While I Lost Our Baby, He Kissed Her Belly

I was pregnant and running a fever that wouldn’t break. Every time I called my husband, he said he was too busy at work. I had to get myself to the hospital. I felt so awful I thought I might die on the way. But when I arrived, I saw my husband down on one knee, reverently kissing another woman’s swollen belly. The woman smiled and took out her phone. A moment later, I received a text from the girl my husband called his adopted sister: Claire, look. Ethan’s going to make such a wonderful husband someday. I closed my eyes and took another route. That day, overwhelmed by grief, I lost my baby despite the doctors’ efforts. I was done catering to those two disgusting people! After the miscarriage, I was unbelievably weak. With the fever on top of everything, it took three days in the hospital before I started feeling remotely human. And during that entire time, my husband didn’t call me once! I came home feeling dead inside. When I opened the door, I found him lying on the couch, playing video games. He barely glanced up at me. “My mom brought two hens from the farm a couple of days ago. She says fresh chicken soup is great for pregnant women. Go butcher them and make some soup.” “Lily’s been craving it for days. Go easy on the pepper and add extra vinegar. Take a bowl to her when it’s done. She’s in the bedroom reading stories to the baby.” I was so angry I laughed. The two of them acted like royalty. Had they forgotten I was pregnant too? Even early in my pregnancy, the slightest unpleasant smell had made me vomit uncontrollably. I’d been losing weight instead of gaining it. And now he wanted me to butcher chickens! He didn’t ask where I’d been for three days or whether I’d recovered. Thinking about it made me regret ever marrying him. When I didn’t move, Ethan Reed frowned. “What are you waiting for? It’s almost dinnertime.” I ignored him and went into our bedroom to pack. I didn’t want to spend another second in that disgusting house! Ethan lost his game. He shouted in frustration outside, then pushed open the bedroom door. “Why are you packing? Another business trip?” “Didn’t we agree I’d handle the company from now on? You’re supposed to stay home and focus on the baby.” Focus on the baby? Since I’d gotten pregnant, I could count his trips to the office on one hand! And he had the nerve to pretend he was the one working while I rested? A bitter smile crossed my face. “Ethan, the baby’s gone.” His expression froze. It took him a long time to speak. “How did that happen? I told you to stop working, but you wouldn’t listen! You brought this on yourself!” He’d changed a long time ago. The man standing before me would never consider that he might be at fault. I was already exhausted. Too exhausted to explain myself anymore. “Ethan, when I called and told you I had a high fever and needed you to take me to the hospital, what were you actually doing?” Panic flashed across his face. He knew he couldn’t lie to me about company business. Finally, he lowered his head and admitted, “I wasn’t at the office that day, but I can explain.” “Lily’s further along now. She needs more care. She called and said her stomach hurt. I couldn’t just leave her alone, could I? I took her to the hospital to get checked.” I laughed coldly. “So you abandoned me for her, even though I was in danger too?” “It’s been three days since I got sick. Did you send me so much as one text?” Ethan looked increasingly uncomfortable. After a long silence, he said, “Can you stop obsessing over this?” “Lily married a man she didn’t love so she could use the money he gave her to put me through college. Then her husband died young. She’s suffered so much because of me. Is it really so wrong for me to help her?” The way he put it, you’d think I was the petty one. Ethan raked a hand through his hair. “Besides, my mom took her in. We aren’t even related by blood, but she still did all that for me. I owe her.” “I told you all of this from the beginning. I only brought her here to spend her pregnancy with us after you agreed.” I had agreed. But back then, I’d thought Ethan saw Lily as a sister. She’d suffered. Of course he should look after her. I’d even prepared myself to feel a little neglected. What I hadn’t expected was for his care to extend to her bed! Remembering everything I’d endured, I felt my eyes burn. “Enough. I’m tired. I don’t want to fight.” “If she matters so much to you, why don’t you marry her? I’ll get out of your way.”Ethan’s self-righteous expression vanished. He stood frozen for a long moment before responding. