Chapter 1My husband slept with the scholarship student we used to sponsor.
I JUST had an abortion. Like, HOURS ago. Still bleeding. Still in pain.
And he couldn't even WAIT ONE NIGHT.
He was so desperate to sleep with her, he made me walk through a FREAKING STORM to bring them CONDOMS.
While MY body was falling apart.
While SHE was in MY house.
She was young. Gorgeous. And OH SO INNOCENT.
He'd been "holding back because of her age"—yeah, right.
But tonight? Tonight he just couldn't resist anymore.
And that's when I made my choice.
They want each other SO bad? FINE. Lock it in. Make it official.
I'm OUT. Have fun with your little fairytale.
---
I trudged through the downpour, handed them over, and quietly went back to packing my suitcase.
"Vivi is trying for a baby now," Leroy told me. "Make sure you take good care of her."
"Thanks for the trouble, Ms. Dobson," Viviana chimed in.
They stood side by side—he looked handsome and mature, while she was young and stunning.
I stared at the hickeys on her neck.
Trying for a baby?
I guessed the condoms I'd just dragged through the rain would go unused.
I turned around and headed upstairs to finish packing.
Halfway up the steps, I heard Viviana ask in a high, saccharine voice, "Mr. Kempton, does Ms. Dobson not want me living here?"
"Ignore her," Leroy said, raising his voice just enough to make sure I heard him.
"If she doesn't want you here, I'll make her leave."
I froze on the stairs, then walked into my room and shut the door.
That night, the sounds of Leroy's low panting and Viviana's moans drifted clearly through the walls.
I sat on my bed, staring at my wedding photos over and over again.
There was a time when I was the one in his arms.
Leroy said he loved me.
He'd almost cut ties with his own family just to marry me, and he spoiled me so much that everyone envied us.
But ten years is a long time, and everything had changed.
"Ms. Dobson, I hope we didn't disturb you last night," Viviana said the next morning.
"Mr. Kempton kept telling me to be louder, so I just did what he asked.
"Was he like that with you in bed, too?"
She leaned against my bedroom doorframe in a silk slip, making zero effort to hide the dark red hickeys bruising her skin.
Seven years ago, she was a miserable kid who couldn't even afford a meal.
Back in the slums, she'd been so severely malnourished that at thirteen, she looked ten.
Leroy had taken me to her village to sketch.
We found Viviana down by the river, running from her parents.
They were chasing and beating her simply because she was a girl—and because her three-year-old brother liked watching her get hurt.
She'd screamed for help while her parents whipped her with thin canes, her little brother just clapping his hands and laughing.
I made Leroy step in and save her.
Once we heard her suffering, we paid to get her out of that place.
I found her an apartment and got her into school.
I cared for her deeply, and in return, she stole my husband.
"Ms. Dobson, why aren't you saying anything?" Viviana pressed.
"Mr. Kempton was so forceful last night. Do you think I could be pregnant already?
"I don't really have any experience with sex—could you give me some advice?"
"What exactly do you expect me to teach you?" I stood up, looked her dead in the eye, and spoke calmly. "Leroy and I haven't had sex as much in an entire year as the two of you did last night. I have nothing to teach you."
"You're so funny, Ms. Dobson. Maybe you should stand by the bed tonight and watch, so you can learn? Mr. Kempton really knows what he's doing."
Viviana moved closer, dropping her voice to a soft purr, and grabbed my arm.
"Don't be mad at me, Ms. Dobson.
"I just want to join you two.
"Wouldn't it be nice for the three of us to be together?"
I scoffed and yanked my arm away.
"Ah!"
She gasped, throwing herself dramatically to the floor.
Leroy rushed into the room.
Forcing tears into her eyes, Viviana looked up at him. "Mr. Kempton, Ms. Dobson is so mad at me. Please, just try to calm her down."
Leroy slapped me hard across the face.
The crack of it was loud and sharp.
Pain flared; half my face went numb, and my left ear started to ring.
Leroy stared down at me, his expression totally blank.
