chapter 4

Kate's POV

My eyes settled on Pamela, she was the one behind all of this. The pain of watching Kyle willingly let himself be manipulated by her hurt me the most.

I turned to Kyle, my voice trembling with desperation. "Kyle, let's redo the DNA test, please."

"Shut your mouth!" he snapped, his eyes blazing with mistrust. "I know what you're planning. I'm not playing your game."

My heart pounded in my chest. "But you want to be played by my sister? She's the one behind this!" My voice rose more than I could imagine. I'm in pain.

His response was a thunderous slap across my face, sending a fresh wave of pain and blood down my cheek.

“Ouch!" I gasped, my vision blurring from the sting.

"You're disgusting," he spat, his words slicing through me like a blade. "You keep pinning it on her… Look, Kate, I'll let this go. I'll forgive you, if you're willing to just tell me who this man is. Let me leash my anger on him, not you. Maybe he took advantage of you because you were vulnerable. I'm boiling with rage right now. Let me meet him and confront him. That's the only way I can forgive you!".

I stared at him as he added, “Do you know what I have planned for you and the baby? I thought he was mine!, I was all over the moon, and even when you killed the baby with your despicable act. I cried, I chose to save you instead of my child. But the baby turned out not to be mine!, So, let me know the father. I know how decent you are, so I will trust you once more, maybe he took advantage of you”.

I sniffled, and held his hand gently, “okay babe, but you have to understand me, I don't know this man, I haven't seen him in my life, I don't know how I ended up in that picture!”.

Kyle yanked my hand away, “wow, you are protecting him!, You must have love that asshole so much going to this extent for him, I must have wrong about you”.

This is the problem, Kyle doesn't trust me; I nodded and dried my tears, then made a loud exhale, “okay… please, let divorce then, where is the paper, I should sign it”.

He threw another slap, this time I caught it, “Kyle!, It's enough. If you can't trust me, if you keep listening to my sister's lies, then there is nothing I can do, let's divorce”.

Pamela stepped forward, her demeanor shifting. Her voice was cool and soothing as she gently took Kyle's hand. "Violence won't stop this. She deserves to be treated with respect."

"What! I can't believe she's saying that!.

"But... she betrayed me," Kyle uttered.

"I know, Kyle, but she was once your wife. Beating her won't change anything. You should just divorce her."

I chuckled, realizing her true mission. "Pamela, I will definitely expose your dark plot!" I declared.

Kyle pointed at me. "Shut up! Can't you see she's trying to save you from me?"

Pamela stepped forward again, her eyes wide with mock hurt. "Kyle, please," she said softly. "I don't want to see her suffer more. Let's try to understand her. She's clearly not thinking straight. Let's take her to a psychiatrist; she's becoming… crazy"

Kyle hesitated. "Maybe..."

I became sober. I wouldn't be weak again. I should just accept my fate and get out of this nightmare. "Just leave me alone and give me the divorce papers.”

"Okay, then, let's end it here!" he said. "You keep proving me wrong and giving them something to blame me for."

I stared at him, wondering what he was saying, but before I could respond, he stormed out. Pamela nodded, smiling as she winked at me, before walking out too.

As the door slams shut, reality hits me like a ton of bricks. I think about the men I reject, the career I abandon, and all my life earning money, just for him. And yet, I'm met with this tragic end. I feel a surge of anger and frustration, as if I have the power to crush him, to destroy him. But in reality, there's absolutely nothing I can do.

It is as if time moves faster here as Kyle enters, clutching the divorce papers. He stretches them out to me without uttering a word, my favorite pen—the one he bought for me—lying on top.

I take the papers, my heart pounding in my chest. Can't believe it is finally coming to an end.

Picking up the pen, I try to steady my hand, but it trembles uncontrollably. Tears blur my vision as they fall onto the page. I have to do this. I have to let go of this pain. Sniffling, I force myself to sign, each stroke feeling like a final blow to my heart.

I hand the papers back to him, feeling a piece of myself break away. He simply takes them. "It's over," he says, his voice void of emotion.

"My baby… the corpse… can I have it and give him a proper burial?" My voice cracks.

Kyle's eyes flash with cold anger and Without a word, he grabs my wrist and drags me out of the room.

“What are you… doing!’.

I Struggle to keep up, my body weak from the pain. He pulls me through the sterile hallways of the hospital.

“What do you think you are doing!”.

He doesn't utter a word.

We arrive at a secluded area of the hospital, a place I’ve never seen before. The air is thick with the smell of smoke and chemicals. My heart pounds in my chest as the realization of where we are hits me.

Kyle stops in front of a large metal door, marked with a sign that sends a chill down my spine: "Crematorium." He opens the door and forces me inside.

"No," I gasp, trying to pull away. "Please, Kyle, don’t do this…. You can't do this to our baby”

He doesn’t say a word, his grip tightening as he drags me further in. In the centre of the room, there is a large incinerator, its doors wide open. I see a small body, wrapped in a white shroud, lying on a gurney nearby. My baby.

"No! Please, don't burn him, he is our baby, you can't do this, he doesn't deserve this" I scream, my voice echoing through the room. I yank my arm free and run to the gurney, tears streaming down my face. "Don’t do this, Kyle. Please, I’m begging you."

"He is not my baby, and I am burning him as a result of you deceiving me into caring for a pregnancy that wasn’t mine!”, He roar.

I collapse to my knees, sobbing uncontrollably. "No, please, don’t burn him. He’s our baby. Please, Kyle, have some mercy."

Ignoring my pleas, Kyle signals to the attendant, who begins to wheel the gurney towards the incinerator. I scream, my voice raw and desperate. "Help! Somebody, please, stop this!"

But no one comes to my aid. The attendant slides the gurney into the incinerator and closes the doors. Kyle forces me to stand and watch as the flames roar to life, consuming the tiny body within.

"No! No!" I shriek, my voice breaking. The sound of the fire is deafening, drowning out my cries.

Kyle holds me in place, making me watch until there is nothing left but ashes. When it’s over, he releases me, “yeah, now, regret your actions and leave, Don’t show your face in front of me!”. With this, he left the room.

I collapsed to the floor, my body wrack with sobs.

The world around me blurs as I cry out, my heart broken and my spirit crushed. I gasp for air, choke from my continuous tears, I can't breathe, I'm dying. Everything went blank, and the last thing I hear is.

"Your Grace, Empress Katherine!”.