CHAPTER 6

Caroline

“Then why does being your wife feel like the worst punishment of my life?” I choked out, my voice trembling with raw agony.

Peter’s mouth opened, but I couldn’t hold back anymore. The words burst from me like a dam finally breaking.

“Why, Peter? Why do you care more about Cerene than me....your own wife? I carried our child for months. I screamed through labor while you demanded they rip my bone marrow out for her. I buried our son alone in the pouring rain, and you still chose her every single time! Why is she always more important? Tell me the truth for once in your life!”

For a heartbeat, Peter’s eyes flickered with something real ...concern, guilt, maybe even regret. His grip on me softened, and I saw the man I once loved flicker behind the anger. My heart clenched painfully. Was he finally listening?

But the moment shattered.

Hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway. Cerene appeared, looking pale and delicate in her flowing birthday dress, tears already glistening in her eyes. She rushed straight to Peter and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, pressing her frail body against him as if she might collapse without his support.

“Peter, please… don’t hurt Caroline,” she begged, her voice soft and pitiful, cracking with emotion. “She’s already been through so much. I don’t want any more pain because of me. I’m so sorry, Caro…”

Peter’s expression changed instantly. The brief vulnerability I had glimpsed vanished, replaced by cold fury as he pulled Cerene closer and turned on me.

“See what you’re doing, Caro?” he yelled, his voice rising sharply. “Cerene has done nothing but show kindness to everyone—including you! She’s the one fighting leukemia and asthma every single day, barely holding on, and you’re still making everything about yourself. You’re being selfish and cruel!”

I scoffed, the sound bitter and broken, my entire body shaking with rage and heartbreak. I yanked his hands off me with every ounce of strength I had left, stepping back until my back hit the wall again.

“What’s next, Peter? She sleeps in our bed? I’m not foolish. I’ve seen the way you look at her, the way you kiss her when you think I’m not watching. How much more of my life am I supposed to give up?”

Cerene’s eyes widened dramatically. She scoffed, a sound so unlike her usual fragile act, then immediately burst into loud, theatrical sobs, burying her face against Peter’s chest as her shoulders shook.

“It will only be for a week, Caro,” she cried pitifully, her voice muffled but loud enough for maximum effect. “I didn’t think you would mind… I need a calm, familiar environment to recover from the leukemia. The treatments have left me so weak, and the asthma attacks keep coming back worse. Peter thought it would help me heal. I just… I just need somewhere safe.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. I gritted my teeth so hard my jaw ached, staring at Peter with an intensity that burned through my tears. The pain in my chest felt suffocating, like my heart was being torn apart all over again.

**“When exactly were you planning to tell me, Peter?”** I demanded, my voice low but sharp with disbelief and fury. “That our matrimonial bed—the bed where we conceived our son...would be taken by Cerene? When?”

Peter opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Cerene let out a choked sob and dropped the real bomb, her voice barely a whisper but crystal clear in the heavy silence.

“Because… because I’m carrying Peter’s child. The doctors said the stress could make me lose it. I need to be with him, Caro. I’m sorry.”

The hallway seemed to spin. My knees nearly buckled as the world tilted. Peter looked as shocked as I felt, his face draining of color.

“Cerene… what?” he whispered, stunned. “We have never even.....“

I laughed....a broken, hollow sound that echoed off the walls.

“Of course. Of course this is happening,” I said, my voice cracking as fresh tears spilled down my face. “You didn’t just take my marrow and my baby, Peter. Now you’ve given her one too. Get out of my life. Both of you.”

The distant music from the birthday party continued playing, mocking the wreckage of everything I thought I knew.

“Caro, wait... I don't know what she's talking about.... Cerene, what nonsense are you saying?!“