Chapter 3
Emily’s POV
I stretched with a soft, lazy smile, rolling over in
bed as the morning light filtered through the
curtains. For a moment, the fears of yesterday were
a distant memory. Then my phone buzzed on the
nightstand, and I reached for it, mumbling, “Wonder
who’s up so early…”
As I unlocked the screen, an unknown number
flashed, followed by a message that made my heart
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flashed, followed by a message that made my heart
stop:
Louis cheated on you.
“What?” I gasped, sitting bolt upright. “No, no,
- no. I must be dreaming.”
My phone slipped from my trembling fingers
and clattered to the floor. I stumbled out of bed, my
mind all over the place. A whirlwind of emotions
coursed through me–disbelief, anger, and a terrible
sadness. Was I the only one out in the dark? Did
everyone else seem to know about this except me?
“Breathe, Emily, breathe,” I told myself as I ran a
shaky hand through my blonde hair. “It’s probably
just a prank. Yeah, that’s probably it.” But as I said it,
I looked in the bedroom mirror and could see the
doubt on my face.
“I need some air,” I muttered, going to the
kitchen. The walls of this opulent house felt like they
were closing in, suffocating me with their
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judgmental silence.
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Just as I reached for the back door, I heard the
front door open.
“Emily! Yoo hoo!” My mother–in–law’s cheery
voice rang out.
“Not now, Lucy…” I muttered to myself. Her
timing was impeccable, as always, and never in a
good way.
She came into the kitchen, holding a large
thermos. “I know you have been having
some…trouble conceiving, which, as I’ve been
saying all along is due to all that wine you drink.” Of
course, she had to make me sound like the issue and
like an alcoholic too! Her false smile widened. “So,
look what I brought! It’s my special homemade
fertility soup. This’ll knock you right up practically
by itself!”
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“Oh, um, thanks,” I murmured, watching her
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pour the murky liquid into a bowl. I felt a wave of
nausea, not just from the soup but from all that had
come to light in the past 24 hours. “But I don’t think I
can-”
Lucy’s plastic smile vanished immediately.
“Emily, you are always so ungrateful. Do you think I’d
go to this trouble for Louis, my own son? No! This is
for you, and you’re throwing it back in my face!”
Her words stung, a reminder of the constant
pressure to conform to her expectations, to be the
perfect wife, the perfect daughter–in–law. But how
could I focus on that when I felt like my world was
crumbling around me?
“I’m sorry, I just-” I started, but she cut me off
by thrusting the bowl into my hands. As I peered into
the soup, my stomach churned and I swallowed
back bile. Floating among twigs and leaves were
what looked like tiny, dead worms.
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“Oh God,” I choked, my hands shaking. The bowl
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slipped and crashed to the floor.
Lucy’s face contorted with rage. “You
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ungrateful brat!” She screeched. “You’re doing this
to spite me aren’t you? You think you can mess with
my emotions, don’t you?”
I took a step back, looking down at the soup and
ceramic pieces. It looked even more vile on the
floor. “No, I-”
“You’re so manipulative, I knew my son picked a
terrible wife, I knew it from the beginning!”
Despite it all, anger surged through me at the
personal attacks. “Lucy,” I said with barely
controlled rage. “You’re being incredibly rude and-”
Lucy laughed in my face. “You’re calling me
rude! That’s rich!” She shook her head as if her
abuse towards me amused her. Then a scowl
returned to her face, and she whipped out her
phone.
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“I’ll show you rude. I’m calling your father, and
I’m pulling my funding! I’ll make sure his business is
ruined.”
Dread ran up my spine. “Lucy, stop!” I pleaded.
“He has nothing to do with this!” My father’s
business had a tough year already, they couldn’t
afford to lose anymore funding. The fact that our
lives were so intertwined made this whole situation
ten times worse. What would I do if Louis really
had…?
Before I could react, her hand flew out, slapping
me hard across the face. The sting was sharp and I
stumbled. Lucy shouldn’t have been able to hit this
hard. I shouldn’t have felt so ruined by it. But I had
almost collapsed under the hit. I breathed hard as I
touched my cheek, feeling the heat rise beneath my
fingers.
Memories from yesterday flooded back–the
condom box, the blonde hair, the unfamiliar
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perfume. Each recollection felt like another nail in
the coffin, so I shook my head, trying to clear my
thoughts. Was it all paranoia? Or had I been ignoring
all the signs? The thought that I might have been
blind to the truth was almost as painful as the
betrayal.
And Lucy. God, Lucy had been a thorn in my
side throughout this marriage, even before we got
married. She sabotaged my bridesmaid party,
starting rumors about my little sister that made her
cry. She insisted on coming on our vacation last
year and bossed us around the whole time. And two
months ago she told the whole family about my
supposed infertility issues that I didn’t even think I
had! Lucy was a menace of a mother–in–law and
tormented me at every turn.
When I fully came to realize all of this,
something snapped inside me. I grabbed my phone
and dialed Louis.
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“What do you think you’re doing?” Lucy
shrieked in the background, but I ignored her,
focused on a singular goal.
Finally, Louis answered. “Emily? What’s
wrong?” His voice came through, laced with
concern. “You don’t usually call during the work
day.”
“We’re done!” I shouted. “I want a divorce!” The
words tumbled out, fueled by anger and hurt and all
the emotions that had risen over–I realized–the
past ten years. They were words I had never
imagined I’d say, but at that moment, they felt like
the only way to reclaim some semblance of control
over this situation.
“What? Emily, calm down. What happened?”
Louis asked, his voice rising in panic.
But the room was spinning. As darkness closed
in, I heard Louis calling my name, his voice fading
DUGULAR Laallannad to the floor
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away as I collapsed to the floor.
