Chapter 4

"Yes. She cheated," I said, swallowing down the ache in my chest and telling the truth.

That only enraged Dave further. "Unrepentant to the end! Bring the family whip!"

Several men forced me to the ground and brought it down hard across my back. I sucked in a sharp breath. My skin split open, but I clenched my jaw and didn't make a sound.

No one in that room would have believed me even if I'd told them everything, and even if they had, they still would have sided with Camile. I was completely alone.

Camile heard the commotion and burst out of the room. "Dad, stop hitting him!"

She was crying, and her tears fell right in front of me. They tried to pull her back, but she blurted, "The baby isn't even," before Dave's voice cut across hers.

"Isn't even what?"

He fixed her with a hard stare, and Camile went pale, too frightened to finish the sentence. She was terrified of her father. In a family with standards as strict as theirs, marrying me had already been the boldest act of rebellion she'd ever committed.

Marilyn stepped in to smooth things over. "Dave, why are you snapping at Camile? She's pregnant."

Camile dropped to her knees, begging Dave not to hit me anymore.

Dave warned me, "For Camile's sake, and my grandchild's, I'll let this go today. If there's a next time, I'll make sure you lose everything."

I was already covered in welts, and blood was starting to fill my mouth. Camile knelt in front of me, apologizing over and over, guilt written all over her face.

If just an "affair" earned me a beating like this, I didn't want to imagine what would happen if Dave ever learned the child in Camile's belly wasn't even mine to begin with.

Camile nursed me for a full day and night without leaving my side.

I knew it wasn't love. She was afraid I'd let the truth slip out. This baby really did matter to her, more than I'd realized.

When I finally came around, she noticed right away and hurried to bring me water.

"Sean, you scared me half to death. Please stop provoking my father. He really will beat you to death one of these times. Can't the three of us just try to be a real family from now on?"

I pulled my hand out of her grip.

"What family of three? You already know I want a divorce, so I'm done pretending. Let's just part ways cleanly."

I held out the divorce papers. A second ago, she'd been all soft words, but the moment she saw them, Camile's temper flared, and she tore the papers to shreds.

She started pacing, suspicion written across her face. "Did you actually cheat, like they all say?"

I couldn't help snapping back. "I'm not you. I wouldn't just sleep with…" I started to say, but I never got the chance to finish.

The slap landed a heartbeat later.

Camile hit me, then turned her face away, crying.

I let it go. Pregnancy made people's moods swing hard, and I could understand that much. But I couldn't keep living like this with her.

Her family didn't respect me, she didn't love me, and I had no reason left to keep fighting for this marriage.

I forced myself up, gritting through the pain, ready to leave the McCallum house for good.

Camile grabbed onto me, pleading. "Sean, after everything, all these years we've been married, can't you trust me just this once? This baby really isn't from an affair."

She was making things up now, just to keep me from leaving. If she hadn't cheated, then how exactly had a baby ended up in her belly out of nowhere?

"Camile, I want one honest answer from you right now. Who is this child's father?"

Camile pressed her lips together, on the verge of saying something, then stopped herself.

That was when Dave kicked the door open and stormed in. "Camile! Get out here now!"