Chapter 4

“Apologized to Isabella this very second, or I'll have the guards throw you on your knees and hold you there until you apologize!” William's voice bounced off the walls of the event halls.

Some of the attendees present, took several steps back, startled by his sudden outburst. But Lily, she was frozen where she stood, staring at her husband in disbelief.

Was he asking her to apologize for something she did not do? In front of all these people?

And Isabella, her gaze drifted in the direction of said girl, who was currently nestled in William's arms, feigning weakness. Wasn't she going to say anything?

Parting her lips, she called, “Isabella–” but the name immediately died on the tip of her tongue as in that moment, Lily saw it—clear as day.

The subtle curve in Isabella’s lips. The smirk she was trying to fight as she nestled her face into William’s chest.

She wasn't hurt. She wasn't crying…she was enjoying this.

Something in Lily turned cold the moment she saw this. Like a bucket of ice water being poured over a once vibrant fire, the light in her eyes dimmed—not in a storm of anger, but in the still silence of heartbreak.

“What are you waiting for?” William”s voice boomed, sounding even more angrier now. “Apologize!”

Lily was silent for a heartbeat. Then slowly, she shook her head. “I won't.”

William brows furrowed. “What?”

“I said,” She straightened her spine, looked him right in the eyes and said, voice trembling but firm, "I’m not going to apologize. I have nothing to apologize for.”

The deficiency in her tone caused William's nostrils to flare. “You don't want to apologize willingly, fine then, have it your way!”

With a nod toward the waiting security, he instructed. “Do it.”

Before Lily could process what he had just said, rough hands gripped her arms. One guard pushed on her shoulder and the other guided her down. Under the pressure, her knee quickly buckled and hit the floor with a painful thud.

She winced in pain, but the sound was quickly swallowed by growing whispers, the sound of camera shuttering and the faint buzz of a phone recording nearby.

Lily didn’t look up. No, she couldn't bring herself to look up. With her head hung and teeth gritted, humiliation boiled inside her like acid.

How did it come to this?

Her fingers clenched the hem of her dress. She had once believed this man was her home, her safety. But here he was, parading her degradation in front of strangers.

"Lily," William's voice was sharp when he spoke again. "Stop being insecure and childish. Just apologize and stop twisting things into drama.”

She flinched. Insecure? Childish?

That was what he saw her as?

Not as the wife he was hurting, but as someone who couldn’t hold herself with grace—who wasn’t worthy of defending?

The whispers in the crowd were getting louder, every word was like a jab to her heart.

“How pathetic,” Someone spat. “Women like her have no self worth, insecure and jealous!”

“Ha, this is so sad,” Another person from the crowd said. “If I were her, I'd wish I was dead.”

All sorts of whispers similar to that began floating around the room. Suddenly, Isabella stepped forward. Her voice was gentle, sweet, soaked in false sympathy as she spoke.

"William, please don’t be so hard on Lily. I’m sure she didn’t mean it. Maybe… maybe it’s my fault. I do have a fragile body… I shouldn’t have held her like that. I was so happy to see her that I might have startled her."

Lily didn’t move, she watched her through hooded lashes as she spoke.

The audacity. The act. The performance. If not for the guards holding her down, she would have gotten up and smacked that innocent mask off the face of that scheming liar.

But she didn’t. Apart from the fact that she was being held down, she was too tired and at this point, she just wanted to go home.

Like a puppet under Isabella’s control, William spoke. “You should be more like Isabella. She has a kind heart, unlike you. Get up and go fix your appearance,” he snapped. “You’re embarrassing yourself.”

Pain bloomed in her chest, but without a word, Lily slowly rose to her feet, limbs trembling. She didn’t look at him or anyone else.

With her head bowed and what's left of her pride shattered, she turned around and walked away from the main hall, her legs heavy. She made her way to the restroom, where she locked herself inside a stall and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

It…she looked lifeless. Just a shell.

Her breathing came out labored as she tried to compose herself, wiping at her face and swallowing down the sob threatening to rise.

Just breathe, she thought, trying one last time to compose herself. For her baby.

With that, she quickly fixed up her face and stepped back into the hallway to return to the party, however, she took a detour to avoid the crowd. The corridor was dim, quiet—until soft laughter echoed through it.

Lily froze the moment she heard it, because even without looking, she knew who it belonged to.

Another one reached her ears shortly after and before Lily knew it, she was moving towards the sound.

The moment her eyes found the source of the noise, her last ounce of hope was murdered.

There tucked in the far end of the hallway. We're the two people who had shamelessly betrayed her, sucking on each other's faces like they were the only ones who existed.

"I don’t know how much longer I can stand pretending," She heard William murmur against Isabella’s lips. “Lily’s so undesirable. She can’t hold a candle to you. I swear, if I didn’t owe it to Grandma, I’d have never looked her way.”

Those words, like a spear, pierced Lily’s chest and the last piece of her hope shattered, scattering into a thousand sharp fragments inside her chest and for a moment, the reality of her situation did not register with her.

A moment where she just stared at the scene in front of her, with one thought in mind.

So this is how it is.

Slowly, much like how she had done when she discovered their betrayal, she took a step back and without either of them noticing her, she left, not just there, but the party in general.

~•~•~•~

After leaving the party. Lily had returned home. In the cold silence of her room, she sat with her hands gently cradling her belly, as if to shield the tiny life growing within her from the storm of her heart.

“I’m sorry my love,” she whispered. “Mommy tried, but mommy won't be able to provide you with a warm family. I hope you can understand when you grow older.”

A tear slid down her cheek.

But that was the last time she was going to cry for William. He had hurt her enough, now, it was time to put an end to that.

Wiping her cheek, she reached for her phone with shaking fingers and scrolled through her contacts until she found the name that had once been her family’s rock—Mr. Linford, their family’s trusted legal advisor and her father’s closest friend.

The call connected less than a minute after she initiated.

“Lily?” the man’s warm, surprised voice came through the line.

Hearing his voice after so long warmed Lily’s heart, but now wasn't the time to be soft. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she spoke. “Mr. Linford, I need your help.”

“My help? What is it, dear?”

A pause. A second went by, the second in which Lily convinced herself this was what she wanted.

If not for her crushed dignity, then for the sake of her child. They couldn't grow up with William as a father…in such a toxic environment.

So, with a new resolve and voice stronger than she expected, Lily said. “I need you to prepare divorce documents for me, Mr. Linford.”