My heart splintered. All my love, my trust, my sacrifices reduced to ashes.
A bitter laugh escaped me:
— So all these years, I was just a puppet, while you lived a double life—husband to me, father to another woman’s child.
He rushed toward me, gripping my hand desperately:
— Please, listen to me, it’s not what you think… I meant to tell you, but—
I yanked my hand away, eyes blazing:
— Not what I think!? Then what? Did this baby fall from the sky?
The silence was unbearable. My mother-in-law tried to speak, but I raised a hand to silence her. I needed the truth straight from him.
— How long did you plan to keep this from me? Until the baby called me “aunt”? Or until I couldn’t have children, and you used this as your excuse to discard me?
He dropped his head in silence. That silence was the cruelest confession of all.
I drew a deep breath, my voice steady and resolute:
— Fine. You have a son, but I still have my dig:nity. Divorce me. I refuse to live as the pitiful wife everyone pities.
