Kathryn’s POVI've been locking myself in the bathroom throwing up for half an hour. I know it's one of the early signs of pregnancy.The father of the child who should have been ecstatic was now irritatedly yelling at the door.“How many more centuries will you need, Kathryn? You've disappointed me enough already. Are you trying to embarrass me at such an important party?” I heard my husband, Wilhelm, harshly knock on the door a few times. He didn't know about the baby. I was looking for the right moment. Or maybe I hadn't thought about telling him yet.Three years into our marriage we couldn't conceive a child, our relationship was going down the drain.When I finally had a child, I was hesitant to tell him, since he had been treating me less and less like his wife.I controlled my rapid breathing, feeling a sense of dread that this had to happen when we only had an hour left before the dinner party started. The doctor had already advised me ahead; this would be more frequent in t
Kathryn’s POV“Wilhelm, I have to excuse myself,” I mumbled, unsure if he had heard what I just said as he was too engrossed in conversation with Rose to give me just a tiny bit of his attention. Unnoticed by my very own husband, I held back my tears and maintained a dignified expression despite the unbearable pain that shot through my chest. It hurt to think that their closeness was one I had imagined I would’ve had with my own husband, but it wasn’t the case.In the end, I went home alone. I'm disheartened by what I've witnessed. Arriving home, Anna wordlessly opened the door for me. Just as I entered, my mother-in-law, Camille, happened to be threading down the stairs. Her sharp eyes, which mimicked my husband’s, darted to where I was. I held my breath. I already predicted what would come next. “Hello, mother,” I tried to hide my bleak appearance with a smile. Camille gave no reply yet, her eyes filled with distaste that lingered my way. “Why are you arriving home without W
Kathryn’s POVWilhelm made a noise that sounded like he was irritated before he answered. “Are you asking me that seriously?”It would have been unnatural not to question him at this point. I clenched my fist, gathering what courage I had left as I opened my mouth to speak. “Are you?” I pressed on, my heart beating fast. “You’d only need to answer, Wil. Is Rose with you?”“Yes,” he said, without a single hint of hesitation in his tone. “She’s with me, and she had been drunk from the party—”“Then why—”I stopped midway when Wilhelm muttered what sounded like a curse as he continued his explanation. “All I did was escort her back to her hotel room.” There was a heavy pause on my end, but I found myself listening for his continuation. “Why do you keep pressing this subject? Are you doubting me?”I could practically hear the beating of my heart as my blood ran cold from what he said. “Then why are you not home yet?”“You’re misunderstanding things, Kath,” he grumbled. “I need to get back
“She’s here on an appointment,” Wilhelm replied coldly. “What are YOU doing here? I didn’t hear about you getting an appointment to see me.” I blinked. “You’re asking me, your own wife, to set an appointment for me to get to see you in your own company?” A shadow crossed over my husband’s face. “Isn’t that what I’ve just said?” “I’m so sorry, Kathryn! I only tried to wipe the sweat off the back of his shirt,” Rose reasoned. “I meant no harm in doing it,” she looked to Wilhelm next. “I should probably leave—” “You should stay. We’re not yet signing the contract,” he gestured to the paper on the desk before he shifted his gaze to me. “You should be the one to leave.” I couldn’t breathe at his words, my hands shaking as I held tight onto the lunchbox that I had brought him. How could he dismiss me like this? “Why is she joining the company?” I managed to ask. Wilhelm narrowed his eyes on me. “Do I need to tell you?” “Wil, that’s enough,” Rose said, reaching out to touch his shoul
Kathryn’s POVI kept my lips closed and left without looking back, despite Wilhelm’s incessant protests of telling me to stop walking and face him instead. Ignoring him, I reminded myself that I was only here to drop off his lunch. Now, refocusing on my priority I headed back inside the car for my monthly prenatal check-up.As I arrived at the hospital with worry in my heart, the check-up and ultrasound surprisingly went well, but I barely felt my excitement as my mind was still on the events that had happened a while ago. Taking a deep breath, I tried my best to remove them from my mind when Dr. Miller began to inspect my belly. “Let’s see here,” Dr. Miller nodded her head several times as her eyes alight with a sparkle of curious wonder. “Oh, I have great news for you, Mrs. Reinhardt!” She placed down the sonogram, and faced me with a grin on her face. My breath caught in anticipation, unsure if this was something worth celebrating as she made it sound to be. “Congratulations!
Kathryn’s POVThe man I once admired as my husband, stood from his desk and sank on the sofa next to it, muttering curses one after the other. “This is fucking ridiculous!” “Don’t you want to read it first?” I asked, my face a blank canvas on his outraged nature. “You’re being unreasonable,” Wilhelm barked as he stared at the divorce agreement document that was placed on his table, his face turning dead-beat red from probably all the anger he felt. “How ungrateful can you be, Kath? I’ve wasted money for you to get to where you are, and now you’re asking me for a divorce?” he laughed without any humor. “And whose money do you think you’d use to pay your attorney’s fee? My own?” I placed my hand underneath my belly for support. “I owe you nothing, Wilhelm. The money that I have right now came wholly from my parents, especially my father’s inheritance.” “Yours? Are you even listening to yourself?” Wilhelm exclaimed. “Remember the day you came begging, promising to combine your in
Kathryn’s POV After I rang the doorbell, I heard a few rushing footsteps and grunting before the door opened, and the wind swiped at my face. “Oh, Kathryn!” My best friend Emily hugged me so tight I could barely breathe, but I was happy to finally be able to see a friend after a very long time of being confined in Reinhardt’s villa. “I’ve been waiting for years,” she sobbed and I whimpered between the curves of her shoulders, somewhat relieved I found myself here. “Well, that took me a long time. But enough of that!” I wiped my own tears with the back of my hand. “I’m finally here–at least temporarily. Mom wants me to get home as soon as I can.” Emily gathered my hand, her eyes moist. “I can understand why she’s in a rush, but stay as long as you need, Kathy. Don’t you dare go back to that horrible place!” My phone suddenly rang. “Why does he keep calling you?” Emily exclaimed after she placed a cup of tea on the table across from me. “If he already has his side chick, he sh
Mother placed a few biscuits and a cup of tea in front of me, wearing a frown that accentuated the fine lines on her face. Beside her sat my stepfather, who also wore a similar expression, though he attempted to appear more relaxed than my mother ever did. The room filled with the scent of jasmine and honey, a welcome relief for my stomach after a long day at my lawyer’s office.“I can’t believe you did it,” Mother finally spoke, her eyes solemn as they gazed upon me in disappointment, yet she didn’t look much older either from the new color of her hair. “News traveled fast about your decision to divorce Wilhelm, and I’m sure your father in heaven wouldn’t like it either. His efforts to get you married off to a capable man had all gone to waste.”I arched an eyebrow as I took a sip from my cup. “When he’s clearly the one who placed our feet in a surmountable amount of debt? Yeah, sure.” “How can you speak that way to your deceased father!” Mother exclaimed, her face flushing with co