Chapter 7
1095 Words
Caroline's pov
“Peter, that’s not true!” I shouted, my voice cracking as I tried to pull my arm free from his iron grip. “I buried our son with my own hands. Call the hospital or something. I was the only one standing in the rain that day while you were busy playing hero for Cerene. How dare you call me a liar after everything you’ve put me through?”
Peter’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle twitching.
He glanced down at the papers I’d shoved into his hands moments earlier, then back up at me, breathing hard like he was fighting to keep control.
“You are a very good actor Caroline...I admire your skills. You deserve an Oscar.“ He seethed, his nose flaring.
Cerene pout her lip and hovered just behind him with one hand clutching his sleeve while the other wiped at her eyes in that practiced way that always made people feel sorry for her.
She wasn't even trying to hide her clinginess and behaviour. it made me so sick.
I glared at her in disbelief. The nerve she had..
“I saw her, Peter,” Cerene said softly, her voice wobbling as she held up her phone. “She was at the hospital admin office slipping money to that clerk. I didn’t want to believe it either, but look....” She tapped play and turned the screen toward him.
The video showed a newborn baby wrapped in a blue blanket, fussing lightly in a nurse’s arms.
The date stamp was from just two days ago.
My stomach dropped so fast I thought I might be sick right there in the hallway.
"That's not possible, that's not my baby!" I said, hanging on to dear life.
Peter’s face went from confusion to pure rage in a heartbeat.
His fingers dug deeper into my arm, nails biting into my skin through the thin fabric of my black dress. “You lied about our child dying? You actually made up a whole funeral just to play the victim?”
“That’s not our baby!” I cried, tears spilling hot down my cheeks.
I tried to yank away again, but he was too strong, his body vibrating with anger as he loomed over me. “Cerene is twisting everything. I lost him, Peter. I held his tiny body and said goodbye alone because you were too busy with her to even show up!”
For a split second, something almost like doubt flickered across his face.
His grip loosened just a bit, and his shoulders sagged under the weight of everything crashing down around us.
I could see the exhaustion in the dark circles under his eyes, the way his free hand kept clenching and unclenching at his side.
We were both young, both exhausted from this toxic mess, but the man staring at me now felt like a stranger wearing my husband’s face.
Then Cerene let out a loud, broken sob and pressed herself tighter against his side, her head resting on his shoulder like she belonged there. “Please don’t let her confuse you, Peter. I’m carrying your child. Remember how you said you'd agree to donate your sperm so that I could have a baby too? That was my dream....I am sorry I didn't tell you that the process went through. I am two weeks pregnant now...I need you right now. She’s just trying to destroy us because she’s jealous.”
“Pregnant? You took my husband's sperm to make yourself pregnant?!“ I shot out, staggering backwards as if the breeze was a heavy blow to my chest.
I had handled so many surprises from her, but this?
“You self centered freak!“ I blinked away hot tears.
Peter’s head snapped back toward me. like what Cerene had just said was totally normal...“You see how kind Cerene is? How much she cares about me?“
“But Peter, how could you make such a choice behind my back?!" I snapped.
He let out a short laugh, almost like he was relieved I had finally found out that Cerene was pregnant...For my husband!!!
I almost felt like congratulating him for being such a kind sperm donor. Father of all nations.
I saw the doubt vanished in his eyes completely. “You heartless b***h,” he snarled at me.
His hand flew up before I could react.
The slap landed hard across my left cheek, the sound sharp and echoing down the hallway.
Pain exploded across my face, hot and stinging, forcing my head to the side. I stumbled backward, my hand flying up to cradle my burning skin as tears blurred my vision.
My ear rang from the force of it. I could taste blood where my lip had split against my teeth.
I barely had time to catch my breath when heavy footsteps thundered toward us.
Four large men in dark suits rushed in from the direction of the main hall, moving with purpose.
Two of them grabbed Peter instantly, one wrapping a powerful hand around his throat while the other pinned his arms behind his back.
They slammed him against the wall so hard the framed pictures rattled.
“No one harms Ms. Caroline Harrington!” the tallest one growled, his voice low and threatening. Peter’s face turned red as he struggled, veins standing out on his neck, his eyes wide with shock and fury.
He kicked out uselessly, trying to break free, but these men weren’t playing around.
Cerene let out a terrified squeak and backed away until she hit the opposite wall, her hands trembling as she clutched her designer dress.
Her usual pitiful act had cracked, replaced by genuine fear as she stared at the bodyguards.
I stood there frozen, still holding my stinging cheek, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs.
The gold bracelet on my wrist suddenly felt like armor and a curse all at once.
Everything was spiraling so fast I could barely keep up. My cheek throbbed in time with my pulse, and I could feel the heat of the slap spreading across my face.
One of the bodyguards turned to me, his expression respectful but firm. “Ma’am, what should we do to him?”
I swallowed hard, tasting blood, and looked straight into Peter’s furious eyes as he gasped for air against the hand at his throat.
“Get him out of my sight,” I said, my voice shaking but steady enough. “I’m done.”
- Writer
