Chapter 0004

BAILEE

I went home alone that night. The backstabbing nanny was already fast asleep like she was deliberately avoiding me, and as much as I wanted to confront her for what she had done, I moved past her room and into mine. 

I was hurt, angry, and exhausted. 

After a long, hot shower, I had curled up in my empty bed and muffled my sobs with my pillow, so I wouldn’t wake Brinley, until I fell asleep.

The cold sheets sent a chill through me as I rolled over in bed, my head pounding from crying myself to sleep.

I was so angry at myself for letting it get this far, so angry at him for not even trying to make this work, and for throwing away our family like it meant nothing to him. There had been signs and red flags throughout our relationship that should have had me packing up and leaving.

But I was stubborn, refusing to give up on the years we had spent together. I fought to make things better, over and over again, ignoring all the ways Caleb had mistreated me and ran straight toward that woman like a bull. 

Suddenly, I heard the floor creak, and then the door opened. Standing before me was the was the very man who was responsible for tonight's farce.

Had he really come home like nothing happened after what he had done?

“You have got to be kidding me right now,” I said, my breathing coming out faster as he walked towards our bed.

Before I could stop myself, I grabbed my pillow with both hands and threw it against his face.

“What the heck?” He shouted and threw the pillow aside. “What do you think you’re doing?” 

“You have some nerve coming back here!” I shouted before lowering my voice. Our daughter didn’t need to hear us fighting, and she definitely didn’t need to wake up to it. 

“Oh, get off it already, Bailee,” Caleb said, rolling his eyes. “We’ve all done and said things we aren’t proud of. Let’s just move on. I don’t have the energy to deal with you today.” He sat on his side of the bed, almost making me jump.

“Then why did you come back here?” 

“Because I’m an adult, Bailee! This is what people do in relationships. They come back and keep working on it.” Caleb reached up and stretched, but I just stood there with my hands tightly clutching the pillow as I panted, trying to catch my breath. 

“This is a joke. What part of I want a divorce, do you not understand?” I hissed, my anger growing as he relaxed and moved to get a pair of shorts, pulling them on as he spoke. 

“Oh, please. Don’t be so dramatic. You’ve changed, yet I’m still willing to stay.” 

“I’ve changed? That doesn’t give you the right to cheat on me! I’m still your wife!” .

“Well, just look at you. Your hips are wider, your stomach isn’t flat anymore, and your breasts aren’t what they used to be. Heck, Bailee, you don’t even do your hair anymore. You always just throw it up in a bun. It’s like you don’t even care what you look like. I don’t recognize you anymore.” 

“I HAD A BABY, CALEB! I grew a human being and then literally tore myself apart, bringing her into this world! Of course, my body has changed!”

“Not just your body, Bailee! You used to be home. Now you’re always either working in your dumb little sketchbook or saying you’re too busy with the kid for anything else!” His upper lip curled in disgust as he looked over and spotted my design book on my nightstand. 

“The kid?” I asked, appalled, but he just nodded. “Maybe if I had some help around here, I wouldn’t be so busy! I’ve asked you so many times to help me cook, clean, or help me with Brinley, but you refuse!” 

“That’s your job! You’re my wife!

” 

I shook my head in disbelief. “No. It’s not. A wife is not a private chef or a maid. I’m not here to serve you, Caleb! I was here because I loved you! We were supposed to build a life together.” 

“I am a Johnson, and I think I deserve the good thing. A good wife who dresses well and does her job. Is that too much to ask?”

I couldn’t believe my ears. All the time I went to couples counseling thinking that we could get things right for us, for our kid, turned out to be a joke. How could I have married to such a selfish prick?

“You know what? You are absolutely right. Now go to that good looking, considerate assistant you slept with, won’t you? I quit. Let’s sign the divorce paper already!”

“So, you’re just going to blow up our lives because of one night? Bailee, don’t be such a baby.”

“I don’t care what you call me anymore. I’m not going to keep doing this with you. When I said I was done, Caleb. I meant it.” 

“You’ll be left with nothing! Do you really think I'll let you get away with dragging my name through the press in a divorce? I'll make sure you aren't left with a penny to your name!" He shouted after me.

“As long as I’m not stuck with you, I don’t care.” I threw over my shoulder, walking out of our room with my chin held high as tears silently slid down my cheeks. 

I had let him bend and break me throughout our relationship, but that was the old me. Never again would I let a man treat me this way. 

Caleb had hurt and humiliated me for years, and he didn't even care that he had done it.

“If you do this, I will ruin you, Bailee!”

“You already have. What could be worse?”