3

Kiara

“Where am I supposed to go if you throw me out of the house?” I asked, my throat burning with rage.

Jake wasn’t satisfied with just divorcing me. He also wanted to kick me out of our home.

“This house is mine too.”

“I paid for it. You can go to the one we bought a few streets from here,” he said, sitting at his desk and sorting through papers.

He acted as if nothing bad had happened.

“I’d appreciate it if you hurried up and left. Someone will be here soon, and I don’t want them to see you.”

My mouth fell open in outrage.

“Someone? A woman?”

“That’s none of your business.”

My heart shattered. I instinctively placed a hand over my stomach, terrified and heartbroken over the family Jake had just destroyed.

“It’s true! You invited a woman to our house!”

“This isn’t your house. Not anymore. Since you signed the papers, this house is mine, and I can do whatever I want with it.”

I crossed my arms.

“And who is she? Did you invite Irina over?” I spat, dripping with irony.

But Jake’s silence confirmed my suspicion. A silence so cruel it tore me apart.

“Is it true? Is she coming here? You’re dating my sister!” I screamed.

Jake slammed his hands on the desk and stood abruptly. He glared at me, pointing a finger in my face.

“You cheated on me and slept with my brother while I was away. You’re no saint, Kiara. You’re a manipulative woman who’s done nothing but waste my time.”

My chin trembled. I bit my lower lip to stop it, but the tears in my eyes blurred my vision of him.

There was no point in arguing anymore. Jake wasn’t listening. His mind was poisoned by Irina. I gathered what little dignity I had left and walked out of the office, leaving him behind. Jake wouldn’t get another word from me.

Exhausted, I climbed the stairs and entered our bedroom. My former bedroom… The room no longer belonged to me.

There were so many memories there. So much love soaked into the photos on the walls and the sheets on our bed…

Everything had changed too fast.

I grabbed a suitcase and stuffed it with as many clothes as I could, then zipped it up. I took a bag and shoved my important documents inside before rushing out of the room. The walls were suffocating me, filled with memories I couldn’t bear. There were so many of us in that place, and he had thrown all we had built into the trash.

I went down the stairs.

Jake was still locked in his office. I walked out of the house, devastated.

My driver took me to my home. It was hard to even call it that… But halfway through the drive, I changed my mind. I needed to face someone: Irina.

I got out of the car, determined, and knocked on her door.

Irina opened almost immediately, smiling.

“Sister! I’m so glad to see you. What brings you here?” She asked, walking inside.

“Irina,” I said her name from behind.

She turned to look at me. I slapped her. My voice rose, trembling with fury.

“HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS!?”

She held her cheek.

“I always knew I couldn’t fully trust you, but I never thought you’d tell Jake something like that. You want to be Luna! You want to steal my place!”

Irina glanced behind me for a second, then looked back into my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Kiara, but I couldn’t let you keep lying to Jake. He doesn’t deserve a woman who’s unfaithful to Thomas. You hid that secret for too long, and he had a right to know.”

“Yes, I did have a right to know,” a familiar voice said behind me.

Jake.

He walked around me and stood beside Irina, taking her hand right in front of me. As if that humiliation wasn’t enough, he kissed her. Right there, without a hint of guilt.

I swallowed the pain, but it was like swallowing glass. It tore me apart inside.

“Don’t you see, Jake? Irina’s lying to you. She made up this whole story to have you.”

“Irina isn’t like you. She’s a good woman, and I’m going to marry her. Marrying you was marrying the wrong woman, Kiara.”

“One day, you’ll wake up next to her and realize what kind of woman you’re sleeping with. And I won’t be here for you to apologize to. Remember: our relationship was ruined because of you, Jake,” I pointed a finger at him.

I ran out of the house. My phone rang, an unknown number.

“Hello?”

“Kiara, it’s Thomas. Jake called me this morning, furious. He said he has pictures of us kissing.”

“My sister made all of this up to steal Jake from me, and she’s done it. She’s actually done it,” she’s separated us.

“I know where you’re staying. I’m waiting for you.”

When I stepped out of the car, Thomas was standing by the door. I dragged my suitcase and bags across the ground. He tried to help, but I told him not to. I tripped on a step, and my bag fell open. The paper with my test results slipped out.

Here, Thomas said, picking it up. But his eyes lingered on it for a moment before meeting mine. “Are you pregnant?”

I snatched the paper from his hand.

I didn’t want anyone to know. No one had the right to know. My babies were mine. Jake didn’t need to know, not ever. Not even Thomas. After Jake’s rejection of me as Luna, I’d take the divorce money and leave the city.

“No,” I denied quickly.

“You’re pregnant with my brother’s child,” he stated.

“Shhh,” I hushed him.

“He threw you out knowing you’re pregnant?”

“No, he doesn’t know. Jake’s with my sister now, and they mentioned something about a wedding. I don’t want Jake to find out.”

“Kiara, this is serious.”

“Promise me you won’t tell him. I’ll be leaving the city soon, and he’ll never know.”

“What you’re doing isn’t right, Kiara. My brother deserves to know.”

“Are you going to keep the secret or not?”