Chapter 9
I placed a hand over my empty stomach, my voice dripping with sarcasm.>
“Thanks to you, the baby is gone.”
“Killed by her own father.“}
Zachary staggered back as if struck by lightning. His face drained of color.
“No! You’re lying. You’re just trying to punish me, aren’t you?”
“She was seven months along. A premature baby could have survived!“}}
His expression twisted in horror before he suddenly lunged forward, wrapping me in a desperate embrace.}
“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t know… I didn’t know you were really in labor that night.“”
“I’m a man. You pissed yourself in public–what was I supposed to do? How could I just let you humiliate me like that?” He clung to me, his voice breaking. “Please, forgive me!“}
“Where’s the baby? I want to see her.”
His excitement was sickening. He practically sprinted to the nursery, throwing open the door–only to find that the warm, pastel–colored room we had once decorated together was gone.}
In its place was a small memorial.}
Against the far wali, a tiny ur rested on an altar, surrounded by soft candlelight. Next to it, an ultrasound photo of the child who never got to take her first breath.”
Zachary froze. Then, his entire body convulsed with rage and grief.}
“No. No, this isn’t real!” he bellowed, his voice raw. “The doctor said she was healthy! She couldn’t have just-” His head snapped toward me, his eyes burning with accusation. “You’re lying. This is revenge, isn’t it?“}
I almost laughed at how pathetic he sounded.>>
“Do you remember how many times I begged for your help that night? How many times I called you?” I met his gaze, my voice deadly calm. “If you had believed me–if you had just come home–our daughter wouldn’t have suffocated inside me.”
“While our lives were hanging by a thread, you were out screwing another woman.“}
I took a slow step forward, my lips curling into something that wasn’t quite a smile.
“Zachary, you’re a monster,”
His whole body trembled. He shook his head, still clinging to denial.
“No, she can’t be gone.“%
He reached out, his fingers twitching, as if he wanted to touch my
stomach.
I recoiled.”
{
‘Don’t touch me. You’re disgusting.“%
From my purse, I pulled out the divorce papers I had prepared long ago and shoved them into his hands.
“I have plenty of evidence. You’re the one at fault here. I’m taking seventy percent of our assets.“}
Zachary’s breath hitched. His eyes darted between me and the papers, his hands trembling.
“You want a divorce?” His voice cracked. “The baby is gone, and now you don’t want me either?”
His words came out in a frantic rush, desperate, incoherent.!!
“Rosie, you can’t just throw everything away over one mistake! We’ve been together for seven years. We’ve been through so much–“>
“I lost my way, that’s all! Just give me one more chance. His voice grew frantic. “I’ll fire Lilian. She means nothing to me. I’ll prove it to you, okay? From now on, it’ll just be you and me!”
I stared at him, unimpressed.
“Does any of this even matter now?“%
Zachary’s eyes turned bloodshot as he shook his head violently.
“No! You don’t understand–I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted you to see how important family is. I wanted you to quit your job, stay home, be a good wife. I only used Lilian to make you jealous. I love you, Rosie. It was always you!”
1 let out a sharp, hollow laugh.
Chapter 9
“Love?” My voice dripped with venom. “You let people call her ‘young Mrs. Harrington. You stood by while she humiliated me. You slept with her. If that’s your idea of love, then it’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen.“}
“You thought that because I was an orphan, because I was pregnant, because I craved love–I would let you walk all over me. That I had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. That I’d always crawl back to you.”
I leaned in, whispering coldly, “Your love makes me sick.”
Zachary let out a choked sob. He buried his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking violently.”
“This isn’t… This isn’t how it was supposed to be.“N
1 felt nothing.
“Sign the papers,” I said, my voice steady. “Let’s not make this messier than it needs to be. A court battle won’t be good for you–or your company.”
He had no comeback. No argument left to make.
For the next month, he avoided me, hoping I would change my mind.”
I didn’t.”
When the tabloids leaked intimate photos of him and Lilian, I released more.}
Every day that he refused to sign, I made sure another scandal hit the news.
Eventually, the company’s stock started to plummet. He had no choice but to give in.
The next time I saw Zachary, the once–polished Mr. Harrington was a ghost of himself–hollowed out, exhausted.
“Fine,” he rasped. “I’ll sign the divorce papers. But…”
