The morning after
1727 Words
CHAPTER 2
I woke up on the couch.
My neck hurt. My eyes were swollen from crying. The apartment, his apartment, not mine, never mine—was silent.
For a second, I forgot. Then it all came crashing back.
I want a divorce.
Finally, something we agree on.
I sat up slowly, my hand going to my stomach. Still flat. No sign of the tiny life growing inside me.
Our baby.
His baby.
A baby he'd never know about.
My phone was buzzing on the coffee table. Fifteen missed calls. Twenty texts. I didn't want to look but I did anyway.
Maya: Girl where are you??? You were supposed to meet me for lunch!
Maya: Sophia I'm worried
Maya: If you don't answer in 10 minutes I'm coming over
Oh god. Maya. My best friend. I'd completely forgotten about lunch yesterday.
Yesterday. When my entire world fell apart.
I texted back with shaking fingers: I'm okay. Can you come over? I need you.
The response came immediately: On my way.
I tried to make myself look human before Maya arrived. Washed my face. Changed out of the expensive dress into sweatpants. Pulled my hair into a messy bun.
The penthouse still looked like a staged magazine photo. Perfect and cold and empty. Just like my marriage.
Ex-marriage, I corrected myself. Soon-to-be ex-marriage.
The doorbell rang. I buzzed Maya up.
She took one look at me and her face crumpled. "Oh, Sophia. What happened?"
And just like that, I started crying again. I thought I'd run out of tears but apparently not.
Maya pulled me into a hug, and I sobbed into her shoulder like a child.
"He wants a divorce," I finally managed to say. "He... he's in love with someone else. He was just waiting for an excuse to end it."
"That bastard," Maya hissed. "I never liked him. Cold, arrogant, treats you like..."
"I'm pregnant."
Maya froze. Pulled back to look at me. "What?"
"I'm pregnant. Six weeks. I found out yesterday morning, and then last night he asked for a divorce and I... I can't... I don't know what to do."
Maya's eyes went wide. Then fierce. "Does he know?"
"No. And he's not going to know."
"Sophia..."
"No." I pulled away, wiping my eyes. "He doesn't want me, Maya. He never wanted me. This whole marriage was just a business deal. I was stupid enough to fall in love with him, but I'm not stupid enough to trap him with a baby he doesn't want."
"That baby is his responsibility..."
"I don't want his responsibility! I don't want his money or his guilt or his obligation!" My voice was getting louder. I didn't care. "I want... I wanted him to love me. To choose me. And he didn't. He chose her."
Maya was quiet for a moment. Then, "Who's her?"
"Isabella Chen."
"The ex-girlfriend? The one who left him for that old billionaire?"
"She's divorced now. And Damien's been seeing her for months. I'm not stupid. I saw the signs. The late nights. The phone calls. The way he looked guilty every time I walked into a room." I laughed, but it came out bitter. "I confronted him about it and he didn't even deny it. Just looked relieved that I finally said I wanted a divorce."
Maya sat down on the couch, pulling me down next to her. "Okay. Okay, let's think about this. What do you want to do?"
"I want to leave. I want to take the money from the contract and disappear. Go somewhere he'll never find me. Raise this baby alone."
"Where would you go?"
I hadn't thought that far ahead. "I don't know. Seattle maybe? Or... or Boston? Somewhere far from New York. Somewhere I can start over."
"What about your mom?"
My heart clenched. "She's in remission. The treatment worked. She's living with Aunt Rosa in Florida now, remember? She's safe. She's healthy. That's all that matters."
"And you? What about what you need, Sophia?"
What did I need?
I needed to not wake up every day loving a man who'd never love me back.
I needed to not see Isabella Chen's picture in the society pages on Damien's arm.
I needed to not raise my child in the shadow of a father who'd see them as a mistake.
"I need to leave," I said quietly. "That's what I need."
Maya nodded slowly. "Okay. Then let's make a plan."
Two hours later...
We had a plan. Sort of.