"If you can't keep your hands to yourself, don't use them at all.
"Vivi is going to have my baby. If you ever lay a finger on her again, you're out on the street."
He threatened to throw me out without a second thought, because he was certain I wasn't going anywhere.
Cramps twisted through my lower abdomen, and I took slow, deep breaths to ride them out.
I'd just had surgery for an ectopic pregnancy yesterday.
Any sudden emotional spike sent shockwaves of pain radiating through my body.
Viviana wrapped her arms around Leroy.
"Mr. Kempton, you shouldn't have hit her," she said gently. "Ms. Dobson is getting older, and menopause is just making her moody. I'm fine. I just fell, that's all."
She sounded so sincere, so perfectly understanding.
The pain doubled me over, curling me into a tight ball.
I felt a sudden rush of warm blood slip between my legs.
I parted my lips to beg Leroy to take me to the hospital, but nothing came out.
Leroy just took Viviana's hand and walked her toward the door.
Before stepping out, he dropped his voice into a low, commanding register.
"Don't ever touch her again."
Chapter 2
I spent nine days in the hospital.
Leroy didn't visit once.
He didn't even show up when the doctors put me on the critical list, which happened twice.
When I finally got discharged, my best friend, Jazlyn Shelley, shoved her phone in my face with screenshots of Viviana's socials.
The two of them had been traveling.
Viviana had posted a bunch of selfies at different scenic spots, pulling faces and throwing up peace signs.
In the background of every single shot, Leroy stood a little ways off, taking in the view.
Dressed in a black windbreaker, the thirty-two-year-old could easily pass for twenty-three.
Beneath the photos, Viviana playfully whined in the captions, "Mr. Kempton promised to take me everywhere I wanted to go, but once we get there, he just stares at the view. So unfair."
"Another day running around with Mr. Kempton to see everything we can.
"I told him I wanted to hit three cities in ten days, so Mr. Kempton dropped everything at work to come with me. He's really thoughtful."
The last screenshot was from today, showing two new posts.
In the first, Viviana wore a simple, casual outfit with a white veil pinned in her hair.
Leroy was lifting it to kiss her in the morning sun.
Her caption read, "Does this count as a wedding?"
The second post was a photo of a pregnancy test with two faint lines.
The caption read, "I'm pregnant! We got it on the very first try. Mr. Kempton is amazing."
Leroy had actually shared the same photo on his own feed.
He wrote, "My first child with Vivi."
Viviana had commented on his post, "Mr. Kempton, does that mean we're going to have a bunch more?" She added a shy emoji at the end.
"As long as you want to," he replied.
"But I heard childbirth hurts so much. What if I get scared?" she asked.
"Don't be. I'll be right there with you," he wrote back.
They were completely out in the open, acting like I didn't even exist.
Jazlyn looked at me, exasperated. "Are you really just going to let them get away with this?"
I forced a weak, pale smile. "Do you honestly think I have the power to stop them?"
I was already a walking punchline.
Everyone knew his mistress was openly disrespecting and humiliating me, his actual wife.
They also knew I didn't have the backbone to leave him.
But this time, I was finally ready to walk away.
When Leroy and Viviana got back, they brought me gifts.
He always knew exactly what I liked.
A maid set a large box down in front of me.
Viviana flashed a sickeningly sweet smile.
"Ms. Dobson, Mr. Kempton picked all of these out just for you. You were on his mind the whole trip."
I stepped up to the box, and Viviana immediately yanked it open.
"Custom dresses," she chirped. "One for me, and one for you, Ms. Dobson. Mine is pink, and yours is white. Mr. Kempton said the soft pink suits me better, while the white flatters your maturity.
"We also picked up handmade sun hats made from all-natural materials.
"Oh, and Mr. Kempton really cares about your health—he bought you some local herbs. Since you just had a miscarriage, these are perfect for your recovery.
"I can brew them for you every day. You are older, after all, so you really need to take care of yourself.
