“Listen up, Grace is in her second trimester now and I have to pay close attention to her, so you’ll move to the guest room so she can move in here. She also has to have her special meals prepared for her, and she’s to have breakfast as early as 8am. Keep that in mind too.”

I listened in silence as William laid out rules for me like I was a servant. All to make his mistress comfortable.

“Why are you just standing there? Wipe that sour look off your face and get moving! Grace has to lay down now.”

It was our seventh wedding anniversary, and while others celebrated with trips and gifts, I was being thrown out of our bedroom so that my husband’s pregnant mistress could move in.

Without responding, I picked up my already packed suitcase and headed for the front door.

“Mrs Goldberg…” Our housekeeper called, trying to stop me, but laughter erupted behind me.

“Oh let her go. This is what she always does. She’ll be back before you know it.”

Grace laughed too. “I bet you she will be back by the end of the night, begging on her knees for you to let her back into the gates.”

Little did they know that I already had a car waiting for me outside. I was leaving for good this time.

___

Just as I made it to the door, William stopped me.

“Nicole, Grace wants your brooch. Leave it.”

My blood turned to ice. My brooch was a family heirloom. It was the only thing I had left from my late mother, and I was going to pass it on to my daughter someday.

William knew all this, but he didn’t care.

“How much do you want?” He asked after I didn’t make a move.

“I don’t want your money, William.” How much was seven years of slaving away in a loveless marriage worth anyway.

“Then what is it? It’s not like you have a child to pass that on to anyways.”

I was hurt, but I could still remember the last time I refused to give Grace what she wanted. William had slapped me right in front of her and ordered the maids to deprive me of food for days.

“Okay,” I replied.

I carefully unclipped the brooch from my dress and handed it to Grace. “May the child in your womb be safe and bring blessings to you both.” I told her with a smile.

I could see that William was caught off guard by how calm I was. So he offered me what was probably his last shred of dignity.

“Nicole, as long as you behave and take care of Grace the way that she wants, our child will be your child too.”

The second he said those words, the brooch fell out of Grace’s hands and hit the floor, sending glass and diamonds everywhere. A shard pierced her leg, drawing blood.

William reacted immediately, yelling at the housekeeper to call the doctor. Grace gave me a mocking look, and I didn’t blame her. My situation was truly laughable. Even when I had a seizure two days ago, William didn’t show this sense of urgency. Instead, he had ordered the housekeeper to properly disinfect the floor so that Grace and the baby wouldn’t catch anything bad.

I wasn’t needed here anymore, so I turned to leave. But William grabbed my wrist. “Apologize to Grace now!”

“William…”

Before I could even speak, he kicked my heel and pushed me to the floor, making me bow in front of her. The broken glass on the floor drove into my knees and stained the floor red.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Grace, bowing like she was a queen. I wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off her face.

It wasn’t hard to sound sincere. Saying sorry had become second nature to me since I married William.

If he didn’t like how the cleaners washed his suits, I said sorry.

If Grace took too long to answer his calls, I said sorry.

If his coffee was too hot or too cold, I said sorry.

Even when I first found out he was cheating on me, I said sorry for causing him to desire other women.

I apologized three more times before turning to William. “Is that enough?”

“Oh stop with the pretense Nicole. Your precious mommy and daddy aren’t here to protect you anymore, and I definitely won’t fall for your lies.”

I couldn’t believe he was taunting me with my parent’s death. But before I could reply, the family doctor arrived, almost pushing me to the side as he rushed to look at Grace.

As far as everyone on William’s side was concerned, I was discarded goods, and Grace was the center of the universe.

While William went back to being a doting partner to Grace, I quietly slipped out of the house and through the front gates. But I had barely made it out when bright headlights blinded me.

I recognized the car and shakily made my way toward it, feeling hopeful again. But before I could reach the car, two guards appeared behind me.

They grabbed me before I could scream loud enough and roughly dragged me back inside the villa.

Inside the bedroom, William pushed me face down on the bed and pinned my hands down while one of the guards held my legs in place.

Without warning, the doctor was ordered to drive a massive needle through my spine.

“No sedatives, sir?” He asked William, sounding nervous.

William didn’t even spare me a glance. “She can handle it.” He answered dismissively.

The doctor hesitated. “Mr. Goldberg, spinal fluid extraction is delicate. If done incorrectly…if she moves… it could seriously damage her nerves. She may be paralyzed.”

William’s voice was cold. “Your only job is to get good stem cells. Grace’s condition can’t wait. And if Nicole becomes paralyzed, it’ll be her own fault for moving in the first place.”

The doctor turned to me, horror in his eyes. “Madam, please… try to stay very, very still.”

I couldn’t speak. My throat was tight with rage and disbelief. My husband was willing to put my life at risk for his mistress. I turned my face away, refusing to give William even one glance.

The moment the needle touched my spine, white-hot pain bloomed through my entire body.

My legs convulsed. My jaw locked shut from the effort of not screaming and trying to stay as still as possible.

I heard the doctor whisper urgently, “Her pressure’s crashing. Her body can’t take much more.”

Then came William’s voice, calm and ruthless. “Double the extraction. Grace needs a lot more.”

The doctor looked panicked and sweaty. “Sir, she could be paralyzed. She needs a hospital.”

“I said do it. Do it right now!”

I interrupted the doctor before he could say something again. My voice came out cracked and hollow. “Fine. Take what you want. But when this is over… just let me go.”

William finally looked at me then. For a moment, there was something unreadable in his gaze.

Maybe guilt.

Maybe disgust.

More likely, disappointment.

He opened his mouth, maybe to scold me, to call me dramatic, selfish and cruel. And to ask why I would want to leave my marriage over such a small thing.

But Grace’s soft voice rang out from the master bedroom. “William…”

And just like that, he turned and walked away.

