His Unwanted Wife's Revenge

world came into focus slowly. White ceiling. Whi

pale, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. When he saw I w

rip tight and desperate. "You're awake. The doctors said you were lucky.

A part of me, the part that had loved him for so

phone call. You just have

y hand awa

ed, then hurt. "A

ce a dry rasp. I turned my

was trying to manipulate me with his concern, just like he had with his grand proposal. He was trying to use my near-death experi

brake failure," he sai

d. I knew it wa

he used to control me. "I was so scared, Ava. When I got the c

once craved this kind of declaration from him. Now, it just made

d a nurse came in,

u gave us all quite a scare." He checked my chart. "We ran a full set of tests

left m

e baby?" I

is smile faltering. "Yes. You're abou

t with his child. The nausea I'd been feeling for weeks,

e replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated joy.

with wonder. He looked at me, his ey

aby," he whispered into my hair. "This is a miracle.

was perfect. This was a nightmare. A child would tie me to him foreve

gnant then, too. I was twenty, terrified, and secretly living in his house.

flat and devoid of emotion. "You can't h

e procedure was cold and clinical. The pain was immense, but the emptiness that fol

child was convenient. This child was a symbol of his victory, a

rom the hug, his hands o

already pulling out his phone. "And t

, leaving me alone with the catastrophic reality of my situat

or creaked open again. I th

t was

. She wore a simple, elegant dress, and her expression was

heard about the accident. I came as soo

ilies on the bedside table. Thei

loe," I said,

e said, her eyes wide with what looked like joy for m

smile. Her hand went to her own flat stomac

ropping to a conspiratorial whisper

od running cold. "What

f steel in her eyes. "I'm pregn

roar in my ears. Her words hung in the air, sharp and poisonous. It wasn't ju

his perfect heir at home, and his compliant mistress on the side, both of them bearing his children. He was

ttomless pit. I saw my future laid out before me: a gilded cage, a lif

pain or sadness anymore. There was only rage. A quiet, foc

life. I would not brin

t, smiling face. She thought she ha

was

in, I looked at her, my

to my doctor,"

ing this.

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