The Wife He Didn't Choose

Chapter 4

ROSE'S POV

"James," I gasped in shock. "You should know I'll never do that. Not to our daughter, not after everything I've —"

"My daughter, not our daughter. You're nothing but a liability in the form of a caregiver."

"James!" I repeated, the hurt obvious in my voice.

"Like it or not, I don't want that bastard in your stomach. You need to get an abortion. Today."

"We made this baby with love."

"Your love, not mine. Do I need to remind you daily that this is a one-year contract marriage and nothing more? Why are you so intent on ruining things for me? Why?"

"You know I won't do that, James." There was no stopping the tears rolling down my cheeks now.

"Our contract is almost up. I don't want any baby strings after that, and trust me, I'm not renewing a damn thing." He walked out and slammed the door shut behind him.

I knelt on the floor sobbing quietly, hands wrapped around my stomach as if I could shield my baby from the harsh words of his own father.

Bastard. He had called our baby a bastard.

The same baby I believed would bring life and love into our loveless marriage was now his reason for hating me.

I pressed my lips together hard, trying to muffle the sounds coming out of me, because the last thing I needed was one of the staff walking past that door and finding me like this, or hearing the barely disguised sound of my cries.

I stayed there for a while.

Eventually the sobbing quieted but I didn't move. Instead I stared at the door he had slammed, his words still echoing in the now silent room.

He called me a liability. But I had cooked his meals despite him having staff for that. I helped his daughter with homework she threw back in my face. I had grown accustomed to sleeping alone in a bed meant for two people for seven months without a single complaint. I had folded myself so small trying to fit into whatever version of this marriage would make him comfortable, and he had looked me in the eye and called me a liability.

What did you expect, Rose?

I knew what I had signed. I had been standing in a hospital corridor with a dying sister and a stranger offering me a black card, and I had said yes. I had no business being surprised now.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand and stood up slowly, one hand braced against the wall.

I'm not aborting this baby.

Once the contract expires I'll move on with my life, and with James' child. That's it. It's probably easier said than done, but I'll try before I give up.

I went to the restroom to rinse my face so it wouldn't look like I'd spent the whole afternoon crying.

Next stop was Lily's room.

I knocked carefully. No response. I knocked again, louder this time.

"You can come in. If it's Rose, get lost."

"Sweetheart —"

"I'm not your sweetheart, I'm not your honey. Just get lost. I hate you."

I paused a moment to absorb the sting, then pushed the door open anyway.

"Hey there. Where are your assignments?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said about —"

"Assignments, Lily. Unless you want me to report to your father."

"You're the worst stepmother ever. I hate you. I wish you'd just die so it could be just me and my daddy again."

"Assignments." I kept my voice firm.

She half-threw the notebooks at me before stomping over to her pink chair across the room.

I flipped them open.

"Lily." I gasped.

"What?"

"You failed all your tests."

"Same way you failed to pay for your sister's surgery. Abel told me everything."

Abel was James' head of security and the only person who had been unkind to me from the very first day.

"Is that why you failed your tests?"

"No. Thinking about you trying to take my mummy's place makes me fail every time."

"Should I show your dad these results?"

"I don't care. My dad is going to bring a better mummy home for me soon anyway."

"A new mum?"

"Yes. I like Sophy. She's my favourite and when she moves in I can call her mummy."

"You know you can call me mummy too."

"No. I don't want to. I don't like you and my daddy doesn't like you either. Maybe you should just move out of our house."

"Lily. Assignment."

With shaky hands and blurred vision I managed to coach her through her tasks. The moment we were done I got out of her room before she could add any more salt to my already open wounds.

I walked the length of the hallway to James' office. He was always there around this time.

"Come in," he said without looking up from his laptop.

"Hi James."

"I'll drop you at the hospital tomorrow. Get rid of it."

"Why are you so against the idea of a child?"

"Because we will soon go our separate ways. I've done more than enough for you and your sister. I've spent thousands of dollars on you both and now you want to trap me into a ridiculous child support arrangement after the divorce."

"I'm not even asking about child support. I'm asking why you're against another child. You're doing well with Lily —"

"That's because I wanted Lily. I don't want the child in your stomach. Respect my boundaries and we won't have any issues for the few months left in this arrangement."

"But I want to keep this baby."

"I see you like the idea of being a single mum. I wish you and the bastard the very best of luck."

"James, just give it a chance."

"What part of I don't want a baby by you do you not understand?"

"Do you have another woman?" I finally voiced the suspicion Lily had already planted in my head.

"What if I do?”