Rekindled Embers

While I Was Bleeding Out, He Lit Lanterns For Her

Katie Oettgen

As I lay on the floor of our manor, bleeding out from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, I used my last ounce of strength to call my husband, Cole. I begged him for help, my vision blurring. But the only thing I heard was the clinking of champagne glasses and his mistress's giggle in the background. "Stop the drama, June," Cole snapped, his voice cold. "We're about to go on stage. Don't call again." He hung up, leaving me to die alone on the Persian rug while he accepted an award with another woman on his arm. I woke up in the hospital days later. My baby was gone. They had removed my fallopian tube. Cole finally arrived, smelling of expensive scotch and his mistress's perfume. He didn't hug me. He didn't cry. Instead, he leaned over my hospital bed, pressing his knee into the mattress until my fresh stitches tore open and bled. "You embarrassed me by calling an ambulance," he hissed. "My mistress, Alycia, says you're faking it. Clean yourself up." He left me bleeding again to go announce a $10 million donation to Alycia's "groundbreaking" medical research. I stared at the TV screen, numb. The research Alycia was taking credit for? It was mine. I wrote that patent years ago under a pseudonym. They thought I was just a poor, orphan housewife who needed Cole's money to survive. They had no idea I was actually a billionaire scientist hiding my identity. I pulled the IV needle out of my arm. A drop of blood fell onto the divorce papers I had been hiding. I didn't wipe it off. I signed my name right over it. Then I walked into the bank, reactivated my dormant account with $128 million, and bought the penthouse directly overlooking Cole's house. The mourning widow is dead. The avenger is born.

Romance Crime Revenge Pregnancy Enemies to Lovers Pregnancy Personal Growth

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I paced to and fro the room dialling Mr. TK, slapping my cheeks several times to wake up from this nasty dream. I refuse to believe what I just heard. That Tema Inc- the company I invested all my life’s savings in is a Ponzi Scheme?!

“No No, this is not happening” i said plopping down on the floor as the call kept going to voicemail. Mr. TK had stopped responding to my calls 3 months ago when I transferred the deposit. I should have known then. My sixth sense should have kicked in! But no, I was too gullible to grab the get-out-of-jail-free card turned scam that was a better option than my cleaner by day and waitress by night job as Mr. TK had promised.

I only wanted to get a head start on my student loan.

“Don’t tell me you put your money in that, '' Khloe said slowly. Her voice was on the verge of losing it as she looked back and forth between the TV and I. The news anchor announced Tema’s CEO fleeing the country after being found guilty of fraud.

I was mute as my mind raced. Where do I start from? Where do I go from here? My breathing was shallow with hot tears streaming down my cheeks.

“Never have you volunteered to pay for the water or light bills in this house but you have enough money to throw away?” She yelled.

“How much lower can you stoop, huh? All your years of education were for what if you can’t beware of scams?”

Mom please…

“Your mates are relieving their parents of some responsibilities. Buying them houses and giving them a better life but here you are wasting the little you’ve acquired” she continued angrily removing the ingredients from the grocery bags.

Please ma.. don’t add insult to injury.

“I can’t boast of something you’ve done to benefit anyone else in this house. You’re always so selfish”She said washing her hands aggressively

“Your mates are also leaving properties and trust funds in their children's names but what am I left with? Poverty and toxicity? If not for your pressure would I have jumped into this fire? Would I have been so desperate to get money and land here? What? Education? That you didn’t pay for? That you clearly told me was not your responsibility?” I wanted to reply so badly but my mouth was numb.

“What’s the point of having a grown ass daughter like you when there’s nothing to write home about. I have to feed and clothe your dumbass”

“Have a child they said, it’s a blessing they said but what use are you to me. I don’t know why I skipped my goddamn birth control pills.” Khloe screamed throwing a ceramic plate on the floor, smashing it in pieces

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