“It’s a tragedy,” Arthur said, his voice rough like gravel dragged across stone. He set his wine glass down with a sharp clink that cut through the dining room. “A damn tragedy. My great-grandson… gone before he even had the chance to draw a breath.”
His eyes shifted toward me, and for a brief moment the severity in them softened. “I am sorry, Marielle. Truly. I know how much that child meant to you.”
“Thank you, Grandfather,” I replied softly, keeping my gaze lowered to my plate. I moved a single pea around with my fork, pretending appetite existed. I had barely touched my food.
Then Arthur’s attention snapped toward Gabriel, and whatever softness had been there disappeared instantly. It was replaced by something sharper—cold, commanding anger.
“But what I fail to understand,” Arthur said in a low, dangerous tone, “is how this even happened. I was told you were at a company gathering. I was told chauffeurs were available. So why, in God’s name, was your secretary the one driving my granddaughter-in-law home while she was intoxicated?”
Across from me, Camille visibly shrank into herself. She wore a simple black dress tonight, modest and carefully chosen, like she was auditioning for forgiveness. “family,” they had called her. The word alone made my stomach twist.
“It was an accident, sir,” Camille said quietly, voice shaking. “I… I thought I was okay to drive. I just wanted to make sure Marielle got home safely.”
“Safely?” Arthur’s fist struck the table hard enough to rattle the cutlery. “You sent her to the hospital! You ended the life of my heir! And you call that safety?”
“Grandpa, please,” Gabriel cut in quickly, leaning forward as if trying to smooth the situation over. “Let’s not escalate this. Pointing fingers won’t change anything. Camille is already distraught. She’s been blaming herself nonstop. It was an accident. The roads were slippery.”
“The roads were fine!” Arthur shot back. “It was the driver who failed. Tell me, Gabriel—why didn’t you drive her yourself? Or hire someone competent?”
“I stayed behind with the investors,” Gabriel replied smoothly, too smoothly. “You know the merger couldn’t wait. I had no choice.”
“So instead,” Arthur said with open disgust, “you let your pregnant wife leave with a drunk woman?”
“I told them I would drive,” I said suddenly.
Silence fell like a dropped blade.
No one looked at me at first. I kept my eyes on my plate, my voice steady. “I asked for the keys. I said I was fine to drive. But Camille insisted. She said no one else touches her car.”
Arthur’s gaze sharpened. “Is that accurate?” he demanded.
Camille’s composure cracked immediately. “I… I don’t remember saying that,” she cried, shaking her head frantically. “I was just trying to help! I didn’t mean anything bad! I’m sorry—I’m really sorry!”
She broke into tears on cue, burying her face in her hands, shoulders trembling in a performance so polished it almost looked rehearsed.
Gabriel reacted instantly. He reached for her and patted her shoulder, protective. “See, Grandpa? She’s already falling apart. Marielle, please… don’t make this worse. She didn’t intend any harm.”
“She didn’t intend it,” Arthur repeated slowly, skepticism heavy in his voice. His eyes moved between them like he was weighing every lie. “Just make sure it never happens again. I want a grandson—with Marielle. No one else.”
The dinner ended shortly after, suffocating and unfinished. I stood up the moment it was socially acceptable and left the table, walking fast toward the foyer.
But I barely made it halfway when hurried footsteps followed behind me.
“Marielle! Wait up!” Camille’s voice rang out.
I stopped reluctantly.
“Please,” she said breathlessly when she reached me. “You have to forgive me. I can’t handle you hating me like this. We used to be close.”
“We were never close, Camille,” I replied evenly. “You were my husband’s best friend’s sister. That’s all.”
For a second, her expression tightened—something sharp and real flashing beneath the mask—then it disappeared again as quickly as it came. She reached out suddenly.
I stepped back. “Don’t touch me.”
As I turned to leave, she suddenly staggered backward with a sharp gasp and dropped to the floor, landing hard on her side.
“Ow!” she cried out dramatically.
“What is going on here?”
