Chapter 3
Even with my flower shop doing fairly well, I could never afford a place like that on my own. William's eyes darkened. Something flickered in them that I couldn't quite read.
He said, "Things ended messily between us, I know. But after all those years we shared, you've always been on my mind. If you ever run into trouble, you can always come to me."
Messily? I cracked a bitter smile.
"Is that it? You locked away the woman you loved for ten years in a psych ward, and you call that just... messy?" I said, "Mr. Grant, you really are heartless."
William froze when he heard the words. He fell silent, and that silence stretched out into a long, heavy moment.
Things between William and me didn't have to end this badly. William had looked at me once, with genuine confusion in his eyes. "Why?" he'd asked, "Why, Charlotte? Come on. Men in my circle all keep mistresses.
"All those other wives turn a blind eye. Why can't you? I've never let any of this reach the public. I've already saved your face." He was shirtless when he said that. The scratches from her nails were still red across his chest.
I slapped him hard. My hand trembled as it fell. The sound cracked through the room. My tears hit the floor before I could stop them. Why couldn't I?
I screamed, "Because this is our home! Our marriage bed! Because our mothers picked out that bed for us! Because we grew up together. Because..." My voice broke. I couldn't finish. My fists pounded against his chest, weak and desperate.
"Because I love you!" I choked out. We weren't those fake, contract couples who only stayed together for show. We were together because we truly loved each other. My voice trembled with sobs as I asked him. "Why, William? Why?"
Why did you break your vows? Why did your love fade away? Why...leave me behind? William's mouth opened. Then it closed. Not a single word came out.
He moved to reach for me, to pull me into his arms. But before he could, Sophia crawled to the edge of the bed behind him, her eyes red and brimming.
Her body was mottled with bruises and marks, each one proof of how wild things had gotten between them. She whimpered, "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Grant. It's all my fault."
She placed herself in front of him, shielding him from me. Every inch the pitiful innocent. "I couldn't help myself. I fell for Mr. Grant first. If you want to hit someone, hit me," she continued.
A sharp, crisp slap rang out so loud it cut through the air, leaving a bright red mark on her cheek instantly. Without a moment's hesitation, I slapped her across the face. William's expression shifted. The guilt vanished. His brows snapped together, hard and sharp.
He grabbed my wrist and flung me aside with a harsh, unforgiving force. What he didn't know was that I was already two months pregnant. I'd come home early to tell him this surprise. My belly crashed hard against the corner of the coffee table.
A sharp, searing pain shot through me, and I couldn't help but gasp. "Charlotte, you're truly insane," he said. His voice was icy, and his gaze on me devoid of warmth.
Excruciating pain overwhelmed me. I collapsed to the floor, forcing the words out through gritted teeth: "William, it hurts...our baby..." Before I could finish, Sophia started whining, her voice trembling and full of self-pity.
She cried, "Mr. Grant, my cheek hurts so bad... am I going to be disfigured?" William scooped Sophia up into his arms, holding her like a princess. "Shh, I've got you, Sophia. I'm taking you to the hospital right now," he cooed.
He was all worried about her, but didn't even look at me as I lay there on the floor. Or at the pool of blood spreading beneath me. I lost my baby.
I lay in that hospital room. The doctor's voice was careful, halting. He told me not to grieve too much. I ran my hand over my now-flat stomach, remembering how it once carried the little miracle born from William's love for me.