Bruised and Broken, I Left with no Turning Back

Ninety-nine times, my husband Nathan hadn’t deserved me. Yet I stayed, believing my love could fix him. But the hundredth betrayal broke whatever was left of my devotion. He had let Danica—his drunk secretary and mistress, to drive me home, and that choice led to the crash that killed the four month old baby in my womb.

I thought the nightmare ended with the accident, but the true horror began when I heard their voices through the thin hospital partition.

“I’m so sorry, Nathan.” It was Danica. “I’m so scared. Karylle… she’s going to kill me. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have driven, and listened to her. I thought I would be able to go home safely. I killed your baby.”

“Ssh, stop crying,” Nathan’s voice soothed. He sounded tender. More tender than he had been with me in years. “Of course she won’t kill you. I won’t let that happen. And. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“But the baby…” Danica hiccuped. “Are you mad? I know you wanted an heir. I ruined everything.”

There was a pause. Then, a low, dismissive chuckle that made my blood run cold.

“You silly girl,” Nathan said. “Why would I be mad at you? It was an accident.”

“But… your son…”

“Honestly?” Nathan sighed, the sound of a man relieved of a burden. “It’s not like I wanted the baby. She was the one who kept pushing for it. She was obsessed. I just went along with it because my grandfather has been breathing down my neck for a legitimate heir. I needed the old man off my back.”

The world tilted on its axis. I felt bile rise in my throat. He didn’t want our child? The nursery we painted? The names we picked out? It was all a lie?

“I only want to have a baby with you, Danica,” Nathan whispered, his voice dropping to a husky murmur. “You know that.”

“Then divorce her!” Danica cried, her voice rising in desperation. “Why won’t you? Why are we still doing this? Marry me, Nathan. Let’s have our own baby.”

“Baby, we talked about this,” Nathan said, his tone placating. “I can’t just divorce her yet. If I leave her now, especially after she just lost the kid? The press would crucify me. Also, my grandpa. And your brother? He’d kill me if he found out I was sleeping with you while married to her.”

“So we wait?”

“We wait until the inheritance is signed over. Once I have full control, I’ll cut her loose. I promise.”

“Do you love her?” Danica asked. The question hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.

“No,” Nathan answered instantly. No hesitation. No remorse. “I only love you.”

Then, the sound of wet, sloppy kissing filled the silence.

I didn’t scream. I didn’t storm in there and tear the IVs from my arm to strangle them. I felt a strange, icy calm settle over me. It was the death of hope. The death of the woman who had forgiven him ninety-nine times.

The Karylle who loved Nathan died in that hospital bed along with her unborn child.

I waited until the sounds of their affection faded, until the door handle turned.

Nathan walked in. He adjusted his expression instantly, shifting from the callous lover I had just heard to the grieving, concerned husband.

“Karylle,” he breathed out, rushing to my side. He reached for my hand, his palms sweating. “Oh, God. You’re awake. I was so worried.”

He squeezed my fingers, his eyes glistening with unshed, fake tears. “I’m so sorry, honey. The doctor… he told me about the baby. I can’t believe he’s gone.”

I looked at him. Really looked at him. For the first time, I didn’t see the man I loved. I saw a monster in a designer suit.

I pulled my hand away as if his skin were acid.

Nathan blinked, hurt flashing across his face. “Karylle? I know you’re in pain, but I’m here. We’ll get through this.”

Then, I saw her. Danica was hovering in the doorway, clutching her arm in a cast, looking small and fragile. She was biting her lip, playing the part of the victim perfectly.

“What is she doing here?” I asked. My voice was a shard of glass—sharp and dangerous.

Nathan stiffened. He glanced back at her, then turned to me with a sigh. “She wanted to see you, Karylle. She’s been a wreck since the accident.”

Danica stepped forward, tears already spilling down her cheeks. “Karylle… I… I don’t know what to say. I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Please, you have to believe me. I just didn’t want you driving because you are my boss—”

She reached out as if to touch the foot of my bed.

“Don’t come near me,” I said, my voice low.

“Karylle, please,” Danica sobbed, her shoulders shaking. “I’m hurting too. I feel so guilty.”

“You should,” I spat. “You were drunk. You insisted on driving. You killed my son. You should have died instead of him!”

“That’s enough!” Nathan snapped.

The mask slipped. The concerned husband vanished, replaced by the man who always defended her.

“She is trying to apologize, Karylle!” Nathan shouted, his face turning red. “She’s injured too! Look at her arm! Do you think she wanted this to happen? It was an accident. Stop acting like she murdered him in cold blood.”

“She might as well have,” I said, staring him dead in the eye. “And you put me in that car with her.”

Nathan yelled, throwing his hands up. “God, you are being so unreasonable. You’re hysterical. I get that you’re grieving, but don’t take it out on Danica. She’s family, and who knows there’d be an accident. She’d been driving drunk even before—”

“Family?” I let out a dry, humorless laugh. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Nathan narrowed his eyes. “You know what? I’m not doing this right now. You’re emotional. You need to rest. We’ll talk when you’re not acting crazy.”

He turned to Danica, his voice softening instantly. “Come on, Danica. Let’s go get some coffee. She just needs to cool down.”

He placed a protective hand on the small of her back. The same hand that used to hold mine.

Something inside me snapped. The last thread of my restraint severed.

“Nathan,” I called out.

He stopped at the door, looking back over his shoulder with an annoyed expression. “What now, Karylle?”

I sat up, ignoring the pain in my abdomen. I looked at him, then at her, and felt absolutely nothing but clarity.

“I want a divorce.”