"Lauren is pregnant with my child. She’s going to stay here until she gives birth."
I stared at him, unable to breathe, unable to think. My husband—the man I had spent years loving, the man I had fought beside through every trial—was standing before me, saying this like it was nothing.
Pregnant?
My lips parted, but no sound came out at first. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, a deafening roar that drowned everything else.
“What do you mean pregnant?” My voice shook, disbelief thick in my words. “She can’t be. I’m your wife.”
Ryan exhaled heavily, as if he was already exhausted by this conversation. “Yes, you’re my wife. Yet you’re useless and infertile.” His words were sharp, cutting straight through me. “You know how important it is for me to have an heir, Alicia. Can you not understand that?”
My stomach clenched at the accusation, the reminder of all my failures.
Five years.
For five years, I had tried everything. I had taken every prescribed medication, followed every fertility treatment, adjusted my diet, changed my entire lifestyle. I had hoped, prayed, and wished for the one thing that Ryan had wanted more than anything—a child.
And when I thought he had accepted it, when I believed he had made peace with it, this happened.
Lauren—his secretary. Pregnant with his child.
No.
I shook my head, stepping back as the truth of it settled into my bones like ice. “No, I wouldn’t understand that,” I whispered, my voice gaining strength as I looked him in the eye. “Because you’re cheating on me.”
Ryan scoffed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “No, Alicia, it’s not cheating. She’s just going to bear our child. It’s like surrogacy.”
I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Surrogacy?” I echoed, shaking my head in disbelief. “Is that what you call it now? A surrogate?” My voice dripped with mockery as I took a step closer, my anger burning through the initial shock. “A surrogate that you fucked? You didn’t ask me about this.”
His jaw tightened. “I’m doing this for the good of our company, our family,” he said, his tone filled with irritation, as if I was the one being unreasonable. “Can you please stop overreacting? You’re still my wife. You still have everything.”
I stared at him, my vision blurring with unshed tears. Everything?
I had wealth, a beautiful home, a marriage that I thought was built on love and trust. But what good was all of that when I didn’t have his heart?
I swallowed hard, my voice breaking as I whispered, “But not your heart.”
Ryan let out a harsh laugh. “That’s ridiculous.”
Is it? Before he could say anything else, a soft voice interrupted us.
“I’m sorry,” Lauren said as she stepped into the room. Her hands were clasped in front of her, her expression meek, yet I wasn’t blind to the way her eyes flickered with something else. Satisfaction. “It seems like you’re fighting because of me. Maybe it’s not a good idea for me to stay here. I’ll find somewhere else to live until I give birth.”
Ryan immediately turned to her, his frustration vanishing. His gaze softened as he reached out, touching her arm in reassurance. “No, that won’t be necessary. You’re staying.”
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. He had never looked at me that way. Not in years.
He turned back to me, his tone dismissive. “Alicia, cook something for Lauren. We’re hungry.”
My body went rigid.
I let out a disbelieving scoff, crossing my arms. “I’m not your maid, Ryan. I’m your wife. And she’s your secretary. Ask her.”
His expression darkened instantly.
Then—slap!
My head snapped to the side from the force of it. My cheek burned, the sting spreading through my skin as the sound echoed in the air. My breath caught, shock numbing my body as my vision blurred.
Ryan had hit me. I slowly lifted my gaze to him, my eyes wide, my mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened.
“You know that’s the only thing you could do to be useful to me,” Ryan muttered coldly. “Yet you still don’t want to.”
Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he shoved me. I stumbled back, gripping the edge of the couch to steady myself, my body trembling.
“Let’s go, Lauren,” he said, his voice void of any remorse. “Let’s just eat outside.”
I watched as he led her out the door without a second glance, leaving me alone in the suffocating silence of our once-perfect home.
Tears slipped down my cheeks as I pressed a hand to the burning mark on my face. My heart ached, shattering into pieces that I knew I could never put back together.
One moment, Ryan was telling me he loved me. One moment, we were still a couple, still hoping, still dreaming of a child that was supposed to be ours.
And now, he had another woman pregnant.
His secretary.
Lauren.
How had I not seen this coming? Had I been that blind?
Or maybe… maybe I had just been stupid.
All those business trips. The late nights at the office. The way he had started pulling away from me.
It had never been about work.
It had been her all along.
I clenched my fists, my body trembling with a mix of grief and fury.
I had been a fool.
But I wasn’t a fool anymore.
Ryan had betrayed me. He had humiliated me, discarded me like I was nothing. He had chosen another woman, built a future without me.
If he could do that…
Then so could I.
