Chapter 12
Emily’s POV
Louis sat stiffly behind his desk, his expression
carefully composed, though the tightness in his jaw
betrayed the tension simmering beneath the
surface. His usual aura of control seemed slightly
frayed as his eyes flicked from me to Maya and back
again.
“Emily,” he began, his voice low. “Let’s not do
this here.”
“Why is she still here, Louis?” I demanded,
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pointing an accusatory finger at Maya. “You told me
she was transferred. What is she doing here?”
Before Louis could respond, Maya gracefully
interjected, holding her belly like it was a delicate
treasure. Her calm demeanor only fanned the
flames of my rage.
“Louis,” she said, her voice soft, “Maybe I should
explain things to Emily.” She turned to me, her
expression almost pitying, but her words were
knives concealed in velvet. “Emily, once my baby is
born, I’ll leave. You don’t have to worry about
anything. I’m not trying to interfere.”
She was pure malice rolled in sugar, easier to
swallow for those around her – it was sickening.
I clenched my fists, willing myself not to
scream. “Don’t patronize me, Maya. Let’s not forget how you begged me to leave Louis so you could play happy family with him and your precious child. Don’t you dare pretend you’re doing this out of the
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goodness of your heart. I doubt you even care for
that cursed spawn of yours…”
Maya blinked, her calm faltering for a split
second. “I never begged-”
“Enough!” Louis cut in, his tone sharp. He rose
from his chair and walked to Maya, placing a hand
on her arm. “Maya, please, leave us. We need to
talk.”
She hesitated, glancing at me as if she were
genuinely concerned. “Are you sure, Louis? I don’t
want to cause more trouble.”
“Go,” he repeated, his voice firm.
Maya left the office, her steps deliberate and
slow, her supposed humility grating on my nerves.
The moment the door clicked shut, I turned to Louis,
my emotions a torrent of anger and betrayal.
“You defend her,” I hissed. “Every single time,
you defend her! Why can’t you see her for what she
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really is? Not even a few weeks ago you hated her!”
Louis sighed, rubbing his temples. “Emily, I’ve
told you before. This isn’t just about Maya. The child.
doesn’t deserve this. It’s also about us. And you-”
“Don’t you dare,” I snapped, cutting him off.
“Don’t you dare act like this is my fault.”
Louis’s gaze hardened, his patience visibly
thinning. “It is your fault,” he shot back. “You killed
our child, Emily. You!”
His words struck me like a slap, stealing the
breath from my lungs.
“You actually believe that?” I whispered, my
voice trembling. “You think I would do that? That I
would destroy the one thing we’ve prayed for every
day for ten years? Because I was mad at you and
wanted a divorce, you think I would fly off the handle
and murder our child? Do you hear yourself!?”
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“You were unstable, Emily,” he said coldly. “You
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still are. You don’t even remember doing it, do you?”
Tears blurred my vision, but they didn’t cool the
burning anger inside me. “I didn’t take those pills,
Louis. I didn’t. Maya-”
“Maya isn’t to blame for everything,” he
interrupted, his voice rising. “You’ve turned her into
your scapegoat because you can’t face the truth
about yourself, about us.”
My composure shattered. “The truth?” I spat,
stepping closer to him. “The truth is that you’ve let
her manipulate you, let her worm her way into your
life, into our marriage. She’s the reason we’re here,
Louis! YOU opened the door, you were unfaithful,
and you are the one who was keeping me caged like
an animal. All because I wanted a divorce! I wanted
out!”
Louis’s face darkened, his eyes flashing with
anger. “You’re out of control, Emily,” he said, his
voice low and dangerous. “I have loved you,
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supported you, and stood by you, but you don’t believe in me. You never have and it’s clear your
simply have no love left inside you, even for our
unborn child.”
“You call this love?” I asked, my voice breaking.
“You call letting another woman destroy our lives
love?”
Our argument was interrupted by a soft knock
at the door. Before either of us could respond, the
door creaked open, and Maya stepped inside, her
face streaked with tears.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, clutching her belly
protectively. “I didn’t mean to cause this. Emily,
please, leave my child alone. Louis is yours. We are
nothing. We were just drunk that night!”
Her words hung in the air, heavy with
implication. Louis turned to her, his anger softening
into something resembling guilt.
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“Maya, you shouldn’t be here,” he said, his tone
gentler than it had been with me.
She shook her head, her tears falling freely. “I
just… I don’t want to be the reason for your pain.”
I stared at her, disbelief and disgust coursing
through me. “You’re unbelievable,” I said, my voice
shaking with rage. “You play the victim so well,
Maya. But let me tell you something–your child is a
mistake. Nobody is going to celebrate a bastard!”
Maya flinched, her tears intensifying as she let
out a choked sob.
“Emily!” Louis barked, his voice sharp and
commanding. “That’s enough!”
He crossed the room in two strides, placing
himself between Maya and me. “You’ve gone too
far,” he said, his eyes blazing with anger. “You have
no right to say that about her child. That’s my child!”
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far,” he said, his eyes blazing with anger. “You have
no right to say that about her child. That’s my child!”
The weight of his words crushed me. My throat
tightened, and I struggled to breathe.
“Your child,” I repeated, my voice barely above a
whisper. “And what about our child, Louis?”
Louis flinched as if I’d struck him, but his gaze
didn’t waver. “Our child is gone, Emily. And you…
you killed him.”
The room spun around me, and I felt as though I
might collapse. My heart ached, not just from his
words but from the irrevocable loss of everything
we had once been.
Tears streamed down my face as I stepped.
back, my voice breaking. “You’ve already chosen
her, haven’t you?”
Louis didn’t answer, and his silence spoke
