Chapter Eight
1000 Words
Chapter Eight
(Nia’s POV)
The house was dark when I got home.
Only the lights in the sitting room were on.
For a moment, I stood in the entryway with my hand still wrapped around the strap of my purse, too tired to move.
Then I saw Adrian.
He was standing beside the fireplace with his back to me, one hand braced against the mantel. His suit jacket was gone. His tie hung loose around his collar, and every line of his body looked tight with anger.
My stomach dropped.
I thought of the hospital.
The way Adrian had looked before I walked away.
I should have known he wouldn't let it go.
“Adrian,” I said quietly.
He turned.
The expression on his face stopped me cold.
Pure fury etched into his features.
“What happened?” I asked.
His laugh held no humor. “You tell me.”
I set my purse down on the small table near the door. “I’m tired. I don’t want to fight with you tonight.”
“You don’t want to fight?”
His voice rose, sharp enough to make me flinch.
I stared at him. “What happened?”
He crossed the room in three strides.
He reached for a folder on the coffee table.
Then he threw it down in front of me.
The papers scattered across the marble floor.
I looked down.
At first, the words didn't make sense. Then I saw the header.
Pregnancy assessment.
My breath caught.
The report had my name on it.
My doctor’s office.
My appointment date.
But the information beneath it was wrong.
My eyes moved over the page once. Then again.
Estimated pregnancy duration: three months.
I felt the blood leave my face.
“Where did you get this?” I whispered.
Adrian stood over me, his jaw clenched. “That’s what you have to say?”
“This report is wrong.”
His eyes narrowed. “Wrong?”
“Yes.” I bent down and picked up the paper with shaking hands. “It says I’m three months pregnant.”
“You are.”
“No, I’m not.” I looked up at him. “I’m only two months pregnant.”
His expression did not change.
That scared me more than shouting would have.
“Two months,” he repeated.
“Yes.”
“And you expect me to believe that?”
I stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
Adrian stepped closer until there was barely any space between us.
“You’ve been pregnant for three months, Nia.”
“I haven’t.”
“I was in Europe three months ago.”
The words landed heavily between us.
For a second, I did not understand why he was saying them.
Then I did.
My fingers went numb around the report.
“No.”
His face hardened.
“You spend all your time with Callum.”
“Stop.”
“You worked late together. You met outside the office. You let him act like he has a place in our marriage.”
“Stop,” I said again, louder this time.
But Adrian did not.
“And now you’re pregnant.”
His accusation cut through me so deeply that I could barely breathe.
“You think I cheated on you?”
“I think the evidence is pretty clear.”
“No.” My voice shook as pain tightened around my heart. “The report is wrong. I don’t know why, but it is wrong.”
“You expect me to believe a medical report is wrong?”
“Yes. I’m your wife. Why can’t you trust me?”
The words came out before I could stop them.
For one second, something flickered in Adrian’s eyes.
Then it was gone.
“You've known about this pregnancy for a while and chose to hide it. What am I supposed to think of that?” he said.
I looked down at the paper in my hands.
The truth pressed against my chest.
Painful and fragile.
I had hidden the pregnancy.
“You told me you didn’t want children,” I said quietly.
His expression tightened.
“You told me you didn’t want to have them with me.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is.” My voice cracked, but I forced myself to keep speaking. “You said you didn’t want children. You said you didn’t want a life like that with me. What was I supposed to do? Walk into your office and tell you I was carrying twins when you could barely stand to look at me?”
His jaw flexed.
This was the man I had fallen in love with.
The man who had constantly chosen another woman in our marriage.
He had never loved me.
I could see it clearly now.
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“I was going to tell you,” I whispered.
“When?”
I had no answer that would satisfy him.
Adrian took my silence as guilt.
His face went colder.
“I want the truth.”
“You have the truth, Adrian,” I pleaded, wishing for once he would believe me.
“Then why did you not tell me as soon as you found out?” he demanded. “I don't believe it was because of a passing comment I made. Tell me Nia.”
My eyes burned.
“I was scared.”
His expression did not soften.
“I was scared you would hate me,” I said. “I was scared you would look at them and only see another way I had disappointed you. I was scared because you told me you didn’t want children with me, and I didn’t know how to tell you that I was carrying two.”
For the first time, Adrian looked uncertain.
Only for a second.
Then his eyes hardened again.
“I don’t believe you,” he shouted. "I want the truth, Nia."
- Writer
