CHAPTER 1

Marissa POV:

I walked into my husband Alaric’s office in our home. The maid told me he had just come back after days of not seeing him, and I had just found out that I was pregnant with our second child. I was one month gone. I happily swung the results in my hand as I opened the door to his office.

To my surprise, I saw my husband’s first love, Stella, his mother, and his sister there with him. I smiled and greeted them. I didn’t feel threatened by Stella because I thought Alaric had already moved on from her. He was just being nice since she had just come back from abroad.

I felt something was wrong, but I shook it off. As I tried moving closer to Alaric to show him the results, proof of our love, or at least my love for him, got pushed by Prissy, my sister-in-law. I frowned and looked at Alaric for help. I didn’t have the strength for their insults and mistreatment right now. I looked at Alaric again, but I was met with a cold, emotionless face and disgust in his eyes.

“Leave her, Prissy,” Alaric said, his voice cold and void of emotion. I smiled when I heard him defend me. He’s just in one of his moods, I thought to myself. I smiled at him and Stella. I moved closer to hold his hand, but he pushed me back, and I tried touching him again.

“Don’t you dare!” Alaric warned. I heard Prissy and my mother-in-law Clarissa snicker. Alaric might have never loved me the way he loved Stella, but he had never treated or spoken to me the way he just did.

“What is going on? Did I do something wrong?” I asked, shaken by the way he was acting.

“Yes, you did. I knew you were good for nothing, but you had the guts to go around sleeping with other men,” my mother-in-law Clarissa hissed out.

“I don’t understand what is going on. I have never slept with any man except you, Alaric, and I never will,” I defended myself.

“So what is this?” Alaric snickered as he threw a brown envelope at me.

“Slut,” Prissy said.

I frowned. The pictures showed me with different men. I was either hugging them in front of a hotel or kissing them. There was only one picture I could recognize…

“I warned you, Alaric. I knew she would bring nothing but shame to our family name. Imagine if this was found out by the press,” Clarissa screeched.

“No, no, no. Alaric, let me explain. I don’t know any of the men in these pictures except this…” I tried to defend myself, but Prissy cut me off.

“The bitch admits it,” Prissy said.

I reached toward Alaric, but before I could touch him, Prissy dragged me by my hair. I tried moving away from her, but I got slapped by Clarissa. I looked at Alaric for help, begging with my eyes, silently pleading for him to tell them to stop. I couldn’t understand why I was being framed for cheating.

“Sign the divorce papers. I don’t want anything to do with you, whore!” Alaric yelled. I shook my head, begging.

“Alaric, listen, I didn’t cheat on you…” I tried explaining. This was not what I expected. I thought if I was pregnant again, it would make him treat me better. He would look at me with the same loving eyes he looked at Stella with, and he would finally say the three words I had been waiting for.

“Sign those papers before I force you to sign them, and you will not like it when I do,” Alaric warned angrily.

I read the divorce papers. They said I would be leaving my grandmother’s house, and I would be giving up my parental rights to our two-year-old daughter, Nova, if I signed. I frowned. I knew Clarissa had been eyeing my grandmother’s house since the government announced that land in that area had become expensive.

“But the house belongs to Grandma, Alaric. Where would she go? And Nova is just two, my daughter needs me. I can’t sign it,” I sobbed. Alaric moved closer and held my chin as if he wanted to crush it. I whimpered.

“Oh, don’t play victim. How else are you supposed to pay me back for everything I did for you? And I know your grandmother already gave you the house, and Nova will never need a mother who is a whore. Be thankful, because I did a DNA test and it says she is mine. So you will sign the papers. If not, I will be forced to help, and it will not be pretty,” Alaric bellowed.

I moved back from him, but he held me tighter. I searched his eyes for the little warmth that used to be there for me, but they were void of emotion. I wanted to cry. I wanted him to listen to me. I wanted to tell him about our baby.

I took the divorce papers and signed them. I didn’t want him to harm our baby, even if he didn’t know about him or her yet.

✮✮✮

I was thrown outside with my things. Then I noticed my pregnancy results were not with me. I searched frantically for them when I heard Stella’s voice.

“Looking for this?” she asked, holding up the results.

“I can’t believe you got pregnant for someone else,” she snickered, eyeing me with jealousy.

“Give it back. It’s none of your business,” I said sternly and tried to take the results back.

“Oh no, how could I?” Stella said as she tore the results.

I rushed to her, trying to stop her, but I got pushed by her. Fortunately, I didn’t fall down, but the next thing I knew, Stella was on the floor with her knee injured.

Alaric rushed to her, asking what happened, and I heard Stella say,

“I was trying to comfort her, but she pushed me. She didn’t mean to push me, though. She’s just sad.”

“You are too kind, Stella,” Prissy stated.

I looked at them. Alaric was staring at me with so much hatred. He walked closer and held me by my neck, choking me. I tried to fight him off. I couldn’t breathe, and my vision blurred. I was losing my strength.

“Never put your filthy hands on Stella again,” he said, and dropped me on the ground like a rag doll.

After catching my breath, I tried walking away from them, but Prissy pushed me, and I fell on my stomach. I sat up and saw blood running down my legs before I blacked out.