Bitter Truth

“This marriage is over, Jessica!” Ethan Mitchell screamed at the top of his voice, his eyes red and filled with anger as his shaking wife tried to keep her test results away from his wrath.

Behind her was the pregnancy test kit she had earlier peed on which showed her a positive sign meaning she was pregnant for Ethan, after 5 long years of trying. Love making with the man of her dreams, Ethan, these past few years had only happened when he was intoxicated so she was elated when she realized that soon she would be hearing the cries of a baby in their home..

“What is the meaning of this, Ethan?” Jessica asked as she felt tears run down her eyes uncontrollably. How could this happen now? Why did the universe hate her?

“Olivia is pregnant with my child and I can’t let you hold me back from being a father to my unborn child.” Ethan informed her without any warning, no hint of remorse on his face.

“Olivia? Your personal assistant from the office?” Jessica echoed back at him, her eyes finding it difficult to take the shock of this news. Whenever she saw them, her eyes would catch glimpses of his assistant touching him in an awkward manner but she would always smile and downplay it.

“That doesn’t matter. I came by to tell you that I want to get a divorce and end whatever it is that we have going on here.” Ethan broke the news to her, setting off a bomb in her heart. It felt like the man she loved all through her childhood was gone and all she could see was a new person standing in front of her, ripping her heart apart.

“Why would you do this to me, Ethan? I…I thought we were trying to make things work between us” Jessica stammered as she continued to break down in tears. The weight of this news was worse than when than the time she heard it would be difficult for her to get pregnant.

“Don’t do that, Jess. This marriage was just a way for our families to become one beyond business.” Ethan replied as he pulled down on the tie he had been wearing all day, allowing him to breath more easily.

Jessica and Ethan had been married for five years. Five years of Jessica trying and watching her love never being reciprocated in return. As a way of strengthening their relationship beyond business, both families had agreed to the marriage of their children. What better way to make their bond grow.

Jessica and Ethan had known each other since they were kids but Ethan had always seen as a sister, never harboring any feelings towards her. On the other hand, Jessica was head over heels for Ethan since they were little. He was her prince charming hence the immense joy that filled her heart when she heard that she had be betrothed to him since they were children.

As Jess tried to push their friendship towards the romantic direction, Ethan had to leave the country to further his studies in London. He was next in line to take over the family business but deep down he was actually happy to be away from Jessica cause he felt no feelings of love towards her. This was why she could feel their friendship coming to an end no matter how hard she tried.

Finally, Ethan returned back to Los Angeles at twenty eight years old to take over his family’s business. Jessica was love struck once again when she saw how jacked he look after few years of studying abroad. His muscles filled every space in his shirt, beards shinning like that of a god but she knew something was off.

Her true love had returned with another woman, Olivia, from his trip. This new strange woman was his personal assistant who helped him whenever he called on her. But Jessica could see that she was more than that as she was no fool. One time, she walked in on them in a very awkward position and Olivia had apologized to her saying she dropped some documents on the floor but she could see that if she hadn’t waltzed in when she did, things would have gotten way more intense than it already was.

Though heartbroken that her childhood love was now being taken away from her by another woman, Jessica still made time to check up Ethan. But on the other hand, he made it a habit to ensure that she felt unwelcomed and unloved but praised and enjoyed Olivia’s presence at every chance he got.

Personal assistant, my a**

Seeing all that was happening, Ethan’s parent threatened to cut off Ethan if he didn’t hurry up and get married to Jessica. They were infuriated by the news they had been hearing about their son and his “personal assistant”. Ethan agreed to marry Jessica but made she hated every single day of their marriage as she was the reason he and Olivia couldn’t be together freely.

Jessica was completely consumed by her emotions when she finally achieved her life long dream of marrying Ethan. She was grateful to her father-in-law for making it happen. She had spent years yearning for his love and wasn’t about to let a girl with an accent take him away from her.

A year into their marriage and Jessica had never felt so choked in her own home. She only got to see her husband very late at night, most times he was drunk and would keep on muttering Olivia’s name in bed. They finally discovered that Jessica would find it difficult to get pregnant and things went down hill for her from that moment. It felt like she had become totally invisible and useless to him.

“Olivia would be moving into the house tomorrow so I’ll need you and all your things gone by then. I think I’ve given you enough time.” Ethan announced to Jessica’s ears. It was really over and there was nothing she could do to stop it from happening.

“Ethan! Don’t do please! I love you!” Jessica screamed at the top off her voice but her screams fell on deaf ears as Ethan had already made up his mind.

“I know and I don’t care. I needed a way out of this marriage and I have finally found. That’s all that matters to me.” Ethan answered with a blank expression on his face. He truly didn’t feel a thing for her or care one bit for her feelings.

"I'm gonna leave this house and by the time I come back. I don't want to see a trace of you, anywhere."

Right there in their mansion, she cried bitterly as her heart had been broken into several pieces. She tried to talk but found no words coming out of her lips. The signs had been so clear for her to see but she chose to ignore them, now she had to pay the price.

Did she want to beg? Yes. But all she could see were images of Ethan and Olivia’s baby running through her mind. It should be her baby but she was powerless as she watched him walk away knowing he was returning back to Olivia’s arms.