Her Name Upon His Lips

I'm pregnant.

Before I even had the chance to tell Jackson, I walked in on him and the intern, Chloe, kissing by the pool of our Hamptons villa.

"Jackson, I love you, I really, really love you."

"Chloe, I love you, too."

The shameless pair were wrapped around each other on our favorite lounge chair.

I slammed the divorce papers onto the table, the secret of my pregnancy locked away inside me, and fled.

When he finally found me, he was on his knees in the pouring rain, his eyes raw and red from crying.

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1

"Jackson, who is she?"

The positive pregnancy test in my hand felt like a death sentence.

Five years.

I had been married to Jackson for five years.

But he was like a block of ice I could never melt, no matter how hard I tried. Just when I was about to give up, I got pregnant.

There wasn't a trace of an apology on Jackson's face.

He murmured something to the woman in sunglasses beside him, and she slipped away.

On the drive back to the city, he didn't say a single word of explanation.

The moment we got home, his phone rang.

He was frantic to leave. As he headed for the door, I called out to him.

"Jackson, I'm pre—"

"Chloe's having a meltdown. You're good at dealing with this stuff—go talk her down. And you need to finish her design. She's in no state to work."

He tossed the order over his shoulder and left, his face a mask of worry.

I refused.

The moment I did, Jackson accused me of being unreasonable. In the heat of our argument, he swept a crystal decanter off the bar in a fit of rage.

A shard of glass sliced open my forehead.

Blood dripped onto my hand.

But he didn't even notice. He snatched my car keys from my hand. "Get out of my way."

He rushed out to comfort Chloe.

He was a different person whenever Chloe was involved. His cold expression would vanish. To an outsider, she might as well have been his wife. I had asked him about it once, and he’d just said I was being ridiculous. He said he only saw Chloe as an employee.

I've lost count of how many times he's dropped everything for Chloe.

In the beginning, I didn't want to marry him either. He was the one who knelt at my family's front door for a day and a night. My parents, won over by his apparent sincerity, agreed on my behalf.

When we were first married, I still clung to the fantasy that love would grow over time. But I soon discovered that no matter how devoted I was, our marriage felt more like a business arrangement.

He would only touch me when he was drunk.

One time, he was drunk and crying out her name: "Chloe."

That was when I first learned of Chloe's existence. I wanted a divorce right then, but my parents told me I was making a big deal out of nothing, that a name didn't mean anything...

In truth, I don't even know when I started to fall in love with him. Gradually, I began to take my parents' words to heart.

A year ago, my parents passed away. Their dying wish was for Jackson and me to be happy together, and he promised them he would take care of me.

I watched him go in a daze, stunned into silence.

The moment broke. I couldn't bear to watch any longer. I fled, my heart fracturing.