Bounded by His Betrayal

CHAPTER 2

Julie’s pov

The sun had barely risen, giving a faint brightness through the gauzy curtains of my bedroom. I sighed when I touched the other side of the bed, realizing it was empty.

During the first year of my marriage with William, we used to sleep together in the master bedroom. But after the first year, he said he needed "his privacy" and asked me to move to the guest bedroom. Ever since I've been sleeping alone, he only comes here to make love to me and after that, he leaves.

I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts heavy and my heart heavier from the betrayal. It was weeks after the dinner party and William brought his mistress, Amanda home to stay. In his defense, he said, "I need to watch over the mother of my child, she can't stay alone in her apartment." I cried so hard that night.

Watching how he cared and catered to her every day broke my heart into pieces. I know I'll never be able to get that kind of affection from him.

Finally feeling motivated to face the day, I slipped out of bed and headed to the kitchen, my favorite room in the home.

I prepared breakfast and the air smelled like freshly brewed coffee. I arranged the table carefully making sure everything was perfect, hopeful it would make a difference but deep down I knew it wouldn't. William's love had drifted away and no perfect breakfast would bring it back.

Amanda entered the dining room, her presence already darkening my mood. "I need a glass of water!" Amanda yelled to no one in particular. She always does things that demand attention from William.

"Didn't you hear what she said, Julie? She needs a glass of water" William said in a stern voice as he came down from the staircase. William has been rude to me since she started living here, he never failed to embarrass me in fromt of her.

My fists clenched painfully as my fingers fisted the fabric of my nightgown, trying to stop myself from yelling. Calming my nerves down I brought the water for her.

"Good morning darling," he said to her and kissed her cheek. A gesture he hadn't offered me in months, my heart couldn't help but break into a million pieces staring at them.

We sat down to eat, the clinking of cutlery the only sound breaking the uncomfortable silence. I played with my food. I was unable to eat since I had lost my appetite.

Amanda took a bite of the scrambled eggs and immediately began screaming. "Ahhhh!! "My stomach hurts," she complained, gripping her stomach. Her face twisted with pain.

William's face twisted with concern. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Amanda said. "I feel sick."

My heart began racing. Is it the scrambled egg?

William rushed to her side, his eyes filled with fear. “Julie, what did you put in the food?!” William gave me a pointed look.

“Nothing” I whispered, still shocked by what’s going on.

"We need to get you to the hospital," he said urgently. He shot me a furious glance. "Julie, call an ambulance. Now!"

I reached for the phone, my hands shaking as I dialed the emergency number. The minutes felt like hours while we waited for the ambulance.

The ambulance arrived and took us to the hospital. At the hospital, physicians and nurses surrounded Amanda and rushed her to the emergency room. William paced the hall, his face full with concern.

Finally, a doctor approached us. "Mr. Sinclair, your wife and the baby are stable for now, but we need to run some more tests to determine what caused her condition."

William nodded, his face a mixture of relief and anger. He turned to me, an accusing expression on her face. "What did you do, Julie?" he hissed. "Did you poison her?"

The accusation hit me like a physical blow. "What? No! I would never—"

"Don't lie to me! As soon as she ate your food she started feeling pains" he shouted, his voice echoing through the hospital hallway. "You've always been jealous of Amanda, jealous of her pregnancy. Admit it!"

My eyes blurring with unshed tears, "I didn't do anything, William. You have to believe me." Trying my best to convince him. I would never hurt Amanda.

"You can't stand the fact that Amanda is carrying my child, something you could never give me. So your plan was to kill my baby!” William spat .

His words cut deeper than any knife. The pain of my infertility had always been a silent burden, but now it was a weapon he used against me without mercy.

William glared at me one last time before storming out. I followed him, my heart pounding.

"This is it, Julie," he said, his voice cold and final. "I want a divorce."

"What? No, William, please. I didn't do anything to hurt Amanda. You have to believe me!" I yelled hoping he would believe me. I couldn’t control the tears as they rolled down my cheek.

"I don't believe you," he said, pulling a set of papers from his coat pocket. "I've already had these drawn up. Sign them, and get out of my life. I wont be giving you a dime because you contributed nothing in this marriage,” He shot at me.

I stared at the divorce papers in disbelief. Was this really the end? My hands trembling as i held it. "Please, William," I whispered, my voice breaking. "Don't do this."

"Go back to the house, pack your things, and leave. I don't want to see you again." He stared at me one last time in disgust before walking away.

I watched him as he walked away from me and our marriage. Heart wrenching pain was what my heart felt at that moment.

I went bank to the house trying to pack my belongings but I couldn’t. The divorce papers were on the bed staring at me. I haven’t signed them yet. I couldn’t bring myself too. Maybe when they get back I’ll apologize to Amanda and he will forgive me.

I heard William's voice and realized they were back home from the hospital. I headed downstairs and William greeted me with a cold glare. "What are you still doing here?" He boomed.

“I just want to know how Amanda is doing”. I glanced at Amanda who was standing beside him with a smirk on her face.

"I'm fine Julie, the baby is okay too" she smirked. "William, can you please take my bag to the bedroom, I'm exhausted," she said to him in a sickly sweet voice. William nodded and headed upstairs.

"I told you I would make him throw you out of this house right? Next time don't test my patience!" Amanda glared at me.

"So this was your plan?" I asked in disbelief, tears threatening to fall from my eyes. I can't believe she would go that far. This new information did nothing but shatter my heart into unamendable pieces.

"It wasn't hard coming up with a plan, love. And if you try to tell him, you know he won't believe you, so don't even bother," She smirked.

She tilted my chin up to meet her gaze "Oh poor Julie. Look how puffy your eyes are. Don't make this any harder on yourself. Just sign the damn divorce papers and leave," she uttered harshly.