Chapter 3
I picked up the divorce papers and placed them right in front of him.
"Sign it," I said.
Trace's face was a picture of disbelief.
To him, I was head over heels for him. He would've sworn I'd never ask for a divorce, not in a million years.
Lexie quickly hooked her arm through his.
"Trace, don't get mad. I heard Phoebe's childhood friend Jamison Olson just got back in town. Maybe they were just catching up last night," she said, all sweetness and innocence.
She added, "And you know, Caitlin's eyes really do look a lot like Jamison's. Jamison left for abroad, and right after, Phoebe got pregnant and married you...
"Phoebe, I don't mean anything by it. I just think if Jamison saw how much Caitlin looks like him, maybe he'd even want to be her godfather!"
She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, looking all shocked.
Lexie said, "Oh no, did I say something wrong? Phoebe, don't be mad. I'm just the type who blurts things out without thinking..."
Trace's eyes were bloodshot with rage as he slapped me hard across the face.
He yelled, "So that's why you suddenly want a divorce. You've already got a new guy lined up!
"Phoebe, you really are something else. After all these years, you're still hung up on him.
"We only did it once, and you claimed you were pregnant. And I actually fell for it."
"Where's Caitlin? I'm taking her for a DNA test!" Trace shouted.
I was so furious, every breath burned with suffocating pain.
I loved him for ten years, gave him everything, even my dignity.
And now, not only was he insulting me, but he was even questioning the paternity of his daughter, who had already passed away.
He was the one who killed Caitlin, yet now he was pretending to be the victim.
How ironic.
Fueled by rage, I swung my hand and slapped Trace square across the face.
But just then, Lexie darted in front of him.
Before I could stop myself, my hand landed hard on her cheek.
"Trace, don't blame Phoebe. It's my big mouth, I shouldn't have said anything," Lexie stammered, her voice trembling.
She pressed a hand to her cheek, fighting back tears.
Trace pulled Lexie into his arms, his eyes soft with a tenderness I hadn't seen in years.
Then he strode over to me and slapped me again, hard across the face.
I hit the floor, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth.
Even though I'd already let go of this relationship in my heart, that slap still stung; my face burned, and the pain cut straight through me, inside and out.
He kicked me in the stomach, and I curled up into a ball, gasping from the pain.
Then his fists came down on me like a hailstorm. I wrapped my arms around my head and cowered in the corner, not saying a word.
After what felt like an eternity, I lay sprawled on the floor, and he finally had enough.
Seeing me lying there, like I was dead inside, he finally started to panic.
"I... I just lost it. I didn't mean to go this far," Trace stammered, his voice shaking.
"I..." he started, but the words just wouldn't come.
"Trace, I feel dizzy..." Lexie whispered, her voice barely above a whisper.
Right on cue, she fainted into Trace's arms.
He gently scooped her up, his face full of worry as he looked down at her.
"Lexie, don't be scared. I'm taking you to the hospital," he said.
He turned to look at me, tears and blood pooling on the floor beneath me, and for a moment, his voice lost some of its edge.
"You shouldn't have hit Lexie today," he said, his voice gentler.
"Wait here. I'll get Lexie to the hospital, then I'll come back and bring you some meds," he added.
But I knew the moment he left, he'd never set foot in here again.
I lay there, barely moving, watching as day faded into night and the sky outside filled up with stars.
When I finally managed to pull myself together, I called the ambulance for help.
The diagnosis was grim: my nose was broken, and two of my ribs were fractured.
I was covered in bruises and had all sorts of soft tissue injuries.
When Karla rushed in and saw me like this, she went off on Trace, cursing out every single one of his ancestors.
I stared coldly at the marks and bruises covering my body, then had Karla snap some pictures.
Every photo was a weapon in my fight to get justice for Caitlin.
I spent seven days in the hospital, while Trace took Lexie to see the aurora, the one thing I'd always wanted but never got to experience.
He splurged 25 million dollars on a yacht for her, just so she could catch the sunrise on the ocean whenever she wanted.
He showed her off at every big party, their arms linked, smiling for the cameras like the perfect couple.
Their photos and stories stayed at the top of the trending charts all week, never losing steam.
All anyone ever saw was Trace and his childhood sweetheart, rumoured to be close for years and finally about to make it official.
But nobody knew he'd had a wife who stood by him in secret for a whole decade, and now, she was about to be cast aside in a divorce.
My heart seized up, the dull pain squeezing my chest so tight I could barely breathe.
I put my phone down and finally broke down, sobbing my heart out.