Chapter 2

Selfish?

Yes. That much was true.

Sarah had been selfish enough to believe that love alone could hold a marriage together. Selfish enough to keep hoping, even when every sign screamed that she was unwanted.

And hopeful?

Yes. Painfully so.

What could have happened to make Hannah suddenly accept Margaret?...the very woman she had once rejected so firmly.

Margaret… the woman who had always looked at Sarah with thinly veiled contempt.

Something had happened.

Something big.

---

Beatrice froze the moment she saw her.

She had been sitting on the old couch, folding laundry slowly, reading glasses perched low on her nose. The late afternoon sun filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow over the familiar living room.

Then the door creaked open.

Beatrice looked up, confused at first.

Then she was shocked.

The bags slipped from Sarah’s hands, hitting the tiled floor with dull thuds. Tears poured freely down her face, her body trembling like it could no longer support itself.

“Sarah?” Beatrice jumped to her feet, panic tightening her chest. “What happened, my daughter?”

Sarah didn’t answer.

She collapsed into her mother’s arms and cried like a broken child…not the composed wife she had learned to be, not the woman who endured humiliation in silence. Just a daughter…shattered, exhausted, and undone.

Her shoulders shook violently as sobs tore through her chest.

“Oh God…” Beatrice whispered, holding her tightly. “What happened? Why are you here like this… with your bags?”

Her voice dropped in fear.

“Wait…” Beatrice pulled back slightly, dread creeping into her eyes. “Don’t tell me Frederick chased you away.”

Sarah nodded weakly, unable to speak at first.

Then the words burst out…raw and jagged.

“Yes… him and his mother. They told me to leave the house like I was nothing.” Her voice cracked. “She even called me barren.”

Beatrice stiffened.

“Barren?” she repeated faintly.

Her hands trembled as she stroked Sarah’s hair, rage and heartbreak flashing across her face.

“I knew it,” she murmured bitterly. “I knew this day would come.”

Sarah pulled back sharply, disbelief etched across her tear-streaked face.

“You knew?” she asked hoarsely.

Beatrice sighed deeply, her shoulders slumping as though she had carried this burden for years.

“What happened, Mum?” Sarah pleaded. “Please tell me. I don’t understand. Why would she suddenly choose Margaret after all these years? She hated her. She always stood by me.”

Beatrice stiffened.

For a moment, she said nothing.

“Mum?” Sarah pressed, fear creeping into her voice. “Did you fight with her? Did something happen between you two?”

Beatrice looked away, jaw tightening.

“Mum,” Sarah whispered. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Beatrice replied too quickly. “l’m sure it was because of the argument between us.”

Sarah froze.

“Is that why she suddenly chose Margaret over me?” Sarah asked slowly. “Because you refused to hand over the documents and shares related to Dad’s consortium?”

Beatrice shook her head sharply.

“Sarah, I told you before…there is more to it than that,” she snapped. “Because look at this well, why would she react like this over just those documents? I don’t trust her anymore.”

Her voice trembled with restrained fury.

“But I can’t believe it…” Beatrice continued bitterly. “That was why she discarded you so easily. She even dared to call you barren!”

Her hands clenched.

“She and her son will pay for this.”

The words stunned Sarah into silence.

Sarah collapsed to the floor, clutching her chest as her knees gave way.

“How can I breathe?” she sobbed. “Frederick has finally left me.”

Her tears soaked the floor as her shoulders shook uncontrollably.

Beatrice rushed forward, lifting her daughter into her arms despite her age, rocking her gently…just like she used to when Sarah was little.

“I’m sorry, my darling,” Beatrice whispered. “I never imagined it would end this way.” Her voice hardened. “Hannah never understood what her son was about to lose.”

Sarah’s heart skipped.

“What does she mean?”

“She will regret this,” Beatrice said firmly. “Mark my words. They both will.”

Sarah stared at her mother, emotionally drained and confused.

Maybe…maybe they’ll change their minds, she thought weakly.

---

Later that night, Sarah lay awake in her old bedroom.

The walls felt unfamiliar, even though she had grown up there. Everything seemed smaller…tighter…like the room had shrunk around her.

Her chest ached as memories flooded in.

She remembered playing with Frederick as children…running barefoot through the yard, laughing until their stomachs hurt, sharing sweets and secrets.

She remembered the day she realized she loved him.

And the day she realized he would never love her the same way.

Tears soaked her pillow as she stared at the ceiling.

“I should have let you go,” she whispered brokenly. “I should have walked away.”

Frederick had always wanted a divorce.

It was his mother who had insisted on this marriage. Who had begged her to endure. To stay. To wait.

So what changed?

Why would Hannah treat her this way?

Sarah cried quietly through the night, replaying every smile she had given Frederick. Every sacrifice she made. Every time she chose him over herself.

By morning, her eyes were swollen and sore.

Her heart felt hollow.

Then her phone buzzed.

A message from Frederick.

“Come to the house now, the divorce letter is ready!” Her hands trembled as she read it.

So…

This was really over.