of rage filled my eyes as I remained frozen by the door, unable to move.

My husband and my best friend.

I felt my throat close up even more as the thought sank further into me.

My husband and my best friend!

How could they do this to me? How could he do this to me? Why? Why that day of all days?

I didn't gather enough courage to break into the room. I didn’t want to face the aftermath of this. Their moans continued to grow louder and fill my ears even more, torturing the depths of my soul. There I was, standing right at the door of my bedroom, unable to enter because Henry had decided to hurt me this much.

Of course. It was why he decided to stay home that day. Because he had already planned to do this with Patricia then. And he thought I wouldn't find out, which I truly wouldn’t if I hadn’t gotten the news about my pregnancy and rushed home from work that day.

Their moans subsided and now all I could hear were their loud and satisfied pants. It was like listening to nails on a chalkboard. Every second I remained by the door, my heart broke even more.

“So I have something to tell you,” I heard Patricia say. “You know how I said I wasn’t feeling too well and may need to see the doctor?”

“Yeah. You thought it was some strong kind of flu.”

“Well, I went to the clinic yesterday. Turns out it wasn’t the flu at all.”

“It wasn’t?”

“Far from it. Henry, I’m three weeks pregnant!”

I felt my body stiffen even more, disbelief crashing into my face. No. No, this was not happening.

“Are you serious!” I could hear the elation in Henry’s voice and my heart broke even harder.

“You’re going to be a father!”

“Oh, come here baby!” I heard Henry say and his voice was followed by fits of loud laughter in the room. I shut my eyes, desperately trying to fight the tears threatening to escape them. For some reason, the excitement in Henry's voice hurt even more than the cheating itself.

“I’m going to be a father, finally!” Henry said again and I heard the sound of kisses and moans penetrate the air.

“I don’t know Henry. I’m sure this is a good thing but—what are we going to do about Cara?”

The rage in me built up even more and I felt my hand reach for the doorknob. That bitch.

“Why are you worried about her?” I could hear the disregard in Henry’s voice.

“Well, she’s my best friend and I can’t hide this—us from her forever.”

“Enough with Cara, Patricia. I’m in a good mood right now. Stop mentioning her name because it’s making me sick.”

I could feel my grip around the doorknob loosen again. Had he always felt this way about me? Had I always made him sick?

“Well, she’s still your wife whether you like it or not,” Patricia said, and the faux concern in her voice built the rage in me even more.

“I don’t care. She might as well be house furniture. After years of being married to her, she still hasn’t given me a child. That’s no longer a wife. That’s just a useless piece of trash I can’t wait to throw out.”

“I know right? Such a waste of space. She might as well retire into a forest and live with the animals at this point.” Patricia continued.

“Just seeing her always makes me angry. I can’t wait for her to do something that’ll let me chase her out of my house. Then we can actually have time for ourselves.”

Like a straw breaking the camel’s back, Henry’s words pushed down all the courage I needed into me and I twisted the doorknob. The door pushed open and I walked in, my eyes glued to their shocked faces.

“Cara,” Patricia called, bringing the sheets up to her chest, utter fear written on her face. “Cara I can explain.”

I turned to Henry, whose face was just as white as Patricia’s.

“Cara, I can explain,” he said, raising an index finger.

“There are seven rooms in this house, Henry. You couldn’t do this anywhere but our bedroom? In our bed? Had you really lost every respect for this place, that much?” The words flowed out of my mouth, almost incoherently, as I stared at both of them. The pain in me continued to rise. “How could you do this to me?”

A wave of silence only coated by my deep breaths filled the room.

“And you—” I turned to Patricia, moving closer to her.

“Don’t touch her, Cara,” I heard Henry call out, his voice firm and solid.

I stopped walking and turned to him. “What?”

“I said, do not touch her. She’s pregnant.”

Words froze in my mouth as I watched my husband stare me down with the most deadly expression in his eyes.

What was happening?