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “She’s my sister. What the hell are you imagining? There’s a limit to jealousy. You can’t just make filthy accusations!” “Lily barely had an education. She grew up in an isolated little town, and she’s old-fashioned. Her reputation means everything to her. She couldn’t handle hearing you talk about her like that!” Ethan deliberately lowered his voice. He really was afraid Lily might hear and get upset. “I go into her room because she’s in her third trimester and gets leg cramps at night. They hurt so badly she can’t stand it. I’m just massaging her legs.” “Stop imagining things. I know pregnancy made you sensitive, so I won’t hold it against you.” “The baby’s gone. Neither of us can change that.” “Now you need to stay home and recover. Help me look after Lily while you’re at it. Once her baby’s a little older, we can try for another one.” Look after her? Why the hell should I? I shook off Ethan’s hand. “I want a divorce. That’s not negotiable.” His patience snapped. He was convinced I was just being irrationally jealous. His jaw clenched so hard that, for a moment, I thought he might hit me. Then Lily called, and his anger vanished. “Ethan, my legs hurt. Come rub them for me.” Her voice was soft and breathy, almost a caress. Ethan couldn’t resist it. He abandoned me without hesitation. The door slammed, severing the last threads of our years together. As I packed, I heard a teasing voice from the next room. Lily laughed and playfully slapped Ethan’s hand. “Stop. It doesn’t hurt anymore.” “Mom wants me to have a natural delivery. She even brought some home remedy that’s supposed to stretch everything out so giving birth won’t hurt as much.” “But my belly’s so big I can’t see down there. Can you help me?” My hands went still. As a woman, I knew exactly where that remedy was supposed to go. Even if he’d been her biological brother, what pregnant woman would ask him to do something so intimate? Ethan said nothing. Instead, I heard Lily gasp several times. I forced myself not to listen, not to imagine it. But it was as if Lily wanted to torment me. Every sound she made was more suggestive than the last. Without another backward glance, I grabbed my suitcase and hurried out. I was finally leaving those two behind. On my way out, I passed the kitchen and saw chicken droppings everywhere. The smell was already spreading. I’d been gone for three days, and they’d both pretended not to notice. They really thought I was their servant. Well, I was leaving. Let them clean up their own mess. Ethan had nothing when we first got together. Over the years, we’d built the company up step by step. But he had little experience and even less vision. I had to make most of the major decisions. When I couldn’t solve something, I went to my father. That was how we’d stumbled our way to success. Now Ethan wanted me out of the company. He wanted me home raising his children and waiting on his mistress. He wanted to push me aside and use the money I’d spent years earning to support another woman. In his dreams. He thought he was so capable, that he could handle anything. But ever since we’d gotten married, he’d been a useless lump who couldn’t even cook a meal! I couldn’t wait to see how he and Lily managed without me.I’d miscarried at five months, and Ethan blamed every bit of it on me. Not once had he asked how I was feeling, physically or emotionally. All his attention was on Lily. One little sound from her, and he went running like an eager lapdog. Apparently, I was his wife in name only. What a sick joke. With my baby gone, the last thing tying me to Ethan was gone too. He’d changed so quickly. When we’d first started dating, he’d been completely different. Once, during a late-night phone call, I’d casually mentioned being hungry. He’d run through the rain to bring my favorite snacks to my apartment. Later, when we started our business, a man got drunk during a client dinner. He thought I was pretty and started touching my hands, taking liberties. Ethan went wild and smashed up the room. His hands had been covered in blood as he held me, his voice shaking. “I’d rather be broke for the rest of my life than let you entertain creeps for contracts!” “Claire, I promise I’ll never let you down!” We’d made an enemy that night. We’d nearly been driven out of the industry. In the end, Ethan had called in some favors, and we’d slowly pulled through. To this day, I still didn’t know where a man with nothing had found those connections. But after surviving so much together, I’d thought our bond would only grow stronger. Who could have guessed it was nothing but a shell, already rotted hollow inside? The silence around me was unbearable. I buried my face in my hands. It hurt so much. How could a man who’d once been so good to me stop loving me? He used to be so excited about having a child together. Now I’d lost our baby, and he didn’t even seem sorry. He knew hospitals frightened me, yet he’d stayed with Lily and left me to go alone. I couldn’t say exactly when he’d changed. After so many years of marriage, perhaps he’d simply grown tired of me. Perhaps he’d been tolerating me all along, until Lily came to live with us. Then he’d stopped hiding his contempt and his temper. But I wasn’t the reason Lily had been married off for money. And I certainly wasn’t the reason her husband had died! Why was I the one who had to suffer for it? Why was I expected to cherish her too? I sobbed so hard I could barely breathe, nearly passing out. At first, I’d accepted Ethan giving her extra attention. She was further along, after all, and she’d had a hard life. Then one day, I’d stayed late at the office and told Ethan I probably wouldn’t be home that night. Not long afterward, the power went out. There was nothing I could do there, so I decided to surprise him at home. On the way, I picked up takeout from the noodle place we’d once loved. I slipped quietly inside and noticed Lily’s bedroom door was slightly open. It was cold out. Worried she might catch a chill, I went over to close it. Instead, I saw Ethan