The Anniversary Betrayal
The Flowers fell from her hands.
"How could you do this to me?" Serafina's voice trembled and she stood in the doorway, her eyes fixed on the scene before her...
…..With her heart racing with excitement, Seraphina Ellis stood at the door of her house. She was eager to surprise Nathaniel with the gift she had spent weeks preparing for their anniversary which was precisely the seventh.
From inside there were noises. Low, quiet muttering a voice—Nathaniel's voice? As she cautiously opened the door and entered the room her chest constricted with confusion but what she saw chilled her to the bone.
There was Nathaniel in bed. With Bella, her closest friend. The secretary to her husband. Seraphina's hand went to her mouth as the words tried to escape tightening her throat….
…." How long has this been going on, Nathaniel? How could you do this to me?" She asked again her voice was like glass breaking.
“Sera I—” Nathaniel's voice trailed off his words buried in the oppressive quiet.
“Don’t you dare say anything!..."Nathaniel, today is our anniversary. You promised me." Her voice trembled with disbelief as she spoke "You swore to me that you would...that you would love me. Me alone."
Bella smiled, wrapping her arms around him. "He always found you too weak. Too self-centered, too business-focused. He is worthy of better than this—better than you."
"Bella, I thought you were my friend." Seraphina's voice broke but she gritted her teeth "But you... He is just as rotten as you are. "
With a spinning head, Seraphina turned to go. But her body betrayed her as she took a step. Her vision blurred before she could catch herself as the room swung violently around her, the walls closing in.
The world turned black as her legs buckled beneath her, she touched the side of her head and her body slowly fell to the ground.
Then everything went dark.
*****************
With her head heavy and her vision blurry, Seraphina's eyes fluttered open. After noticing that Seraphina was awake, a nurse who had been about to leave the room stopped.
The nurse said softly smiling "Oh you're up. How are you feeling?"
Still trying to clear her head, Seraphina blinked. "What happened?" she said in a raspy nearly alien voice.
For a moment the nurse paused, her eyes shifting uneasily. "After... an incident you were brought in. You passed out. We ran a few tests."
" Incident?” Seraphinas throat constricted.
The nurse's voice grew softer, she nodded. " I'm afraid you had a miscarriage. You were already two months gone"
She gripped the blanket's edges, her eyes wide with surprise. She was carrying Nathaniel's child. She wanted to surprise him by telling him on their anniversary. Now she has lost that opportunity.
"I intended to tell him," Seraphina spoke in a shaky murmur. "After being away for three weeks with my mom, I wanted to give him a surprise."
The nurse's face grew empathetic but she was powerless to alleviate the suffering. "I sincerely apologize for your loss."
After comforting her with a gentle touch on the shoulder, the nurse quietly exited the room, allowing Seraphina to handle her grief by herself.
The cold air in the hallway seemed to freeze Seraphina as she stumbled out of the hospital room.
"Damn it, I'm trying to meet up with his freaking demands, he's in the hos—"
She hardly noticed the voice before her or the footsteps approaching her. As a tall figure passed her, she turned but before she could get herself, her elbow brushed against a steaming coffee cup in his hand.
The hot liquid splashed on him and stained his clean suit. "Watch it lady! Watch where you go!" the man yelled, his voice piercing and tinged with annoyance.
Glancing up at him Seraphina froze, her eyes wide. Tall and broad-shouldered, the man's eyes seemed to pierce her.
With a voice that was barely above a choked sob she whispered "I'm so sorry...I just didn't mean to."
His footsteps reverberated down the hallway as he walked past her muttering "I don't have time for this nonsense "
Seraphina felt a heavy feeling of dread descend upon her as she got home. She didn't know what to expect but she knew Nathaniel would be there as soon as she entered.
"I'm home" Seraphina said in a voice that was hardly audible.
When Nathaniel did turn, his eyes were dark and his face was icy. "You have returned."
"Why didn't you come to me in the hospital?" Her voice clambled with a mixture of anger and hurt. "Nathaniel, I was there... by myself. We lost our baby!"
He said bluntly. "It doesn't matter. It's just a pregnancy. We had not even planned it"
Seraphina's body shook with shock and her breath caught. "How can you say that Nathaniel? It was our child!"
Nathaniel shrugged unaffected.
Sera wiped her running nose with the back of her hand and stepped forward, rage trembling in her voice. " You know what?..."
" I want a divorce, you bastard!" She told him.
Nathaniel scoffed, blotting a tear from his eye as if her remarks had made him laugh. "You think I'm surprised?" he asked. "You're ready to get a divorce. Go ahead . Hasn't everything you owned—the house, the company everything—been given to me already?...Feel free, senorita."
Seraphina froze. "W-what do you mean everything?"
A smirk curved Nathaniel's lips. "This house was purchased in my name. Seraphina, the company is all yours but you signed it to me. All of your hard-earned money, cars and possessions are now mine."
Walking over to her Nathaniel casually brought out a brown envelope. "Here. Go ahead and read it for yourself."
Seraphina took the document, opening it with shaking hands. Her heart seemed to stop as her eyes skimmed the pages.
Gazing at the page in shock she felt her breath catch in her throat. With a broken voice she whispered "You...you deceived me. How could you do this to me?"
Nathaniel observed her with a chuckle. "Seraphina, I did nothing. You did all that. You did that to yourself. You didn't notice what was happening because you were too preoccupied with your small business. You were always overly gullible."
With an angry and sorrowful voice she yelled at him "You … heartless bastard!."
Nathaniel straightened up and said icily "This is my house now. And my lawyer will contact you tomorrow.."
Seraphina turned and ran up to her room, taking the stairs two at a time and closing the door abruptly behind her.
Seraphina woke up the next morning not even having a wink of sleep at all. When Seraphina walked down the stairs, she saw Nathaniel speaking to a man in a three piece suit standing in the living room.
Nathaniel remarked nonchalantly "Ah, you're up. This is my attorney ."
The attorney's voice was firm and professional as he said "Good morning, Mrs Ellis. I'll be quick. Everything you have worked for including your mansion, business and assets is now his "
Seraphina screamed "You're lying! I never signed a single document."
"Mrs Seraphina, please sign them" the attorney said again, handing her a fountain pen.
The pen hovered in her hand, trembling…