"Oh! And one more piece of good news, Ms. Dobson—I'm pregnant. I hope I can count on your help from now on."
Her voice dripped with syrup.
I stood there in silence, taking in her calculated, taunting little performance.
Then, ignoring the box entirely, I walked straight up to Leroy.
"Leroy, we need to go back to the Kempton estate tomorrow night for the family dinner."
"Yeah," Leroy replied, his tone completely detached.
Visibly irritated that I hadn't taken the bait, Viviana tugged at Leroy's sleeve.
"You're going to the Kempton estate? I want to go too, Mr. Kempton. You've mentioned the back garden before, and I've been dying to see it."
I cut in before Leroy could open his mouth. "She isn't coming."
Chapter 3
"Why not?"
Viviana pouted instantly. Tilting her head up, she swung Leroy's hand back and forth. "I want to go, Mr. Kempton. Please let me go."
I stared at Leroy. "You're seriously bringing your mistress to a family dinner? Have you completely forgotten the Kempton family rules?"
Leroy just stared back at me, completely unfazed.
But when he glanced down at Viviana, his expression softened.
Her face immediately fell, and she looked visibly crushed.
"But I'm already pregnant with Mr. Kempton's baby, Ms. Dobson," she murmured. "Just because you can't have children yourself, you're going to ban his kids from the family? Don't you think that's a little unfair?"
Her voice broke.
She looked down, wiping at her eyes as she started to cry.
Leroy stroked her hair.
"You're carrying my child," he said softly. "Of course you're going."
Viviana shook her head.
"I shouldn't go. Ms. Dobson doesn't want me there. I'll just wait for you at home."
"I said you're going, so you're going," Leroy insisted. "If she has a problem being around you, she can stay home."
Viviana slowly looked up, a tentative smile reaching her teary eyes, and wrapped her arms around Leroy's waist.
"You're so good to me, Mr. Kempton."
Then, she turned to me with a painfully fake apology.
"I'm so sorry, Ms. Dobson. My pregnancy hormones are just all over the place right now. I really didn't mean to start an argument."
I completely ignored her, refusing to give her another word.
In the middle of the night, the phone in my room rang.
"Ms. Dobson, when will you be here?"
I scrambled out the door. "I'm on my way."
The following evening, Leroy took Viviana to the Kempton family dinner.
After getting back, I hesitated for a split second before getting into my own car to follow them.
I needed to settle things with the Kempton family once and for all.
Walking into the Kempton estate, I caught the mixed reactions from the guests in the dining hall.
Leroy and Viviana stood close together, looking every bit the picture-perfect couple.
The same family members who had always treated me like garbage were now chatting and laughing it up with Viviana.
Viviana projected her voice to make sure the whole room could hear.
"Yes, I'm pregnant, so Mr. Kempton absolutely won't let me drink. I'm sorry."
Leroy's aunt, Melissa Kempton, let out a cheerful laugh.
"Pregnant so soon. It's great to be young. Some women just lose the ability to have kids as they get older."
She didn't even try to hide the mockery in her tone.
The entire room turned to look at me.
Leroy threw a glance my way before speaking to Melissa. "That's enough."
"Why can't I say it?" Melissa's voice carried easily across the room. "Leroy, you've protected an infertile woman for years. If you'd just found a younger woman sooner, your kids would already be grown by now."
Viviana shot me a look, bringing a hand up to cover a smirk.
Leroy's brow furrowed, his voice dropping to a hard edge. "I said, that's enough."
Melissa dropped her smile and finally quieted down.
Viviana looked up at Leroy, then dropped her gaze to the floor, lost in thought.
As the dinner dragged on, I sat alone in a corner, nursing a glass of wine.
Given my health, I had no business drinking.
But I was miserable.
My family was gone, and my husband had betrayed me.
I just wanted to feel numb.
It wasn't that I'd turned cold.
Over the years, every single time Leroy hurt me, it took a massive toll.
The pain was constant and inescapable, forcing me to stay painfully grounded in reality.
Tonight, all of it finally boiled to the surface.