Gabriel came rushing from the dining room, his voice already tense. His eyes landed on Camille curled on the floor, then on me standing nearby.
“She pushed me!” Camille sobbed immediately, clutching her leg. “I was just apologizing and she shoved me!”
I stared at her, stunned. It was so blatant, so childish—and yet, somehow, perfectly effective.
Gabriel’s gaze snapped to me, anger already forming. “Are you serious right now, Marielle? You’re laying hands on her in my grandfather’s house?”
“I didn’t touch her,” I said calmly. “She threw herself down.”
“Oh, come on,” he scoffed. “Why would she do that? Look at her—she’s hurt.” He bent down and helped her up, his hand lingering at her waist a little too long before he straightened. “You’re not yourself. You’re letting grief turn you into someone cruel.”
I exhaled slowly. “I’m done with this, Gabriel.”
I stepped closer. “Choose. Right now. Me or her.”
He froze completely.
His eyes flicked between me and Camille, who was still clinging to his arm like she belonged there. His mouth opened, then closed again. For the first time, he looked cornered.
“Marielle… that’s ridiculous,” he finally said, voice uneven. “I can’t choose. You’re my wife, and she’s… she’s important too.”
“That’s an answer,” I said quietly.
I turned and walked out into the night air.
Outside, the cold hit my skin like a wake-up slap. I stopped on the porch and inhaled deeply, trying to steady myself, forcing back tears that refused to fall.
I wouldn’t cry for him. Not anymore.
“Marielle?”
A voice called from the darkness near the driveway—deep, familiar.
I looked up.
A black sedan sat parked nearby, and leaning against it was Martin—Camille’s older brother, Gabriel’s closest friend.
He looked different. Tired in a way I didn’t remember. His tie was loosened, a cigarette between his fingers, like he hadn’t slept in days.
“Martin,” I whispered.
He immediately dropped the cigarette and stepped forward. “I heard about the baby,” he said quietly, voice rough. “I don’t even know what to say… I’m really sorry.”
Just seeing him—someone who had once treated me like I mattered before everything turned rotten—broke something in me. A tear slipped out before I could stop it.
“It’s been… difficult,” I managed.
Martin didn’t hesitate. He pulled me into an embrace.
It wasn’t like Gabriel’s hugs—performative and empty. This one was firm, grounding. Real. I caught the faint scent of tobacco and cologne and let myself lean into it for a second longer than I should have.
“I’m sorry about Camille,” he murmured. “If I had been here, I never would’ve let her drive. She’s… unstable sometimes. I should’ve known better.”
We stood there quietly, two people carrying different kinds of grief.
Later that night, back inside the house, I sat in front of my vanity, slowly removing my earrings. The woman in the mirror looked drained—older, hollowed out, unfamiliar.
The bedroom door suddenly slammed open.
“What the hell was that?” Gabriel’s voice exploded into the room as he stepped in. “Out there—with Martin—outside my grandfather’s house?”
I turned slightly. “We were talking. He was comforting me. Something you clearly couldn’t bother to do.”
“Comforting you?” He let out a sharp laugh. “Is that what you call it? You were hugging him. I saw it. Don’t lie.”
He stormed over and grabbed the back of my chair. “What is this? Are you trying to get revenge on me? Is that it? Running to my best friend now?”
“Revenge?” I stood up abruptly, pushing his hand away. “He hugged me because I was crying, Gabriel. Because my husband was too busy protecting the woman who caused all of this.”
“Don’t twist this!” he shouted. “You’ve always had feelings for him, haven’t you? Is that why you’re suddenly so eager for divorce? So you can run straight to Martin?”
The irony was almost laughable. Almost.
I looked at him slowly, my voice dropping into something dangerously calm.
“So hugging someone while I’m grieving is cheating now?” I said. “Is that what you’re saying?”
I stepped closer, close enough that he had to meet my eyes.
“Then tell me, Gabriel… by your logic, are you admitting you’ve been cheating on me with Camille all along?”
