Three Years of Guilt, Built on a Lie

The cheerful laughter inside the house stopped the moment Mavis Keller saw me.

She let out a sharp scream and threw herself into Carter Ricci's arms.

"Eliza, I'm sorry! Please don't come any closer!"

Carter immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her from me. He soothed her in a soft, gentle voice I'd never heard him use before.

But when he turned toward me, his eyes flickered with disapproval. "Mavis is sick. She's only just started getting better, so don't you dare scare her again."

For three years, everyone had blamed me for driving Mavis to her death. They'd forced me to repent at her memorial every day, keeping me trapped in a suffocating cycle of guilt and self-loathing.

There had been times when I'd wanted to end my life just to escape the torment. Yet here she was, alive and well, laughing with my parents and my husband as they celebrated her birthday.

My father, Clement Keller, showed not the slightest trace of remorse.

Instead, he glared at me and shouted, "How dare you show your face here? Mavis has finally managed to pull herself out of the shadows. Are you trying to drive her to her death all over again?"

My mother, Susan Keller, rushed forward.

She grabbed my hands and pleaded bitterly, "Mavis fell into a deep depression three years ago because of what happened. We kept her alive a secret from you because we were afraid you'd lose control and do something reckless again.

"Eliza, please. After everything we've done for you, after adopting you from foster care and giving you a home, please just leave Mavis alone."

Their excuses were so absurd and twisted that I could barely believe what I was hearing.

"So, I've been the only obstacle standing in the way of your happy family reunion all along?" I pointed at myself, my voice trembling. "Then what was the point of everything you've put me through?"

"That's enough," Carter snapped. "Stop making a scene."

"You knew she was alive this whole time!" I shot back. "You helped them stage this entire thing just to deceive me?"

I reached for his hand.

He pulled away as though my touch disgusted him. Then, almost as quickly, his expression softened, and his voice took on a pleading note.

"I was the one who developed feelings for her first. This is all my fault. What I feel for her now is guilt. You're the one I truly love."

He claimed to love me, yet he remained firmly in front of Mavis, protecting her.

His hand moved gently over her back, every gesture betraying a familiarity that made my stomach turn. Overcome with nausea, I yanked my wedding ring off my finger and slammed it onto the floor.

Mavis flinched and shrank behind them, sobbing even harder.

"Eliza, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn't even be alive."

Susan hurried over and grabbed my arms.

"Eliza, we know you've been emotionally unstable since you got pregnant. We understand that you're having a hard time, but you can't keep hurting Mavis!"

Clement approached with a grim expression.

"If you provoke her one more time, don't blame me for throwing you out of this family."

Carter stepped away to retrieve a hotel key card, then came back to toss it at my feet.

"Go stay at a hotel for three days."

I stared at the card on the floor, feeling as though an invisible fist had closed around my heart.

"I'm your wife!" I screamed, my voice hoarse. "This is my home, and I'm carrying your child! Why am I the one who has to leave while the home-wrecker gets to stay?"

"Stop calling her that!" he roared. "If you're angry, take it out on me! Mavis is emotionally fragile and needs someone to look after her. Just go to the hotel, get some rest, and take care of the baby. Stop imagining things."

Susan wrapped Mavis in a protective embrace while Clement continued to glare at me with undisguised hostility. Together, they pushed me toward the front door as though I were an unwelcome stranger.

Once, Carter had promised me that this house would be our home, that our child would take his first steps here, and that I would always be the woman of the house.

"Fine," I said at last. "I'll make room for the three of you."

I bent down, picked up the key card, and closed my fingers around it before walking out into the cold. Behind me, Carter glanced at the wedding ring lying on the floor.

Something flickered across his face, but he quickly dismissed it, convinced I was simply putting on another dramatic display to make him feel guilty.

"Don't be scared," he murmured to Mavis.

His voice was soft and comforting, filled with a tenderness I'd once believed belonged only to me. "Eliza just needs a few days to get over this. She'll be fine."

I rested a hand on my slightly swollen belly as I stepped outside.

At last, I understood the truth. The man who had once loved me more than anything had been gone forever.