Chapter 3

“I'm sorry, miss. We tried all we could but we couldn't save your baby.”

“What?” I must have misheard him. There's no way he just told me I lost my baby.

“I'm very sorry,” he said as he inched towards the door.

“How?” I managed to say through my trembling voice.

“There were some complications. You must have ingested something you shouldn't have this early into your conception and it reacted negatively with your body.”

I could hear the sound of my heart shattering. What was my life? Why couldn't one thing go right for me?

What wrong did I do in my past life to deserve such a fate? I felt so small, so useless. A wife who couldn't carry a baby to term. What a failure. What a joke.

Nothing mattered anymore. What was the point? My husband now had a reason to hate me. The one thing that would make my mother-in-law tolerate me, I couldn't provide. What was the point?

Oscar came back and said we should head home. I mindlessly got off the bed and put on my clothes. I couldn't hear, didn't speak. Life was going past me in a blur.

The only thing I felt was Oscar roughly shoving me into his car. The drive home was silent.

We got home and I saw some luggage in our driveway. I couldn't even form any thoughts.

Oscar led me inside and sat me down.

“We need to talk,” he said.

I nodded my head. I didn't care anymore, nothing he said could hurt me. I was completely numb.

“I love you, Remi–”

I sucked in a breath as hope flickered in my broken heart.

“– but I'm not in love with you.”

What did that even mean?

“I know you're in love with me but I can't give you what you want. You're a wonderful person and you deserve someone who will treat you like that.”

“We can work things out. We can go for marriage councell–”

“You're not listening, Remi. I don't love you. I'm in love with someone else and I can't keep living like this – denying myself of the happiness I deserve. You want me to be happy right?”

“Yes,” I croaked. Why couldn't it be with me?

“Then you have to let me go. Maybe one day we'll find eachother again but right now, it's important to me to be happy. You want that for me, right?”

“Yes.” There was no need to hold back the tears anymore. They poured freely. Sobs rocked my body as I watched my life flip over before my very eyes.

He left and came back shortly, handing me a stack of papers.

He pointed at a dotted line on the last page. “Sign here.”

I hesitated. If I signed, this was it. It was over.

“Remi, please. Do this for me.”

He sounded so sincere.

I signed it and handed it back to him when I heard a loud bang behind me.

Startled, I sprang to my feet and turned around.

Celia was standing with a party popper in her hand, with confetti streaming down all around. Next to her was a woman whose face was obscured by the falling confetti. It cleared up and I instantly recognised her.

Rachel. Rachel was a struggling young woman I met when I first bought and moved into our house with Oscar. She needed a job and I spoke to him about it. He hired her as his secretary and she was so grateful, she wanted to give me half of her first paycheck.

“What's going on?” I asked.

“Can't you tell?” Celia said. “You're being replaced. You can leave now. I promise you will not be missed.”

I glanced at Rachel who had her nose turned up at me, smirking, then at Oscar who wouldn't look at me.

“Oscar, what's going –”

“Are you deaf?” Rachel shrieked. “Honey,” she said to Oscar. “get this parasite out of my house.”

I was going crazy. My gaze darted around the room searching for something I didn't know I'd lost. “Oscar, say something,” I begged.

“What do you want him to say?” Rachel started. “That you're a failure of a wife? That you can't even give him a child, can't cook good meals for him.”

“Exactly,” Celia joined in. “All she does is prance around all day, brushing her hair and wasting food. Useless thing. I'm glad your spell on my son is finally broken. Now he too can see you for what you really are; a good for nothing fool who only drags him down. Oscar, get her out. Looking at her is irritating me.”

What the hell? Where did they expect me to go? What am–

“You need to leave.”

The bass, the finality in his voice. I glanced at him and he was glaring at me, a sinister look that made me believe I wasn't safe.

“To where? Oscar. Where do you want me to go?” I wailed, dropping to my knees. “Please don't do this to me. I'll do anything, just… just please.”

“Your things are already packed outside. I don't care where you go, you can't stay here. Now leave.”

“If she won't leave, I will drag her out,” Rachel yelled.

“She's a difficult person. It's better we do that now,” Celia said.

They both walked to me, a look of satisfaction written all over their faces.

I crawled to Oscar, praying he would protect me but the revulsion etched on his face was enough to tell me otherwise.

Pain shot through my scalp as I was yanked backwards by my hair. I screamed, reaching for Oscar but he turned his back.

“Oscar, please, please help me.”

“Shut up.” Rachel slapped me. “Keep my man's name out of your mouth.”

They dragged me to my feet and towards the door. Celia took hold of my hair again and dragged me with it.

I kicked and screamed but I was weak and the pain was unbearable. Nothing I did mattered. I was going to be kicked out of the home I'd bought to raise a family with the man I loved and there was nothing I could do about it.

Nothing I did ever made him happy. I gave him all my love and my whole life, gave up my family for him and it still wasn't enough. It was a smack in the face accepting that he never loved me the way I loved him, that my father was right, that I had nothing.

What was my life? That numb feeling from earlier started to creep back in and slowly edged all the fight out of me.

All cried out, I voluntarily allowed myself to be made homeless. They pushed me onto the front deck.

“I should thank you,” Rachel said. “Without you, I never would have met the love of my life. You have done your part now, leave or I will call the police.”

With one final look at my house, I walked away into the freezing night. I walked and walked until my legs felt like they would fall apart.

I came across a seedy motel that I know would be cheap. Somewhere to lay my head until I figured out my next step.

“Your card is declined.”

“What?” I asked. “That's not possible.” I had some money left on that card.

The receptionist tried it again. “Declined.”

My mind went back to this morning when I woke up to Celia in my room and my purse knocked over. That bitch must have used the last of my money.

“Is there any way I–”

“Miss, it's cash or card. You need to leave if you can't pay.”

“But– but what am I supposed to do?”

She simply shrugged and went back to scrolling on her phone.

I was out on the street again with nowhere to go. Across the road was a park. I'd seen homeless people there before. I wasn't any better than them.

I found a bench in a secluded spot and set my things down. I opened my bag to find thick clothing so I wouldn't freeze to death come morning when I discovered their final act of treachery.

My bag was empty except for my CEO certificate.

It wasn't enough that they kicked me out of the house I bought with my money. It wasn't enough that I gave everything I had.

Nothing was ever enough. Nothing made him happy. That selfish bastard. And to throw his mistress in my face like that.

A fire ignited in me. One that had long been put out. I hated him. I hated all of them. Anger bubbled in my chest like a simmering stew.

I wanted payback. I wanted to drag them through the street like they'd done to me. Have them plead and wail for mercy.

The sound of footsteps brought me back to reality. It was late and the park was closed. I knew anyone in the park at this time wasn't supposed to be there… like me.

I hid behind the bench waiting for whoever it was to pass by.

A shadowy figure appeared in the distance – a large, imposing man in a trench coat stood staring around. Slowly, he started to approach me.

I held my breath hoping with every fibre of my being that he wouldn't see me.

He stopped short of the bench.

Shit. My luggage was right there and he'd seen it.

“I know you're there. Come out.” His baritone voice rattled me, sending shivers and my spine.

It would not be my last night on earth. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, willing my legs to move.