___

Two days later.

I woke up in a hospital bed, my lower back aching, limbs slow and heavy.

William sat nearby, absentmindedly flipping through papers.

When he noticed I was awake, he set them down and approached with a bowl of porridge, as emotionless as a robot.

“I’ll feed you,” he said.

I turned my face away. “I’ll do it myself.”

He didn’t argue. He just watched as I forced down a few bites. He even looked relieved that he didn’t have to feed me.

Then he asked, “Do you feel unwell anywhere?”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I looked at him and said plainly, “Please pass me my phone.”

His jaw tightened. He stared at me for a moment before gesturing to the nurse to pass it over.

When I checked the screen, I saw missed calls, too many to count.

“Who’s been calling you?” William asked suddenly, his voice too calm.

He never used to care about things like this. It triggered my annoyance.

I didn’t even blink. “It’s not someone you know.”

He unbuttoned the top of his shirt and leaned in closer, a cold edge in his eyes.

“Nicole, how long do you plan to keep acting like such a spoiled brat? I give you a little bit of freedom, and you go the extra mile.”

In the past, I’d get scared and shrink at his anger. I’d try to apologize, beg and make peace.

But not this time.

I pointed to the phone buzzing on the table. “You should answer that. It’s Grace.”

The second her name left my lips, his entire demeanor changed… shoulders softening, mouth twitching into a smile. It was almost like magic.

He didn’t say a word to me. He stood and stepped into the hallway to take her call.

The moment the door shut, my phone rang.

I answered immediately.

A voice burst through, breathless. “Nicole? You didn’t show up. Did you change your mind?”

“No… I didn’t. Something just came up.”

“Something came up? You sound really awful. No. No, this isn’t right. I’m flying back home tonight.”

“You don’t have to come. All I need is a few more days and I’ll be there.” My voice was low as I cut off the person on the phone.

By the time William returned, I was just ending the call.

He paused in the doorway, eyes narrowing slightly. I must’ve looked different… lighter somehow. There was a faint smile on my lips, one he hadn’t seen in months.

But instead of asking, he simply glanced at his watch. He had just spoken to Grace, promising he’d be home in time for her private prenatal massage.

So, he said nothing.

He assumed the call had been from my cousin—the only person from my old life I still had. He never once suspected I’d built something else in the silence he left behind.

Without meeting my eyes, he collected a file from the chair beside me. “There’s a board meeting I need to prep for. I’ll stop by tomorrow.”

I nodded, even though we both knew it was a lie.

Tomorrow never came.

Instead, the only updates I received were indirect. Mutual acquaintances sent videos, photos and even headlines.

William and Grace , arriving hand-in-hand at art galas. Her laughing in his arms, him standing behind her protectively, showing her off like the ultimate prize.

On the day I was discharged from the hospital, I sat alone on the edge of my bed, watching the clock. No car came. No message. Not even a reminder to pick up my things.

I checked social media out of reflex and there it was—his latest post.

Nine images. All golden sunlight and perfect romance.

William and Grace, standing barefoot in a wheat field, her in a flowy white dress, his hands cradling her stomach. In one shot, he kissed her temple. In another, he knelt before her like she was some god.

My fingers hovered over the comment section. I typed without pausing.

[Wishing you both happiness. Hope the baby looks like her mother— sweet and innocent.]

I hit post and set the phone down.

Ten minutes later, it rang. William. I let it buzz until it stopped.

Thirty minutes after that, I signed my own discharge papers and walked out without a word.

As I passed the OB-GYN wing, I heard a familiar laugh.

There they were. William, seated beside Grace, his arm slung across the back of her chair. Her hand rested gently on her stomach as the nurse smiled at them from behind the desk.

“I swear, Mrs. Goldberg, your husband is a dream,” the nurse gushed. “He even asks for a heating pad so the gel won’t be cold during the ultrasound. So thoughtful.”

The women waiting nearby glanced over with admiration, envy in their eyes.

My hand drifted unconsciously to my own stomach.

There had been life there once. A heartbeat. A chance.

I remembered the hospital lights. The cold. The blood. There was so much blood.

I remembered dialing William through blurry vision, needing only to hear his voice. But Grace had been the one to pick up instead.

She had answered from the shower, grinning, with my husband all smiles behind her.

“Mrs. Goldberg,” she’d said sweetly. “I was feeling a little too hot, so William’s just helping me cool off.

I hadn’t said a word. I hung up.

Moments later, William had called back, voice sharp, holding a teary-eyed Grace in his arms like she was the one who had been wounded.

“You’re unbelievable,” he spat. “Always creating drama. Always wanting attention.” Then quieter, crueler: “You couldn’t even hold on to your child. Do you really think you deserve anything?”

And finally, words that burned like acid: “Honestly, I wish you had died instead. It would’ve saved everyone a lot of trouble.”

Now, standing there in that hallway, I turned to leave.

But William spotted me first.

“Why are you just standing there like a stray?” he snapped.

Startled, I stepped back. “I didn’t know you were here. I—I wasn’t following you.”

“Stop babbling.”

His tone cut deeper than I expected.

From beside him, Grace stood with a syrupy smile. “Mrs. Goldberg,” she said, placing a hand over her bump. “I’ve been meaning to thank you again—for the stem cells. My baby’s doing so much better now.”

She looked up at William. “Shouldn’t we offer to drop her off? She must be tired from walking around alone.”

William glanced at me, then back at her. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

The ride back was stiff and silent. As I shifted in my seat, something brushed my hand near the console. I reached down and pulled it free.

It was a deep red colored bra. Scented with a heavy floral perfume.

I didn’t say a word.

But Grace gasped dramatically.

“Oh! That must’ve been from the other night. William, you always forget to clean up after we’re done.”