Chapter 5 - It's Best to Go

Dawn had just broken in the sky. Orange light slowly seeped through the gap in the curtains, illuminating the quiet corners of the room. Rebecca woke up on a bed that still felt cold. She glanced to the side. There was no one around. Samuel wasn't home.

Again. Rebecca sat up, silent for a moment, letting the realization settle in. It felt empty. Her husband, the man she used to wake up with in the morning and go to bed with every night, was now sleeping elsewhere—with Nora, his girlfriend.

"Never mind, Rebecca. You should just forget about your feelings for Samuel," she said softly.

In addition, Rebecca also remembered the threat from Nora. She still didn't realize that her mother was alive. For a dozen years, she had been hidden by Alice. Who knows where? In the past, she thought her mother had died in a car accident, but she was still alive.

And if Rebecca tried to convince Samuel that she was innocent, then her mother's life would be at stake.

Then, her stomach suddenly felt strange. A wave of nausea crept quickly up her throat. She hurriedly ran to the bathroom and vomited the contents of her stomach into the sink. Her breath caught, her hands clutched the side of the table, and her body shivered. Instantly, her memory jumped.

"Wait, it turns out I'm three weeks late for my period."

Rebecca's eyes widened. She stood up slowly, looking at her own face in the mirror. Her face looked pale, and her lips were dry. But underneath it all, there was a small possibility that could change everything.

"No way," she muttered.

But the possibility was too real to ignore. With quick steps, she grabbed her jacket and purse and headed to the pharmacy. In less than twenty minutes, she was back in the apartment, standing in front of the bathroom with a small box in hand.

Her hands trembled as she opened the package. The test kit felt heavy, as if it would decide her fate. A few minutes later, two red lines appeared.

"Huh?"

Rebecca covered her mouth. The tears of happiness mixed together just came out. She collapsed on the floor, clutching the test pack like she was holding onto a hope that had almost disappeared.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered. "I'm pregnant, Oh my God..."

She laughed softly, then sobbed. "Samuel must be happy because he's going to be a father. For the sake of this child, he would never divorce me."

For a moment, Rebecca forgot about Nora's threat. Perhaps Samuel would help her later to save her mother from Alice and Nora's captivity. 

Without thinking, Rebecca grabbed her cell phone and pressed Samuel's contact. Her heart skipped a beat.

On the screen of her cell phone, it rang.

One second... two... three... Finally connected

"Samuel... I -" 

"Ah... It hurts... Slow down, darling... Ahh... Darling, you've been naughty. It hurts, ah..."

Deg.

But it wasn't her husband's voice. It was Nora's voice. 

Rebecca froze. Her ears were hot. Her eyes blinked rapidly, as if trying to reject the reality that had just slapped her hard.

Her cell phone had fallen to the floor. No explanation needed. No need for clarification.

Nora's voice was so clear, so intimate. The sound of Nora's sighs was enough to prove that Nora and Samuel were having sex. 

Instantly Rebecca's whole body went limp. She looked down, her hand picked up the phone slowly, and pressed the red button tremblingly.

Her hands clenched into fists. Tight. She squeezed the phone like she wanted to smash it. But she didn't cry. Instead, she laughed bitterly. She laughed at herself.

"You heard it yourself, right, Rebecca? Your husband, he... he's having sex with his ex-girlfriend," she muttered. 

Rebecca was self-aware, she was just a puppet filling Samuel's void. The woman Samuel loved so much had returned. 

Silence surrounded her. But in Rebecca's head, the sound of Nora's sighs continued to echo. 

She looked at the test pack in her hand. The two lines were still clear. Proof that there was life growing inside her. Samuel's flesh and blood, Wilson's offspring. 

"But I don't think the presence of this child will make Samuel change his mind. He will still divorce me. Samuel's love is only for Nora, not for me."

Her mind was racing. But in the midst of the chaos, one thing emerged so clearly, it was best for her to walk away from Samuel's life.

Calmly, Rebecca stood up. She looked around the room-the place where she had laughed with Samuel. The place where she once felt loved. Now, everything felt foreign.

She opened the closet, took out a suitcase. One by one, the clothes were folded.

"I'm sorry, son, it's best for your father not to know about you. Because Mommy is not the woman your father loves," Rebecca said while stroking her stomach. 

***

The door to the apartment opened, Samuel walked in with lethargic steps, his shirt half open, his hair disheveled. He hadn't slept all night.

He went up to the second floor. Arriving in front of the room, Samuel opened the door with a quick movement. But his steps came to an abrupt halt.

His eyes immediately fell on a white sheet of paper on the bed. His hand reached out slowly, grabbing the paper.

Divorce papers. Rebecca's signature was already printed on it.

Samuel suddenly found it difficult to breathe. He glared at the writing on the paper, as if hoping that what he was reading was just an illusion of sleepiness and fatigue. But everything was real.

With one rough movement, Samuel crumpled the paper. The veins in his hand stood out. The paper was like a symbol of his failure as a husband. He rushed to the closet. He opened the cupboard door violently.

It was empty. There were no Rebecca's clothes. The closet was completely empty. Just like she was at this moment.

"Rebecca..." he muttered, barely audible.

She hurriedly reached for her cell phone, dialing Rebecca's number. The call connects-but only for a few seconds before the machine sounds:

The number you have dialed is inactive or out of range.

Samuel's breath catches. He hadn't expected Rebecca to just leave. 

In his hand, the crumpled divorce papers were still clutched tightly. 

"No way! Rebecca can't just leave. She has to take responsibility because she's been - "