Chapter One: Why must you hurt me over and over again?

Bella

Gritting my teeth through the ache, I pushed myself forward, one slow step after another, my knees wobbling beneath me as I forced them not to give out.

And then I saw my husband’s car and well, I couldn’t help it. My face lit up and just like that, all of it got a little lighter. I even quickened my pace despite knowing I shouldn’t.

By the time I reached the car, I was slightly out of breath.

I slipped into the passenger seat and placed my bag on my lap, my fingers immediately finding the document hidden inside.

The pregnancy report.

My grip tightened around it as excitement and nervousness tangled together inside me.

How would he react? Would he finally be happy? Would this change everything between us?

Taking a deep breath, I turned toward him.

“Damien, I—”

Before I could finish, he cut me off.

“You just decided to fall sick right now? At the worst possible time?” he said coldly. “You know nobody else can handle the Vega project.”

My smile disappeared instantly.

“I—“

The words I’m pregnant rose up, pressing hard against my throat begging to be spoken. But they remained stuck there while he kept complaining bitterly.

“Because of you, we’ve lost money and credibility! Do you understand that? This could affect everything going forward.” 

His sentences hit one after another and my smile thinned until nothing was left but a tight strained expression.

Damien wasn’t only my husband but he was also the CEO of the NovaTech industries. It’s been six whole years since we got married, he told me he loved me and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. But our relationship only seemed to deteriorate more and more as the years passed. 

These past few days, the company was in the middle of three overlapping crises and I had been the one holding the threads together. Even as I felt my body sending up flares I kept choosing to ignore it. Because I didn’t want to slow down. I told myself it was fine and that I could handle anything as long as it would make him happy.  

That was why, when I collapsed today, I stupidly thought that he would show some concern. 

But I was clearly wrong because even till now he still hadn’t asked me how I was doing. So I swallowed down every single thing that lined up behind my lips then lowered my voice and said what I knew he was waiting to hear. 

“I’m really sorry, D. It won’t happen again.” 

“It’s fine.” He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck like the conversation had tired him out. “Just come back to work.”

On paper, I was only a project manager. But in reality, I was actually the one holding everything together behind the scenes, the invisible backbone of the company. 

But he never really seemed to appreciate any of the sacrifices I made for the company, in fact no one there knew that I was his wife. He said it’s best that no one knew our true relationship and I just went along with what he wanted. 

As usual. 

I wanted to say something else. But his phone rang and he answered before the second ring. 

My gaze slowly drifted away from him and landed on a gift box on the back seat. 

Small, transparent and tied with a thin ribbon. I recognized the packaging immediately. It was from the jewelry brand I’d loved for years, the one I’d mentioned once offhandedly and he’d apparently remembered.

The tight knot in my chest lightened a little.

He must have gotten it for our upcoming anniversary, I must have misunderstood him. He was probably just bad at showing concern, but deep down he actually did care about me. 

At that moment, he just finished the call and held my hands gently. 

“That was Marcus. The Vega client is threatening to pull out entirely.” He let out a breath through his nose and continued. “This is what I was talking about. I’m not trying to be hard on you. I just need you to understand that when you go down, everything goes down with you.” 

A faint sense of guilt crept in and I let out a small breath. “I won’t let this happen again. I promise.”  

He squeezed my hand once before letting go and somehow, that was enough for me. 

>>>>>>>>> 

When we got home, Mandy, my mother-in-law, was there.

She had never bothered to hide her dislike for me. Every conversation somehow ended with an insult and every glance carried judgment. Sometimes, I genuinely wondered what I had done to make her hate me so much.

She sat in the living room, her eyes sweeping over me from head to toe.

A look of disgust crossed her face.

“You really know how to make a fuss over nothing,” she scoffed. “You can’t give me a grandson and you can’t even handle your responsibilities at work. How useless.” 

I let out a short laugh. “Well, that’s a relief.”

Mandy frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

I didn’t look down like I used to. I met her gaze and replied as softly as I could.

“For a second there, I thought you were about to say something new. But don’t worry. I’ll write today’s insults down. Maybe tomorrow we’ll finally have a different topic.” 

Her expression darkened immediately.

“You—”

My gaze shifted to Damien instinctively. His eyes met mine for a brief second before he looked away.

A bitter feeling settled in my chest. What was I expecting? He never backed me up in front of his mother. 

Mandy slammed her hand against the armrest.

“How dare—” She stopped herself, jaw tight, visibly reeling herself back in. “Anyway. I won’t let you ruin my mood today. My daughter is coming home. Go to the kitchen and prepare something sweet for her.” 

There were maids in the house assigned to do exactly that. But my mother-in-law would never pass up a chance to make me work.

So instead of pointing that out, I said softly, “I would have done it myself, but the doctor told me to rest. I’ll have someone else prepare it.”

It was the best thing I could come up with besides it was genuinely true. I turned toward the stairs before she could find something wrong with it.

“How dare you!” Mandy’s voice rose sharp and furious behind me. “Did I say you could leave?”

“Mum, please.” Damien’s voice was low and restrained. “Let it go.”

“Let it go?” Her voice only climbed higher. “You’re defending this barren woman?”

I didn’t stay long enough to hear the rest.

Their voices followed me upstairs, growing fainter with every step. By the time I reached my room, my hand slipped slightly against the doorknob.

The exhaustion I’d been holding back all day suddenly felt ten times heavier. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The moment I reached the bed, my knees gave out. I sank onto the mattress and stared blankly at the ceiling until exhaustion dragged me under.

I was awakened by the sound of loud laughter.

My brows pulled together as my eyes fluttered open. The room spun slightly as I pushed myself upright, a slow breath leaving me.

Was there a guest in the house? Oh. I remembered my mother in law’s words about her daughter's return. 

I swung my legs over the bed, paused for a second before standing and kept one hand on the wall for support as I made my way out and down the stairs, the voices growing clearer with each step.

When I stepped into the parlor, my gaze barely settled on the unknown stranger.

Instead they landed locked on the silver bracelet resting against her wrist.

My chest tightened so suddenly it hurt. Because it was the same one that had been in Damien’s car. 

The one I thought he bought for me.