Eloise POV:
The sound of Dawson's desperate pleas, his broken promises, churned my stomach. "Last time." The words echoed in my mind, a cruel mocking litany. How many "last times" had there been? The first time I found his texts to her, the first time he'd canceled our anniversary dinner for her "crisis," the first time he'd sent her a large sum of money without my knowledge. Each "last time" had been a lie, a deeper betrayal, chipping away at the foundation of our marriage until nothing remained but dust.
I reached into my bag, my hand trembling slightly, and pulled out the divorce papers Marcus had swiftly drafted. The crisp white pages rustled in my grasp, a stark contrast to the chaotic storm raging within me.
"Your promises, Dawson," I said, my voice shockingly calm, "are worth nothing. Absolutely nothing." I held out the papers, letting them fall onto the coffee table with a soft thud, landing inches from Campbell's bare feet.
His eyes, wide with disbelief, stared at the documents. The color drained from his face, leaving it pale and drawn. He looked from the papers to me, then back again, as if unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
"Eloise?" he growled, my name a low, choked sound. "Are you serious? Are you actually doing this?"
"Yes," I replied, my voice unwavering. "I am. Sign them, Dawson. We're done."
He slammed his fist on the coffee table, making Campbell jump. "This is about the money, isn't it?" he accused, his voice rising. "You want to punish me! You're just trying to get rid of Campbell, to make her suffer!"
"Punish you?" I scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping me. "Believe me, Dawson, I'm not doing this to punish you. I'm doing this to save myself. And you have no right to talk about 'suffering,' not after what you've put me through."
"After fifteen years, Eloise?" he yelled, his eyes welling up with what I suspected were crocodile tears. "All our years together, our shared history, our dreams… do they mean nothing to you? Is our marriage worthless?"
"Worthless?" My voice cracked, a raw edge finally breaking through my calm facade. "Do you have the decency, the sheer nerve, to ask me that? To ask me if our marriage is worthless, when you' ve been parading your mistress around, giving her our money, bringing her into our home, and then having the gall to weaponize our deepest trauma against me?"
His face went stiff. "I haven't paraded anyone! She's sick, Eloise! I was helping her! There was nothing going on!"
"Nothing going on?" I challenged, stepping closer, my voice rising. "Just like there was 'nothing going on' when you were seen with her at expensive restaurants? Nothing going on when she was texting you late into the night? Nothing going on when you were stroking her hair in the hospital corridor while I was recovering from-" I stopped myself, the words catching in my throat. Not yet. Not now.
His eyes, red-rimmed and defensive, darted to Campbell. "It was pity, Eloise! Pure pity! You've become so damn cold and calculating! You used to be so compassionate, so loving. Now you're just… mean-spirited, petty."
"Yes," I said, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across my lips. "You're right. I am petty. I am mean-spirited. I am cold and calculating, and I want you to sign those papers." I pointed to the divorce agreement on the table. "Now."
He snatched the papers, his hand shaking with rage, and tore them into shreds. The sharp ripping sound was like a scream in the silent room. Tiny white confetti rained onto the coffee table, mixing with the porcelain cup and Campbell's pale feet.
He looked at me, then at Campbell, a cruel glint in his eye. He reached out and gently stroked Campbell's hair, a possessive gesture. "You know, Campbell," he said, his voice dripping with condescension, "Eloise was never truly a mother. She just doesn't have that maternal spark in her. She's too focused on her career, on money. She never really wanted kids, not deep down."
My blood ran cold. My head started to buzz, a high-pitched whine filling my ears. This wasn't just about the money, or Campbell, or even our broken marriage. This was a direct, brutal attack on my womanhood, my deepest wounds.
He leaned in closer to Campbell, his voice dropping to a theatrical whisper, loud enough for me to hear. "She even got rid of our first one, you know. Back in college. Said it was too much, too soon. Always so pragmatic."
The world tilted. My brain went utterly blank, a void of white noise and searing pain. He had done it again. He had taken our most sacred, most agonizing secret, the abortion we had gone through together, and used it as a weapon against me, in front of his mistress. The betrayal was so complete, so absolute, it stole my ability to breathe.
