Chapter 3-Accepting Reality

Caroline's POV:

I had never once faced the fear of death until now. It wasn’t until I lost my baby that I realized I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want it to end like this. Now, in my darkest moment, the only person I wanted to rely on was my husband.

My life has been a happy one for the most part. My childhood was wonderful, I made so many great and supportive friends, and I even met the man of my dreams. All that I wanted was to start a family, and now that it’s been ripped from my hands, I realize that I still have so much left to live for. 

William and I had been so happy together. At least, that’s what I thought at first. Was that all a lie? Had Sophia torn us apart, or had I done something wrong to cause our marriage to crumble?

Either way, I couldn’t bear to face William after what he had done to me. He’d completely and utterly betrayed me and abandoned our baby. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to love and trust someone again like I had with William. I felt as though he had truly destroyed something inside me.

After being cleared by the doctors, I called up my best friend, Cindy, to pick me up. Cindy came as soon as she could, and as soon as she saw me, she knew something terrible had happened. If only she knew.

I climbed into the passenger seat, where Cindy quickly grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze of comfort. I glanced up at her, my face drained of any happiness. She looked at me with such care in those striking blue eyes. “Caroline,” she whispered, “what happened?”

That was when I broke down in tears, my body shaking and shuddering in despair as I began to explain everything that had happened. Cindy held my hand the entire time as she drove me to her house. As much as the villa was my home, it belonged to William, and I couldn’t go back when I already knew that he would be bringing his mistress there. 

“That’s awful,” Cindy whispered, shaking her head in disgust of William. We stopped at her modest home, where she helped me out and held my hand as we entered. “Come on, let’s get you something to cheer you up.”

I wrapped my arms around myself as I wandered over to her couch. “I don’t think I can,” I confessed, messily wiping tears from my eyes. “How am I supposed to cheer myself up after receiving the worst two pieces of news in my entire life? I might as well lie here until the cancer takes me.” 

Cindy frowned deeply. “Well, you need something. Your dad would hate to see you like this, you know.”

At the mention of my father, I flinched. “He had enough to deal with already,” I replied, letting out a deep sigh. “He and his company are facing bankruptcy, and the last thing he needs is my own problems on top of his.”

The news of my father surprised Cindy, who hadn’t known about my father’s strife. “Your dad seems to be in the thick of it,” she murmured, bringing me a cup of tea to alleviate some of my stress. I thanked her and took a sip, allowing my hands to soak in the warmth through the mug. 

“If your dad is going through all that, William should be there to help you,” Cindy reasoned, coming to sit beside me. “He’s a CEO for crying out loud. He has more than enough to save your dad from bankruptcy.”

I grimaced, just staring into my tea. “He hates my dad. I don’t know why, but they never got along.”

The redhead huffed. “Even still, you should collect on your fair share of the prosperity. Your dad needs it.” She grabbed my hand again, offering me a small smile. “You need it, Caroline.”

Although I tried to smile back, from the look on Cindy’s face, it clearly fell flat. “I’ll talk to him about it.”

That was the end of the conversation. It wasn’t until later that night that I would give William a tentative call. I shifted my weight anxiously from side to side until William eventually answered.

“Caroline. What is it?” he asked. He sounded tired, and I wondered if it was because of the news of our dead son.

“William,” I greeted. “How are you?”

“I’m managing… What do you want, Caroline?”

I swallowed my anxiety. “William… are we… are we going to—” 

“Divorce?” he finished for me. There was a moment of pause before he sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, we are.”

Tears sprung to my eyes. “Are you sure?”

Just as I asked, I heard it: the sound of a baby crying. My eyes widened as I heard William pull away from the phone to comfort the crying child. In the background, I could hear Sophia’s voice, warm and happy.

Any glimmer of hope I had of saving my marriage had completely disappeared in an instant. I choked on my tears, having to cover my mouth so I didn’t sob. William, the man I had fallen so madly in love with, was gone, starting a family with another woman while completely forgetting the one we had been planning for so long.

Soon enough, William was back on the phone. “What were you saying?” he asked, sounding impatient. Just hearing his tone disheartened me. I felt utterly alone at that moment. 

For a moment, I thought about telling him about my illness, but I didn’t know if he'd even care. Besides, it was too much to be putting on a new father like him. 

“Alright, we’ll divorce,” I agreed at last, closing my eyes as a tear slipped down my face. “My only condition is that you save my dad and his company from bankruptcy. I’ll sign anything you want after that.”

William was silent, no doubt noticing my shift in tone. When he spoke next, it was with anger. “Are you trying to pull one over on me, Caroline? Because I wasn’t born yesterday.”

Clearly he hadn’t expected me to agree so readily. He didn’t understand how broken my heart was at that moment. He didn’t understand the pain he’d caused me or the suffering I was going through. Or, maybe he did and just didn’t care. Maybe he really was that cruel.

I didn’t know what to believe anymore, honestly. I was already fighting back tears again. “I’m not trying to trick you, William,” I promised. “We’ll get a divorce. I just want you to help my dad.”

William’s anger could be heard in his words. “You’re insane if you think I’m going to help your father. I’m not going to give him a single cent. We’re going to get divorced and that’s final.”

I tried not to cry over the phone. I couldn’t understand why he hated my father so much. There wasn’t anything I could do about it, either, so I just agreed and chose a time for us to get together. Once I hung up, I burst into tears, going to Cindy for a hug.

I ended up tossing and turning all night, having nightmares about the boy that I’d lost and my husband’s betrayal. When the time came the next day to meet for our divorce registration, I was utterly exhausted. 

It was half an hour before the registration, just as I was about to leave Cindy’s house, that I got a call. It was from the local police station.

“Caroline?” the officer on the other end greeted, his voice cold and gruff. “We’re calling to inform you that your father has been arrested.”