Chapter Five: You Are Cheating On Me.

Elora nodded in affirmation, “I said it, I knew you were cheating on my son, we now have proof,” she shot at Bella, her tone mean and condescending. 

“Oh my goodness, this is bad, Bella, what have you done?” Lily butted in, expressing her disapproval.

Samuel's heart sank. He felt like he had been stabbed in the gut as he watched the video, “How could you cheat on me? I thought you loved me.” his voice was shaky, and his tone laced with disappointment.

Bella exhaled heavily and rubbed her hand down her face. She already knew that someone had set her up, and she tried to explain what had happened. “Listen, Samuel, it's not what you think, I can explain….”

“There's nothing to explain, you are such a loose woman, and you don't deserve my son.” Elora rebuked her. She brought out a divorce paper and threw it at Bella. “Here, sign it and leave our lives for good,” she ordered.

Samuel shot a confused and disapproving look at his mother. “Mom, you are going too far. Why did you prepare the divorce papers without my consent?” he questioned. 

“It doesn't matter now; what matters is that Bella is cheating on you, and she is no longer fit to be called a member of the Reynolds family,” Elora declared, her voice devoid of emotion.

“Please, Mrs Reynolds, let her hear her out. I believe Bella has an explanation for her action,” Lily pleaded innocently, showing fake concern for Bella. 

“She has nothing to say; we already have proof of her infidelity, and that's enough.” Elora pressed on, her voice dripping with animosity.

Lily walked up to Bella and placed her hand on her shoulder, “Bella dear, I am not here to ruin your marriage. I advise you to beg for forgiveness. They might still give you a chance.” Lily kept on with her act, trying to paint an angelic picture of herself.

“And why should I beg to remain in this torture called marriage? Elora and Samuel have done nothing but treat me like a piece of trash, and you expect me to beg to stay. It's a good thing that they have prepared the divorce papers because I was planning on doing so. They just made it a lot easier for me.” She picked up the paper, signed it and threw it at Samuel. 

Samuel's face instantly turned red, and his eyes were wide with shock as he stared at the divorce papers. “Did she just sign the papers without hesitating, so she is truly cheating on me and can't wait to unite with her lover,” he thought inwardly. He never cared about Bella, but he could not understand why his heart pounded violently at the sight of the divorce papers. He immediately hardened his face as he did not want to appear weak before Bella.

“I'm giving you one last chance to change your mind. If you leave this house today, you will regret it. I promise, I won't take you back when you come begging,” Smuel threatened.

“Did you just say I would come begging? Bella chuckled.” This must be the biggest joke of the century. Watch me leave,” her brows furrowed into the most intense frown as she brushed past Samuel and stormed into her room.

“Wow, that was a lot easier than I had expected. Anyways, good riddance to bad rubbish.” Elora shrugged and sipped her drink.

Bella got into her room and sat in front of her vanity mirror. Her hardened face gradually softened as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She blinked, and a lone tear rolled down her cheek before she quickly wiped it away. She stared down at her tummy and rubbed it endearingly. 

“I'm sorry, my child, I'm separating you from your father. This environment is too toxic for you. Don't worry, my child, I'm taking you to a better place, where you will be surrounded by those who will love you genuinely.’ She picked up her phone and called Nathan.

“Hello Nathan, come and pick me up in about thirty minutes, I'm ready.” 

“Alright, Bella, I'm on my way.”

Bella went to her wardrobe and packed all her stuff into her suitcase. She took a final look at the room, which she had shared with Samuel for three years. A lot of memories flooded through her mind, but she shook off her emotions and was about to step out when the door creaked open and Lily stepped into the room.

“Bella, I'm sorry for what just happened. I wish I could help save your marriage,” Lily said as she stared at Bella sympathetically.

“Oh, cut the pretence, Lily,” Bella snapped, her voice sharp and direct. “I must say you played your card very well. You had the effrontery to lie to them, making them believe that you donated your blood to save Samuel's life. You just took credit for something that you didn't do,” she blurted out, her voice mixed with pain and sarcasm.

Lily's innocent and concerned face curved into a smirk. “Wow, Bella, you are not as dumb as I thought. I'm glad you have figured it out already. Samuel is mine, and I won't let anyone take him from me,” she warned, expression cold and emotionless. 

“Good! You can have him, I'm done with him after all, I never knew you loved leftovers,” Bella scoffed, 

“Whatever, that's by the way.” Lily rolled her eyes “I’m sure you must be wondering who took those pictures and videos and sent them to everyone's phone,” she leaned forward and smiled wickedly, “ I did.” she revealed. “I saw you hugging a man at the hospital, and I took my shots. I knew it would come in handy. Turns out that you are not a saint either, you are a cheat,” she said bluntly, her voice dripping with scorn.

Bella shrugged, not feeling bad at the slightest. “You are right about that, Lily. I cheated on my husband and divorced him afterwards,” she admitted unapologetically, “if you don't mind, I'm leaving, my car is already waiting.” She brushed past Lily and barged into the living room. Samuel and Elora stared at her in bafflement as she wheeled her suitcase out of the living room. She suddenly paused in her tracks and turned to Samuel. 

“Make sure you sign the divorce papers so we can move on with our lives,” Bella said, her voice dripping with authority. She stepped out of the house, and a convoy of expensive cars was already waiting for her outside. Nathan came down from one of the cars and hugged Bella. He opened the door for Bella, and she entered the car.

Elora and Samuel were peeking through the window, their jaws hung low as they were lost in the realms of shock.

“That's him, the same man we saw in the video,” Elora pointed out as soon as she recognised Nathan.

“You are right, Mom,” Samuel affirmed. “If I'm not mistaken, this convoy is from the Watson family, the richest and most influential family in the city. What connection does Bella have with them?” Samuel pondered as he sank deeper into confusion.