Chapter 4
1152 Words
Third POV
Quinley had barely stepped out of the shower when she heard the front door open.
She froze, water still dripping from her hair, heart pounding. She hadn’t seen Nikolai since the hospital—hadn’t spoken, hadn’t cried, hadn’t slept. Her limbs moved only because they had to, her body hollowed out like a shell moving on habit.
She grabbed a towel, wrapped it tightly around herself, and padded barefoot down the stairs.
The moment she turned the corner, her breath hitched.
He was standing in the hallway, setting his keys down on the console table like he always did. But he wasn’t alone.
Cassidy.
Quinley’s eyes snapped to her. She stood smug and radiant in the doorway, arms crossed under her chest like she belonged here, like she’d been here a hundred times before. No makeup today. Just her perfect, glowing skin and the gentle curve of pregnancy she no longer tried to hide.
Quinley’s fingers clenched the edge of the towel so tightly her knuckles turned white.
“Why is she here?” she asked, barely able to keep her voice steady.
Nikolai didn’t even flinch. “She’s pregnant. I need to keep an eye on her. It’s not safe for her to be alone anymore.”
Quinley stared at him. Was this a joke? “You—brought your mistress to our home?”
His brows furrowed like she was the unreasonable one.
“She’s not ‘my mistress,’ Quinley,” he said with a calmness that only enraged her more. “Her name is Cassidy. And she’s going to be the mother of my child.”
Quinley’s stomach dropped, the words slicing through her chest like ice.
Cassidy let out a soft chuckle behind him, barely stifling her smirk.
“You expect me to just… live with her here?” Quinley asked, voice trembling. “In this house? In our house?”
“Yes,” Nikolai said simply, coldly. “I do.”
She blinked. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“No, Quinley. I’m just not pretending anymore. You knew we were struggling. You knew what this meant to me—having a child. I waited. I hoped. But nothing changed. Cassidy gave me what you couldn’t.”
Quinley’s lips parted in disbelief. “You cheated. You lied. You broke your vows—on our anniversary.”
“And yet here we are,” he said flatly. “I’m not asking for your permission. I’m telling you what’s happening.”
She took a step forward, voice sharp. “I won’t live under the same roof as her. I won’t eat breakfast next to the woman who destroyed my marriage. I won’t—”
“Then don’t,” Nikolai cut in, his voice like steel. “But if you can’t accept this, then maybe you should be the one to leave.”
The three words struck like bullets. Cassidy had already started up the stairs, pretending not to listen—but Quinley knew better. This was exactly the drama she thrived on.
“I’m not leaving,” Quinley said, voice low but dangerous. “I’m not going anywhere until you look me in the eye and admit what this really is. You didn’t bring her here for the baby. You brought her because you want her.”
Silence.
Then Nikolai, almost whispering: “That’s not your business anymore.”
Her chest tightened. “So I’m just a name on a document now? An inconvenience between you and your perfect little life?”
He walked up the stairs without another word.
Quinley stood alone, shaking, arms crossed over her chest as if that would hold her together.
Everything felt surreal. Just two days ago, she’d set a table for two, lit candles, and worn a dress she'd saved for months. Now her home had become a battleground, and she was already losing.
Silence thundered between them.
Cassidy didn’t speak—didn’t need to. Her presence was a slap in the face. Every breath she took in Quinley’s home, every glance she exchanged with Quinley’s husband—it was all deliberate.
Quinley’s voice came out barely a whisper. “This house… this life… was ours.”
Nikolai’s expression remained unreadable. “It stopped being ‘ours’ the moment you chose to live in denial. I gave you years, Quinley. Years to try. To fix things. To give me the family I wanted.”
“I gave you everything I had!” Her voice cracked, raw and broken. “I bled for you. I cried for you. I prayed for a child with you. And when that didn’t work, I held on to you. I believed in you!”
He didn’t move. Didn’t blink.
And that’s when it hit her.
He wasn’t here to explain. He wasn’t here to seek forgiveness. He was here to replace her.
Quinley’s breath trembled as she stepped back. “You want me to live here like some… some roommate while you play happy family with her?”
Nikolai looked her dead in the eyes. “It’s either you live with that fact… or you die with it.”
The room spun.
She staggered, reaching for the wall behind her to stay upright. “What did you just say?”
“You heard me,” he said without flinching. “This is your reality now. Either accept it or get out of the way.”
Cassidy stepped forward at last, her voice syrupy. “He’s just being honest, Quinley. It’s best you understand where things stand now. You’ll only make it harder on yourself if you cling to what’s already gone.”
Quinley looked at her, then at Nikolai. Her husband. The man she’d loved since her twenties. The man she married in this very house. The man who held her hand through every negative pregnancy test.
Gone.
Replaced by a stranger in the same skin.
And worse—he didn’t even look sorry.
Something in her chest snapped. The numbness began to burn, giving way to something darker. Deeper. Stronger.
She straightened her spine. No more trembling. No more tears.
If they thought she would crumble quietly, they were wrong.
“You’re going to regret this,” she said, voice low. “One day, you’ll realize what you threw away for a lie wrapped in lace.”
Cassidy scoffed. “Call it whatever you want, sweetie. At the end of the day, I’m the one carrying his legacy.something you couldn't and can't bore”
Quinley’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Then pray your body doesn’t betray you like mine did. Because when he gets tired of you—he won’t even wait until your birthday to replace you.”
Nikolai’s jaw clenched.
But she didn’t wait for a response.
She turned and walked back upstairs, her towel still damp, her dignity stripped bare—but her fire lit.
And it wouldn’t go out.
- Writer
