2. Divorce

~Alexa

I tried to hold myself together, resisting the urge to collapse from the emotional trauma I had just experienced. Clutching my belly tightly, I leaned against the wall.

“Ju... Jus... Justin,” I murmured, breathing heavily.

They noticed my presence. Justin jumped off Gia’s body, quickly pulling on his underwear and tightening his belt, while Gia stood there, smiling like she’d won the lottery.

“What are you doing here, Alexa? Why didn’t you knock before coming in?” Justin asked coldly, his voice sharp and manipulative. I almost flinched, like I used to. But I held myself firm, promising this time to stand up for my right.

“Is that all you’ve got to say, Justin?” I said, my voice low and threatening. “I just caught you cheating on me with this woman here. Instead of showing remorse, you’re asking me that?”

Justin grabbed my hand, slamming me against the wall.

“There is nothing to be remorseful about, Alexa!” he howled. “Our marriage was only for my benefit. You don’t have the right to question my movements. I have the right to do anything with anyone I want. You can’t stop me!”

He sneered. “I don’t love you, Alexa. Gia is the one I’ve always loved even before I married you. So, please, get out!”

His words left me speechless.

It all made sense now– the late nights, the long night phone calls and why Justin never returned home during weekends. He had a mistress. He had been cheating on me with her…

With Gia Sullivan, the rumored heiress of the Sullivan Empire– the richest family in Sarto.

From what I’d heard, Gia dated Justin before his grandfather fell sick. When Justin proposed, she said she wasn’t ready for marriage. And now, she’s back—sharing my husband with me.

I turned my face from Gia to Justin, my voice shaking but firm. “I came here to tell you that I’m pregnant, Justin. I’m carrying your child. I can forgive you for cheating on me… but can we move on and start over? Like one big family?”

I hoped my words would reach him. But he shouted over me instantly.

“You may leave, Alexa. I don’t care about that baby in your womb. How am I even sure that the child is mine?” His voice dripped with contempt. “Gia is the only person I want to have babies with. Not you!”

He grabbed me roughly, dragging me toward the exit door. I stayed silent. I had learned to keep my mouth shut whenever he’s talking, I don’t talk back. Otherwise, I get a beating I don’t like.

At the ward’s exit, Justin pushed me harshly and I landed on the floor.

“Go home, Alexa. Don’t make me throw you out of this marriage. You’re only good for the kitchen…” He paused with his hand on the door, then looked back at me, his eyes narrowed and fists clenched.

“Do something about that baby. I don’t want a child with you. Terminate it before I get home.”

Justin slammed the door behind him and I burst into tears.

This… this was the last thing I expected from him. I thought I could make him love me. I thought he’d at least consider our baby and leave Gia. But he chose her over me and even asked me to get the baby terminated.

I think the best thing to do at the moment is CRY but crying wasn’t helping. I’d been doing it for hours now, and nothing had changed.

As I wept in the back corridor of the hospital, someone handed me tissue papers. I looked up only to see Gia.

She stared down at me with a fake, sympathetic face, her eyes almost misty.

“You don’t have to cry, Alexa,” she said gently. “Use this to wipe your tears.”

I slapped the tissues from her hand.

“Don’t pull that pretentious attitude with me, Gia. You came to destroy my home, didn’t you?”

“Justin loves me, Alexa. We’ve been in a relationship for eight years. Who do you think you are to steal his heart from me? You’re just a poor country girl. Did you really think Justin would fall for someone like you?” Her tone suddenly turned cruel, her fake kindness vanishing.

As Gia glared at me, I stood from where I’d been sitting and wiped my tears.

“I know Justin loves me. He married me because I was the right person for him. That alone proves we’re meant to be together.”

Gia burst into laughter, covering her mouth stylishly, then shot me a devilish look.

“You think Justin married you out of love?” she said, abruptly stopping the laughter. “The answer is NO. I told Justin to marry you. If not for me, he never would have. Once I tell him to divorce you, he will do it instantly without even asking why”

“And what if I tell him that you’re not pregnant?” I cut in, wiping the smirk off her face.

She froze, shocked that I knew. It shocked her that I found out about her fake pregnancy. That is because I can easily tell when one is pregnant. I grew up in the street, I know traditional tactics way too well.

As we glared at each other, Glared examined the corridor to make sure no one was nearby, then stepped closer.

“How did you know that? My Pregnancy. How did you find out I wasn't pregnant?” she whispered, her voice sharp.

I smiled. “You don’t need to know, Gia. Just stay away from my husband and I’ll keep this secret between us.”

I turned to walk away, but she grabbed my arm tightly.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she hissed. “Do you think I’ll let you walk away with my secret? NEVER!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, trying to yank my arm free.

She held tighter. “You brought this on yourself, Alexa. Now, I’ll make you regret marrying Justin.”

Without warning, she pulled out a sharp knife from her bag and stepped back.

She aimed the knife at her own abdomen.

“What are you doing, Gia?” I cried, rushing toward her. But she smiled wickedly.

“After today, Justin will hate you forever.”

She pushed me hard, sending me crashing into a nearby shelf which made my belly slam painfully on its edge.

I lay there in weakness, staring up at the ceiling. Gia stepped toward me.

“If I can’t have a baby for Justin, I won’t let you have one either.”

She raised the knife and stabbed herself immediately, dropping the bloodied knife on my body.

“JUSTIN! JUSTIN!” Gia screamed, her voice growing faint as she collapsed slowly beside me. I stood up instantly, trying to help her, only to hear a thick masculine voice behind me.

“You killed her! You killed my unborn baby!”

I turned and saw Justin standing there. Without wasting time, I looked at my hand and saw that I was holding a knife with my right hand and holding Gia with my other hand.

The whole scenario looks like I killed Gia.