When Our Daughter Died, My Husband Cheated

Melissa’s POVThis is the first time me and my daughter Allie got to spend time with my husband Andrew after three whole months.And yet we’re holed up in a car, on our way to attend the fifth birthday of his first love and their daughter.As though that’s not enough, Andrew and I are also locked down in a fight.“I don’t want to go to Eleanor’s house,” I say quietly. “I told you this many times. You can go and celebrate Lottie’s birthday without Allie and me. We don’t need to be there. You’ve been staying with them for the past three months anyway. So what’s the big deal?”“The big deal is that Lottie and Allie are sisters, and they need to get along.” Andrew glances at me from the driver’s seat. “Is it not possible for you to play the victim for one second and just consider that?”I want to remind him that Allie’s birthday is also coming up in a few days, and yet he has made no effort to arrange a birthday party for her or even try to ignite this so-called sisterhood with Lottie. But

Melissa’s POV“I don’t remember asking you to go here,” I say in a low voice. “Go home and keep celebrating your birthday. Go back to your room, Allie.”Hearing the graveness in my tone, Allie breaks away from Andrew and heads back to her room. Her steps are slow, and I can tell that she’s clearly in pain. I’m shaking just thinking of what Andrew did to make her lie and deny all of this. I turn to face him, but instead of looking ashamed, he just looks annoyed with me.“Eleanor and Lottie took time to go here even though Allie is lying about feeling bad,” Andrew says.“Lying?” I echo, pointing at the door. “Get in there and look!”Eleanor comes over to me and pats my shoulder. “Hey, Melissa. It’s alright, I promise you. Allie doesn’t need to do this. Lottie and I can just leave. It’s just that we’re happy Andrew is back in our lives, and I just want my daughter to know her father. I’m sure you would want the same for Allie, right? Allie is always welcome at my home. She can come back t

Melissa’s POVMy words hang between us like a verdict. Andrew stares at me for a couple of seconds, the coldness in his gaze turning into sarcastic amusement.Andrew laughs coldly, the smile on his face not reaching his eyes. He takes a step closer to me.“Are you really willing to divorce me? Is this a new trick? Do you really think it’s working?”I’ve known him long enough to recognize the challenge in his tone. He doesn’t believe me, and I can admit that I haven’t given him nearly enough reason to believe that I can leave him. I’ve always begged and negotiated, overcompensated for the fact that he doesn’t care.But not anymore.I want to stop dignifying everything he says, because I’m just so… exhausted. There’s always drama. I just turn around and leave. I head to our house, the place I’ve been dreading since the news.The house is cold, empty. The sunlight is bright outside and the garden is in full bloom, but I don’t feel the heat. I don’t see color. Allie seems to have taken e

Melissa’s POV The door creaks open and I get treated to a painful view of Allie's smiling face on the photo, right next to her urn. I wonder darkly what Andrew is going to say. How he's going to accept the fact that his daughter is nothing but ashes. The daughter that he forced to wait for so long. "I swear to God, Melissa," he growls as he's about to take a peek. "If you're lying to me...." I shake my head. "Just look." But before he can open the door, his phone rings inside his pocket. I don’t have to look at it to know who it is. Eleanor. To no one’s surprise, Andrew withdraws his hand from the door and looks at his phone. My suspicions are confirmed when his face lights up. Shamelessly, he says, “I need to answer this. Please don’t make a scene.” I say nothing. I just watch as he takes the call in front of me, even having the gall to put it on loudspeaker. “Hello? Eleanor?” “Hey,” comes Eleanor’s sweet voice. “I was just wondering if you already picked up Allie? When are yo

Melissa’s POVMy mind has turned against me, and it’s the worst thing I have ever experienced.I’m trapped in my own worst experiences. I’m in the darkness, surrounded by nothing but voices. Disjointed, disembodied, yelling at me from different directions like I’m in a snake pit. “The donor pulled out at the last minute,” comes the regretful voice of the doctor. “I’m sorry, but Allie is gone.”Eleanor’s voice appears next, with words that she never said out loud but she might as well could have. “You don’t deserve to be with Andrew, much less have a child with him. Lottie is Andrew’s real daughter.”“Allie is already dead,” Lottie also says, her tone taunting and smug. “Now Daddy can focus on me, just like how he always wanted to.”“Stop,” I tell all of them, trying to shield my ears, but it’s no use. I can still hear them. Laughing and mocking me.Mocking Allie’s death.My heart hurts. The only one I want to see is Allie. I crawl in the darkness of my dreams, feeling for her, until