lying in her bed. Beneath the sheet stretched over her pregnant belly, his hand was moving, squeezing. Lily blushed and whispered, “Stop teasing me. I’m already four months along. The doctor said it’s safe now. If you keep touching me like that, I won’t be able to stand it.” She looked coy and inviting. Ethan understood perfectly. He immediately rolled over her. “Careful of your belly. Let me take care of you.” I couldn’t watch another second. I shoved the door open. The crash sounded deafening in the quiet house. Lily shrank into Ethan’s arms as if I’d terrified her. Ethan felt around his waist and visibly relaxed. He hadn’t taken his clothes off yet. That seemed to restore his confidence. “Claire, why are you home?” Before I could answer, Lily clutched her belly and cried out. Ethan looked even more alarmed than when I’d caught them. He scooped her up and rushed out, knocking into my shoulder. “I’m taking her to the hospital. I’ll explain when I get back!” And what had his explanation been? He’d knelt on the floor and insisted he was only worried about Lily. He was her brother. There was nothing inappropriate about their relationship. Lily had stood there holding her belly, looking pained, insisting I’d misunderstood them. They’d made me seem like some hysterical woman who lashed out over nothing. We’d fought for days, but I couldn’t let go of all those years together. I couldn’t believe the man who’d once treated me so well could have changed so suddenly. So I’d given him another chance. I never imagined that backing down once would only encourage them.Now, after everything, I hated Lily for destroying my marriage. I hated Ethan even more for giving in to temptation and cheating. And I hated myself too. I should have divorced him the first time I saw them crossing those lines! Maybe then I wouldn’t have endured months of misery. Maybe I wouldn’t have lost my baby. I cut off all contact with the outside world and gave myself seven days to process everything. Just as I’d expected, the moment I turned my phone back on, my lawyer called. Ethan was refusing to sign the divorce papers and demanding to see me one more time. He’d certainly sent plenty of messages and made plenty of calls. It almost felt like the beginning again, when he’d cherished me. My heart still gave an involuntary ache when I remembered those days. But beyond that, I felt nothing. So I could agree to meet him without fear. Even if he got on his knees and begged, I wouldn’t soften again. I arranged to meet him at the restaurant where we’d officially become a couple. Not because I was sentimental. Our relationship had begun there. I wanted it to end there too! No beautiful memories left untouched. No room for fantasies. But the moment I sent him the address, Lily’s messages started pouring in. Only then did I realize she’d spent the past seven days sending me intimate pictures of herself and Ethan. When I hadn’t replied, she’d assumed she’d broken me. She’d even seemed smug about it. But the second I resurfaced, she lost her composure. “You’re not thinking about getting back together with Ethan, are you? He’s been sleeping in my room every night.” Above the message was a photo of her chest covered in marks. “He’s worried I’ll have a difficult delivery. He’s been finding all kinds of ways to help stretch me out.” I was afraid her next message would be a nude. I had no desire to see that, so I put my phone facedown on the table. A moment later, someone sat across from me. It was Vanessa Parker, a former business partner more than a decade older than me. She’d moved away years ago. I hadn’t seen her since. She glanced at the divorce agreement beside my hand and smiled. “Getting divorced all of a sudden? Did you finally find out your husband already has a wife?” We hadn’t seen each other in years, yet she knew Ethan had another woman. It didn’t take much to put it together. “You knew?” “Before you did, apparently,” Vanessa said. “Although back then you were so swept off your feet, you wouldn’t have listened to a warning.” “Remember when that man harassed you at a business dinner and you ended up offending Mr. Harris? Your company was practically bankrupt, then suddenly came back from the dead.” I nodded. Years ago, that incident had moved me beyond words. I’d been certain Ethan was the only man I’d ever marry. But listening to Vanessa now, I suddenly wondered whether there had been a scheme behind it. Had even the way he’d treated me back then— Had all of it been a lie? “Afterward, he arranged another dinner and brought a woman,” Vanessa said. “He sent her to bed with several of the men there.” “I was working with Harris at the time. I overheard him mention that, in bed, she’d said she and Ethan had exchanged wedding vows years earlier. The men thought there was something wrong with her.” “She was pretty enough. An older man eventually set her up as his mistress.” “But you’re awfully late finding out. That old man’s been dead for over a year.” Over a year? But Lily was only seven months pregnant. Whose baby could she have conceived in that time? I remembered Ethan holding her so tenderly, his hand resting protectively on her belly. I was so furious I laughed. No wonder he didn’t care about my baby. No wonder my miscarriage mattered less than a little whimper from Lily. He already had another child on the way!