Reborn On My Anniversary Night: This Time I Choose Divorce

I opened my eyes, but the world didn't make sense. The ceiling was a sterile, blinding white, and the air smelled of bleach and old blood. My body didn't feel like mine anymore; it felt like a heavy, broken thing pinned to the mattress.

Then I saw him.

Adrian was standing at the foot of my bed. For two years, I had called him my husband. For two years, I had defied my parents, walked away from my inheritance, and stripped myself of the name Harriet Walter, the youngest CEO of the Walter empire, just to be his Olivia. I had given up everything for this man.

Standing right beside him was Victoria. She was the woman he had introduced as his cousin the day she moved into our home. Her hand was wrapped firmly around his bicep, her fingers tracing the fabric of his sleeve with a familiarity that made my stomach turn.

"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant with our child?" Adrian asked.

His voice wasn't soft. There was no grief in his eyes. He sounded like a creditor demanding payment.

I tried to swallow, but my tongue felt thick and useless. "Wha... what do you mean?" I managed to whisper. The words felt like they were tearing my throat.

Adrian stepped closer, his shadow falling over me. He looked down at me with a coldness I had never seen before; not even during the nights he had turned his anger on me. He reached out, not to comfort me, but to bunch the collar of my hospital gown in his hand. He pulled it tight, nearly choking me.

"I'm asking you a question!" he hissed. He glanced toward the door, then lowered his voice to a dangerous growl. "Why the fuck did you keep it from me? You almost made me lose every single thing I've worked for."

"Babe, you have to stay calm," Victoria said. She didn't move her hand from his arm. She actually leaned her head against his shoulder. "You've worked too hard to let your temper ruin things now. Besides, isn't it actually better this way? Now that the child is gone, we can start our own family properly. Once she's out of the way, of course."

Babe.

The word echoed in the quiet room. My mind raced back through the last two years. Every meal I had cooked for Victoria while she sat on my sofa. Every time Adrian had beaten me because Victoria complained the house was too cold or the food was too salty. I was a servant to my husband's mistress, and I had done it all because I thought I was being a good wife to a man who loved me.

"If she dies before the paperwork is right, I get nothing," Adrian muttered, letting go of my gown with a shove. "The foolish woman was so desperate to marry me that we never even went to the registry. She thought a proposal was enough because I 'treated her well' in bed."

They didn't even look at me as they spoke. They discussed my life and my death as if I were a business deal that had gone sour.

I lay there, paralyzed or should I say partly because I could utter words slowly but right at that moment nothing came out of my throat. I thought about the tiny velvet box hidden in my dresser at home. Inside was a positive pregnancy test and a pair of knitted socks. I was so excited when I found out I was pregnant. I thought a baby would finally make Adrian happy. I thought it would stop the beatings. Instead, those beatings were exactly what had killed the life inside me. He had used a baseball bat on me just because Victoria accused me of hurting her with the broken cup , hitting me until the world turned red, and then he looked the doctor in the eye and said I fell down the stairs.

"Why did you even bother with her for this long?" Victoria asked, her voice light and curious. "Was it just because you couldn't get over our breakup, or was there something else?"

Adrian laughed, a dry, hollow sound. "I needed the Walter money, Victoria. She was Harriet Walter. The youngest and richest CEO in the country. Before she became this pathetic 'Olivia,' she had brands, real estate, everything. I married her to fund my company. But the bitch was so 'in love' that she let her family disown her for me. She gave me her life savings, which was enough to get started, so I kept her around. Then I found you again. I thought you were dead, but since you're back, she's just a burden."

He leaned down and kissed Victoria. It wasn't a quick kiss. It was deep and slow, right there at the edge of my hospital bed. I couldn't believe they were making out right in my hospital room as I battled for my life after loosing our baby, I forced my eyes shut, but I couldn't shut out the sound of their breathing. My bruises stung. My heart felt like it was physically breaking. Tears streamed down my eyes and just right then,

The door handle turned, and the two of them snapped apart. The doctor walked in, holding a chart.

"We have good news, Mr. Miller,"I was really surprised because that wasn't his name, I wondered who the doctor was talking to and the doctor said something looking at Adrian. "She's stabilized. Her vitals are much better. In about four days, she should be ready to go home."

Adrian's face transformed. He put on the mask of a devoted, worried husband so quickly it made me dizzy. "Oh, thank God. Thank you, doctor. But... she isn't moving. Why can't she move her hands or body?"

"That's a common side effect of the trauma from the fall," the doctor explained. "The impact caused some temporary nerve issues. She won't be able to walk or move much for a while, but we'll monitor her."

"Please, doctor, do everything you can," Adrian pleaded, his voice cracking with fake emotion.

The doctor nodded and left. The moment the door clicked shut, the grief vanished from Adrian's face. He turned and punched the hospital wall with a muffled thud.

"Why won't the bitch just die?" he snarled.