Chapter Fifteen
1215 Words
Chapter Fifteen
(Nia’s POV)
My phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.
At first, I ignored it.
I was in the bathroom, one hand braced against the sink, trying to convince my stomach to settle. The nausea had been worse that morning.
I rinsed my mouth, pressed a damp cloth against my face.
Then my phone buzzed again.
And again.
And again.
The screen was full of notifications.
Missed calls.
Messages.
Tags on social media.
News alerts.
My stomach sank before I opened a single one.
The headline was everywhere.
For a moment, I couldn’t move.
The photo beneath the headline showed Callum opening the car door for me outside Caldwell Group. Then a few more from our college days.
How had they gotten these?
My eyes moved lower.
There was another picture.
A cropped image of the divorce papers.
My private life had become entertainment before I’d even finished breathing through the pain of it.
I should’ve closed the page.
Instead, I read the comments.
Gold digger.
She trapped Adrian and ran to another man.
No wonder Sienna was always the better choice.
You can dress up an orphan, but you can’t make her loyal.
My hand tightened around the phone.
I had been called worse in whispers. At galas. In bathrooms. Behind champagne glasses and polite smiles.
My phone dings. A text from Gwen.
Stay off social media. Please.
Too late.
Then Callum called.
I answered because I knew he wouldn’t stop until I did.
“Nia.”
“I saw.”
His breath sounded controlled. Too controlled.
“I’m on my way.”
“You don’t have to come.”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“For what?”
“For dragging you into this.”
A pause.
Then his voice softened. “You didn’t drag me anywhere I didn’t want to be.”
“That isn’t fair.”
“No,” he said. “It isn’t. But I care more about what this is doing to you.”
My eyes burned.
I closed them quickly.
“Callum.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Don’t open the door for anyone else.”
The call ended before I could argue.
I lowered the phone and sat on the edge of the bed.
For one second, all I could hear was my own breathing.
Then the phone rang again.
Mom.
My heart twisted.
Some small, foolish part of me still hoped she was calling to ask if I was okay.
I answered.
“Nia,” Mom said, her voice sharp enough to cut. “What have you done?”
The hope died instantly.
I stared at the wall. “Good morning to you too.”
“Don’t use that tone with me. Your father and I have been fielding calls all morning.”
Dad’s voice came through next, lower and harder. “This scandal is everywhere.”
“So, your concern is the scandal. Not your daughter?”
“Our concern is the family,” Heather snapped. “Do you understand what this looks like?”
“It looks like someone is trying to humiliate me publicily.”
“It looks like you filed for divorce from Adrian Blackwood,” Victor said. “Without thinking about what that means.”
I laughed once, softly. “I thought about it plenty.”
“This marriage wasn’t only about you,” he said. “It was a merger between two families.”
There it was.
The truth underneath all their guilt.
My marriage hadn’t belonged to me either.
Mom’s voice softened in the way it always did before she asked me to swallow something painful. When she needed me to forgive and forget whatever it was that Sienna had done.
“Nia, you need to go back. Apologize to Adrian. Tell him you acted rashly.”
I stood slowly.
“No.”
“Nia,” Dad warned.
“No,” I repeated. “I’m not going back to him.”
“You’re pregnant and alone,” Mom said. “This isn’t the time to be stubborn. You need to beg for his forgiveness and do whatever he wants.”
“Even if he wants me to get rid of my babies?” I asked.
“Yes.” Mom said, not even pretending to take a second to think about it.
The words landed, and I understood.
They believed the article.
Maybe not completely.
But enough.
“You think Callum and I…”
“I think you’ve allowed people to talk,” Mom said quickly. “You know how society works. You should’ve been more careful.”
A bitter smile touched my mouth.
“Careful,” I whispered.
“You’re a Caldwell,” Dad said. “Your choices affect all of us.”
“I was a Caldwell when Sienna pushed me into the sea,” I said. “I was a Caldwell when she lied about hurting me over and over again. When she faked her pain and let me suffer. I was a Caldwell when Adrian treated me like I didn’t exist. Funny how my choices are the only ones that seem to matter.”
Mom inhaled sharply. “Sienna isn’t your enemy.”
I went still.
“She’s naive,” She continued. “She’s delicate. She’s struggled since you came home. You need to understand…”
I looked down at my stomach.
“Understand what exactly?”
“That Adrian and Sienna share a bond,” she said. “They grew up together. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s your husband.”
A laugh broke out of me.
It didn’t sound like happiness.
It sounded like something finally snapping.
“My husband?” I asked. “Is he, my husband? I swear it feels like he’s Sienna’s husband. He shows up for her, he feels her pain and he’s photographed everywhere he goes with her on his arm.”
Mom went quiet. “You don’t like social gatherings.”
“I don’t? I go to plenty. Ones I’m invited to. Ones I know Sienna and Adrian will not attend. I hate the ones where people stand shocked when I am called Mrs. Blackwood. Like I don’t belong. Sienna has been by Adrian’s side, then let her have him.”
I hear Dad inhale sharply.
“You both felt guilty when I came back,” I said. “I know that. You gave me the name, the company, the place I was owed. But you never let Sienna fall. You kept her cherished. Protected. Excused.”
“Nia,” Mom whispered.
“You couldn’t choose me completely,” I said. “Not even when I was the one hurting.”
No one spoke.
For once, they had no soft explanation ready.
I wiped the tear that had slipped down my cheek.
“I won’t apologize to Adrian. I won’t ignore Sienna. I won’t give up my babies. And I won’t teach my children that love means accepting humiliation because the family who is supposed to protect you asks you to.”
Dad’s voice hardened. “You’re making a mistake.”
“No,” I said, and my hand settled over my stomach. “For the first time, I’m choosing myself.”
Then I hung up.
Revenge was what I wanted.
- Writer
