Chapter Ten
1170 Words
Chapter Ten
(Nia’s POV)
I sat on the edge of the bed for a long time after I left Adrian downstairs.
The house was quiet again. Like it held nothing, no love, no happiness. Empty.
I’d changed into pajamas, washed my face, and tried to read the same page of a book four times. Nothing held my attention. Every sound from the hallway made my chest tighten.
The test results were supposed to come tonight.
They were going to prove my innocence. Adrian would believe me finally.
I pressed my hand over my stomach.
“It’s going to be okay,” I whispered.
The words felt weak in the dark room.
When Adrian’s footsteps finally stopped outside my door, I stood before I could think about it.
He didn’t knock.
The door opened, and he walked in with the report crushed in one hand.
My breath caught.
I searched his face for relief.
For shame.
For anything that said he knew he’d been wrong.
Instead, I found fury.
My stomach dropped.
“What happened?” I asked.
Adrian shut the door behind him.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he threw the report onto the bed.
“Read it.”
My hands shook as I picked it up.
What could be in the report to make him look at me that way?
The words blurred at first. I blinked and forced myself to focus.
Paternity excluded.
No biological relationship detected.
My heart stopped.
I read it again.
Then a third time.
The result didn’t change.
“This isn’t possible,” I whispered, staring at the paper, willing it to reveal the truth.
Adrian let out a bitter laugh. “That’s what you said about the first report.”
“This test is wrong too.”
His eyes hardened. “Of course it is.”
I looked up at him. “The first report changed my pregnancy dates. This one says you aren’t their father. These two reports are wrong, Adrian. Don’t you see what that means?”
“You expect me to believe someone tampered with medical records and a DNA test? Why would anyone do that? Who would do that?”
“I don’t know who did it.” My voice broke. “But I know someone did.”
He stepped closer, anger rolling off him in waves.
“Just stop Nia. Stop it. I’m tired of the same old conversation. You lied to me.”
“I didn’t.”
“You hid this pregnancy for weeks. You let me stand there and look like a fool while you pretended I had no reason to question you.”
“I was not lying.”
“The proof is right in front of you Nia!” Adrian shouted, pointing at the paper in my hands.
“I know what you’re thinking Adrian.” Tears burned behind my eyes. “But I’m telling you the truth. I know I should’ve told you sooner. But I didn’t cheat on you. I’ve never been with anyone else.”
His gaze dropped to my stomach.
The look on his face made me want to cover myself.
Not because I was ashamed.
Because he looked at my babies like they were something he wanted gone.
“Then whose children are they?” he asked.
“They’re yours.”
“Stop lying, Nia, please.” He pleaded.
“Adrian...
“Just tell me the truth. Or do you not know who the father is?” He asked, interrupting me.
My heart shattered at his words. How could he say that.
“I do know.” I wrapped my arms around myself. “I didn’t betray you.”
His jaw tightened.
For a moment, I thought he might finally hear me.
Then he said, “I won’t raise another man’s children, Nia.”
The room went silent.
Something inside me cracked.
Adrian took a slow breath.
“You have a choice, Nia.”
I stared at him.
I couldn’t understand what he meant.
“A choice?” My voice barely worked.
His expression was tight, but his tone softened.
“I’ll forgive, just give me some time,” he said.
I looked at him, waiting for the rest.
Then his eyes dropped to my stomach.
“But I won’t raise another man’s children. You can’t expect me to live with a reminder of this every day.”
“Adrian.”
“You can choose our marriage,” he continued. “You can choose me. We can move past this. Pretend it never happened.”
My chest began to ache.
I had spent years hoping he would see me.
I had stood beside him at events where he barely touched me. I had slept in the same bed as him and still felt alone. I had watched him leave whenever Sienna called, convincing myself it didn’t matter because he would come back to me.
But he never had.
Not really.
Our marriage had been broken from the beginning.
It had never been mine.
A strange calm moved through me.
“You think this is a choice?” I asked.
His brow pulled together. “Nia, I’m trying to give us a chance.
“No. You’ve treated me like I was nothing but an obligation since the day we got married. You’ve made room for Sienna in every part of your life, while I’ve spent years trying to earn a sliver of your affection.”
His jaw tightened. “Stop trying to blame Sienna.”
A laugh caught in my throat, sharp and painful. I ignored his words and whispered, “You’ve never asked for me at all.”
I pressed one hand over my stomach.
“Nia.”
“I choose them.”
The words came out quietly. There was no hesitation in them.
Adrian went still.
“What did you say?”
I looked at him and felt nothing soften inside me.
No hope or longing.
No lingering affection for the man I had once loved enough to lose myself for.
“I choose my babies over this marriage,” I said. “I choose them over you.”
His eyes widened. “Nia, think about what you’re saying.”
“I have.” My throat tightened, but I kept going. “I’ve thought about it. I should have done this sooner. Every time you chose work, your family or Sienna over me. Every time you dismissed me. Every time you made me feel like I was asking for too much just by wanting my husband to care. I should have left before you could have broken me.”
His lips parted, but no words came.
“I’m done, Adrian.”
The truth of it settled between us.
“I’ll sign the papers,” I said.
He stared at me as if he didn’t recognize me.
But I finally understood that no amount of love from me could make him choose me.
Maybe because I didn’t want him to anymore.
“I will divorce you.”
- Writer
