CHAPTER3
1527 Words
THE WEIGHT OF SECRETS
Karen lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. It was the same ceiling she had stared at when she woke up in the morning… only then, it wasn’t hers.
Thoughts of the night before slipped into her mind quietly, sharp and unwelcome, like a blade pressed against her skin.
Tears slid from the corners of her eyes and soaked into the pillow, but she didn’t sob. She didn’t even have the strength for that anymore. Her body felt heavy, and her soul felt worn thin, as though something inside her had cracked and never fully came back together.
Her hand drifted to her stomach. She rubbed it gently, in slow circles, as if that was the only thing in her life that still made sense.
“I’m trying,” she whispered with her shaking voice. “I swear I am.”
She wanted a drink, just one. Something strong enough to quiet the storm in her head and numb the fear chewing at her from the inside. But the small reminder beneath her palm kept her grounded, and she couldn’t destroy herself. Not with this little life depending on her.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling, but her mind was far away. Her pains were dragged back against her will as everything replayed like punishment. George’s lips on Helen’s and his mother’s cold words gnawed at her, and beneath it all…lies the heavier truth she was still too afraid to face. The truth that woke her up naked in a stranger’s bed. The truth that left her memory empty and her heart drowning in shame.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
No matter how hard she tried, the questions wouldn’t stop screaming.
What did she do? What happened to her?
And why did it feel like the whole world was closing in on her at once?
Then suddenly, a screeching sound tore through the silence outside. A car pulled into the driveway.
Karen’s body stiffened instantly, her heart jolting as though someone had slammed a door in her chest.
“It’s George,” she muttered, almost like a curse.
Her breathing became uneven. Not because she missed him, not because she was excited… but because anxiety rose inside her like smoke.
She wiped her face quickly, sitting up just as footsteps echoed down the hallway.
The bedroom door flew open.
George stood there, breathless. His jacket was half on, his hair was disheveled, and his face looked like he had rushed home straight from the studio without thinking twice.
“Karen,” he said, relief flashing across his eyes. “Thank God… you scared me.”
Karen didn’t respond.
He crossed the room in two long strides and knelt in front of her, reaching for her hands like he was afraid she would vanish again.
“I’ve been calling you,” he said, his voice softer now. “You left so suddenly. Why would you do that?”
Karen pulled her hands away.
George stiffened. His expression shifted slightly, like he could already feel the storm coming.
“What’s wrong?” he asked carefully. “Please… talk to me.”
Karen stared at him, the kind of stare that could cut through a man’s soul.
This was the man she was meant to marry in two days. The man whose child she carried. The man who promised her safety… and somehow handed her doubt instead.
“I went to your mother,” she said quietly.
George’s face tightened. “Karen…”
“She told me Helen suits you more than I do,” Karen continued, her voice calm in a way that even scared her. “She told me I am complicating things. That I don’t belong with you.”
George groaned under his breath, like he was already tired of Caroline’s poison.
“She had no right,” he said in an angry tone.
Karen’s eyes narrowed. “And you?” she asked. “What have you done to stop your mother from bullying me?”
George hesitated for a few seconds, but it was enough to answer her question. It was the kind of silence that answered louder than words.
Karen’s chest tightened, and she looked away, swallowing the bitter taste rising in her throat.
George reached for her again. “Listen to me,” he pleaded. “I love you. Whatever my mother said doesn’t change that. Helen doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Karen let out a soft, broken laugh. “That’s funny,” she said. “Because it looked like she meant something today. A lot, if I’m not mistaken.”
George’s jaw clenched. “It was a scene,” he said quickly. “You know how this job works. It’s just publicity.”
Karen’s voice dropped. “I know how promises work too,” she replied. “And you broke yours.”
George ran a hand through his hair; his frustration was becoming more glaring.
“I’m trying, Karen,” he said. “This is all happening too fast. The wedding… the baby…”
Karen flinched at the way he said it.
“You make it sound like a burden,” she whispered.
“That’s not what I meant!” George said immediately, stepping closer. “You’re everything to me. Please don’t do this. Not now.”
Karen didn’t answer; instead, her gaze drifted to the bedside table. Something metallic caught her eye, and her breath staggered. Slowly, she leaned forward and picked it up.
A man’s watch, but not George’s.
Her fingers trembled as recognition struck her like a slap across the face. The same watch she found on the bedside table in that unfamiliar room… the one she had picked up without thinking.
George noticed the shift in her expression.
“What’s that?” he asked.
Karen lifted her eyes slowly. “You tell me.”
George frowned, genuinely confused. “I’ve never seen that before,” he said.
Karen’s heartbeat grew louder in her ears.
“It found it in my bag,” she said, forcing her voice tight. “I don’t know how it got there.”
Silence stretched between them. The air in the room thickened, as though the room was about to run out of air.
George stared at the watch… then back at her. Something dark flickered in his eyes.
“Karen,” he said slowly, carefully. “Where were you last night?”
The question hit her like a punch. Her chest tightened, and the room suddenly felt smaller.
“I told you,” she replied, trying to keep her voice steady. “I was at the party.”
“All night?” George pressed.
Karen swallowed. “I don’t remember everything.”
George’s brows knitted. “What do you mean you don’t remember everything?”
He picked up the watch, staring at it like it held answers he didn’t want.
Karen stood up, backing away instinctively.
“Drop it, George,” she said, voice low.
But George didn’t drop it. Instead, he stepped closer.
“You come home upset,” he said, voice rising, “and now there’s a strange man’s watch in our bedroom, and you expect me not to ask questions?”
Karen’s voice cracked. “You don’t get to question me.” She said boldly.
George’s eyes hardened. “Why not?” he snapped. “Because you’re carrying my child?”
The words hung in the air: ugly and cruel. Karen’s hand flew to her stomach, protective and trembling.
“This child," she said slowly, with her voice shaking, “is the only reason I’m still standing here.”
George’s anger faltered instantly. “Karen, I didn’t mean…”
“Enough,” Karen whispered. “I can’t do this right now.”
She turned away, walking toward the bathroom, her legs shaking beneath her like they could collapse at any moment.
Behind her, George stood numbed with the watch still in his hand, doubt slowly creeping into places where trust used to live.
Karen locked the bathroom door and leaned against it, sliding down until she sat on the cold floor. Her breathing came in shallow bursts, as if the air refused to fully enter her lungs.
In two days… she would walk down the aisle.
In two days… she would become his wife.
But the truth, the love, and the memories she had built around him were already cracking. The ring on her finger felt heavier than ever. It didn't feel like a promise anymore; it felt like a warning, and deep down, Karen knew that wasn't the end of the storm but only the beginning.
That night, Karen lay awake beside George, listening to his breathing and counting the seconds between each rise of his chest. The watch sat hidden where she had left it, heavy with questions she was no longer brave enough to ask.
She stared into the darkness and understood something that terrified her more than betrayal itself.
If she spoke the truth, everything would shatter. And if she stayed silent…it would rot slowly from the inside. Either way, the woman she used to be was already gone.
- Writer
