Prologue

Prologue

I stood in front of our bedroom door, pacing back and forth, while my husband, Darius, was busy packing his things inside. My eyes were wet with tears, my heart breaking with pain.

"Martha... I'm on my way."

Hearing that, I rushed inside. I found him just finishing packing, so I stopped. My heart felt like it was going to explode with pain as I thought about him leaving me for Martha... his mistress.

When he was finally done, he turned to the door where I was. He paused for a moment when our eyes met, but he seemed indifferent to my tears and walked past me.

Each step Darius took towards the door felt like a stab to my heart. I closed my eyes, trying to hold back the sobs that wanted to escape my lips.

"Where are you going?"

He stopped walking. He didn't answer, so I ran to him and tried to get his attention.

"What? I'm talking to you!"

He sighed deeply. "You wouldn't want to know."

I bit my lip tightly. My lips were trying to hold back tears, but my heart was screaming with pain that I couldn't control.

"Let's talk, please."

"I need to leave, Tessa."

"It's not my fault. She's lying!" I took his hand. I was about to kneel just to make him listen to me.

Darius closed his eyes as if he was holding back his own anger. I knew Martha had poisoned his mind, but I didn't want to give up. I wanted to make him understand that I was innocent. That everything was just Martha's fabrication!

"Let me go, Tessa."

"Tell me where you're going first!"

"To my mistress!" He opened his eyes and met mine directly. "To the woman I love! To the woman who should be with me now, but because of you, we were separated!"

I slowly let go of his hand. The pain I felt couldn't be described in words. It felt like the dreams I had built in my heart for us were shattered. No sweet words or beautiful things could ease this pain.

"Don't leave me!" I shouted as he tried to leave the room. He didn't listen, so I quickly followed him.

"She needs me, Tessa."

"I'm pregnant!"

He suddenly stopped. "And if it wasn't for that child, I wouldn't stay here!"

I felt my knees trembling at his words. "Darius... did you ever love me? Even a little... just a tiny bit?"

He swallowed several times as if something was stuck in his throat. "Let me go, Tessa. This is the least thing we can do for her."

My fists clenched at his words. I wiped away my tears and moved closer to him. "No! I'm your wife, I have the right to you! Only me!"

At my words, his eyes hardened. "Tessa, let go."

"I don't want to!"

"Martha is in the hospital right now because of you! If you have any conscience left, let me go!"

He pushed me, something I didn't expect, so even though his push wasn't strong, I lost my balance and fell to the floor.

"She needs me."

I held my stomach as Darius turned his back on me. There was a sharp pain there that I couldn't bear. "D-Darius, my stomach hurts."

He stopped at the doorway but didn't even look back at me.

"Our baby, Darius!"

"You're using that child again to get what you want!" he said, his voice low but firm.

I shook my head, my eyes closed. "I-it really hurts! Ahh!"

My hand rose in the air, trying to reach Darius. Even though it was impossible for my hand to reach him... just like our situation now, I'm his wife, I'm the one he's married to, but I'm not the one he loves. And he can't choose me.

"Martga needs me, Tessa. She needs me more."

My vision started to blur. I gathered the remaining strength in my body, gasping for breath, and shouted, "Don't leave, Darius!"

I suddenly stopped when I saw a little blood flowing on the floor. When I followed where it came from, I saw that it was coming from me.

"B-baby... Darius... o-our baby..."

I lost consciousness.