Chapter 2

I sit in the cold courtroom. My hands tremble as they rest on my lap. The metal cuffs feel heavier today, as if they're trying to drag me further down to the ground. My heart pounds in my chest, louder than the murmurs of the crowd and the shuffling of papers around me. The week in jail has been a nightmare, but this... this is worse.

Yes, you read that right. After the fight with Julia, Eric proceeded to get me arrested for assault and attempted murder.

I glance around the room, hoping—no, begging—for a familiar face. Not once has Eric visited me. My husband. The man who swore to love and protect me. And yet, here I am, alone and abandoned.

The pain in my chest is unbearable. The ache intensifies with every passing second. I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything that’s happened.

How has it come to this?

Julia. My best friend. My stomach twists at the thought of her, and in that moment, I feel guilty. I didn’t mean to hurt her. That day... it’s all a blur. I caught them together, Eric and Julia. Something in me snapped, but I didn’t mean for it to go so far. I never wanted to hurt her. I just... I just wanted the truth, and I got more than I bargained for.

Julia went to the hospital, but thank God, she’s not dead. The relief of knowing she’s alive is the only thing that’s kept me sane in that cold, lonely cell. But the pain of knowing why I’m here—their affair, their lies—it tears at me in ways I can’t describe.

And Eric... he doesn’t even know I’m pregnant. My hand moves to my abdomen, and I'm once again reminded of the life growing inside me.

Will my baby ever know freedom?

Will they ever know me outside of these walls?

What am I going to do?

“Court is now in session,” the bailiff said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

The room falls silent, and I feel the pressure of a hundred eyes on me.

The hearing begins. The lawyers go back and forth, arguing about things that feel so distant from the truth I know. My defense lawyer tries to paint me as a victim of circumstance, a woman pushed to her limits by the betrayal of those she trusted most. But the prosecution... they are merciless.

“The defendant acted with malice, attacking the victim without provocation,” the prosecutor argues. “This was not a minor altercation. It was an attempt to cause severe harm, if not death.”

I want to scream, to tell them they’re wrong, that they don’t understand. But my voice has long since been silenced by everything that’s happened. Talking when I wasn't given the permission would make everything worse.

I thought things couldn't get any worse, but I was proven wrong. Then, the witnesses are called.

I watch in disbelief as the maids from our home take the stand, one by one. They lie. Each of them recounts how they supposedly saw me beating Julia after a “minor disagreement.”

My heart sinks with every word. My mouth goes dry as I listen to their false testimonies.

“We’ve seen her lose her temper before,” one of them says. Her voice is steady as if she believes her own lies. “She can be quite aggressive, even with us.”

I can’t believe it. I’ve always been kind to them, treating them like family. And now, they’re painting me as a monster, a woman filled with violence and outbursts.

How could they? How could they betray me like this?

When Eric is called to the stand, my breath catches in my throat. This is the first time I’ve seen him in weeks. He doesn’t even look at me as he walks to the witness box. My heart pounds as I wait, hoping, praying that he’ll say something to defend me, that he’ll tell the court I’m not the monster they’re making me out to be.

But he doesn’t.

“She’s always had a temper,” Eric says coldly. “There have been many times when she’s lost control, acting out of order, destroying things, sometimes even hurting me.”

My heart shatters. He’s supposed to be my husband, my partner.

How can he stand there and lie?

“I had no idea what Julia did to provoke the assault,” he continues. “When I came home, they were already fighting. I tried to stop them, but Mia... she wouldn’t stop. She hurt Julia badly before I could pull her away. It was—”

“An attempted murder,” the prosecutor finishes for him. “Is that what you’re saying, Mr. Eric?”

Eric nods. “Yes.”

I stare at him in disbelief. The stray tears fall from my eyes before I can even stop them.

How can he betray me like this? The man I’ve loved with every fiber of my being is standing in front of me, condemning me to a life of misery. And he doesn’t even know I’m carrying his child.

The judge’s gavel bangs loudly, and my heart drops as the final sentence is read aloud. More time in jail. More time in that cold place.

As I’m led out of the courtroom, I can’t stop the tears from falling. I feel broken, like a piece of glass that’s been shattered into a million pieces.

How has my life come to this?

The next day, I sit in the visitation room, feeling my stomach twist in knots. I’ve been told I have a visitor, and for a brief moment, I think maybe it’s Eric. Maybe he’s come to apologize, to tell me he’s made a mistake. But when the door opens, I’m met with the cruel, familiar faces of my mom and brother.

Oh no.

There's no way this is going to end well.

My mother is the first to step forward. Her eyes are filled with disgust. She's dressed as lavishly as usual—with her designer dress, her Jimmy Choo heels, and pearl necklace.

“You’ve really outdone yourself this time, haven’t you?” she spits. “I never thought you’d stoop this low, Mia.”

I flinch at her words, feeling my heart ache with every syllable. My relationship with my family has always been strained, but this... this is unbearable.

“I—” I try to speak, but my brother cuts me off.

“You’ve always been a screw-up,” he sneers, crossing his arms over his chest. “It was only a matter of time before you ended up in a place like this.”

I stare at him, my throat tight with emotion. They’ve never supported me. Not when I was growing up, not when I married Eric, and certainly not now.

My mother’s face twists in anger as she steps closer. “You’ve embarrassed us. Me. How could you? I have no daughter.”

And then she does something that breaks me entirely. She spits in my face.

I gasp in disbelief. I wipe the spit from my cheek, feeling my body tremble with a mix of anger and sadness.

“We should have known better,” my mother continues. “When you married that man... we knew you were making a mistake. But you were always too stubborn to listen. Now look at you. Look where it’s gotten you. You deserve every second of this.”

I can’t speak. I can’t even breathe. The pain in my chest is suffocating, and all I want is for this nightmare to end. But it won’t. It never will.

“You’re never getting out of here,” my brother says with a smirk. “This is where you belong.”

And with that, they turn and leave, leaving me alone in the room with my heart in pieces at my feet.

I collapse onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. My shoulders shake with the force of my sobs.

How has my life come to this? I have no one. No one to fight for me, no one to believe me. Not even my own family.

I clutch my stomach, feeling the small life growing inside me, and whisper, “I’m so sorry.”

I’m alone. And I’ve never felt more alone in my life.