Maya pulled up apartment listings in Seattle on her laptop. "This one's nice. Two bedrooms, good school district, near a park."
I looked at the screen. It was small. Nothing like the penthouse. But it looked... warm. Like a home.
"How much?"
"Two thousand a month."
I could afford that. The contract gave me three million dollars. Even after taxes, I'd have enough to live comfortably for years. Enough to raise a baby. Enough to start over.
"When do the lawyers call?" Maya asked.
I checked my phone. "Damien said they'd contact me today."
As if on cue, my phone rang. Unknown number.
I answered. "Hello?"
"Mrs. Cross? This is Martin Wheeler from Wheeler & Associates. I'm calling on behalf of Mr. Damien Cross regarding your dissolution of marriage."
Dissolution of marriage. Such cold words for something that hurt so much.
"Yes," I managed.
"Mr. Cross has asked me to prepare the divorce papers. The terms are quite generous. In addition to the three million stipulated in your original contract, Mr. Cross is offering an additional two million as a settlement, plus the penthouse apartment on Fifth Avenue, and..."
"I don't want the apartment."
Silence. "I'm sorry?"
"I don't want the apartment. Or the extra money. Just what was in the contract. That's all."
"Mrs. Cross, I really think you should reconsider. This is a very generous..."
"I don't want his guilt money, Mr. Wheeler. Just the contract terms. That's it."
More silence. Then, "Very well. I'll have the papers drawn up and sent over for your review. Once you've signed, the divorce can be finalized in approximately six months, provided there are no... complications."
Complications. Like a baby.
"There won't be any complications," I said.
"Excellent. You should receive the papers within forty-eight hours."
He hung up.
Maya stared at me. "You turned down two million dollars and a penthouse?"
"It's not my money. It was never my money." I set my phone down. "I just want what I earned. What I sold three years of my life for. Nothing more."
"You're crazy."
"Probably."
My phone buzzed again. A text this time.
Unknown Number: Sophia, we should talk. Please. - Damien
I stared at it. He'd never texted me before. In three years of marriage, he'd always communicated through his assistant or not at all.
Now he wanted to talk?
Too late, I thought.
I deleted the message. Blocked the number.
"What did he say?" Maya asked.
"Nothing important."
That night...
Maya stayed with me. Ordered takeout. Made me eat even though I wasn't hungry. Put on stupid reality TV that I couldn't focus on.
"You should tell him," she said quietly during a commercial break. "About the baby. He has a right to know."
"Why? So he can offer me more money? So he can set up a trust fund and hire nannies and see the kid twice a year on holidays?" I shook my head. "No. This baby deserves better than a father who sees them as an obligation."
"And if the baby asks about him someday?"
I'd thought about that. Of course I had.
"I'll tell them their father was a good man who just... couldn't love me. I'll tell them it wasn't their fault. That sometimes people just aren't meant to be together." I touched my stomach. "But I'll also tell them they were wanted. That I wanted them more than anything."
Maya's eyes were wet. "You're going to be a great mom."
"I hope so."
We sat in silence for a while. Then Maya said, "When do you want to leave?"
"As soon as the divorce is final. Six months."
"That's a long time."
"I know. But I can't leave before then. The contract says I have to maintain appearances until the divorce is finalized. If I run now, I don't get the money."
"So you have to pretend everything's fine for six months while you're pregnant and heartbroken?"
"Yeah."
"That's horrible."
"That's life."
My phone buzzed again. Different number this time.
Richard Cross: My dear, I heard the news. I'm so very sorry. Please know that your contract is ironclad. You'll receive everything you're owed, and you have my personal apology for my grandson's behavior. You deserved better.
At least Richard was kind.
I texted back: Thank you. For everything.
Richard Cross: If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to call. You'll always have a friend in me.
I smiled through tears. In three years, Richard had been more family to me than Damien ever was.
Later that night, alone...
Maya had gone home. The penthouse was silent again.
I walked through the rooms slowly. The master bedroom where Damien slept—where I'd never been allowed. The guest wing where I'd spent three years. The kitchen where I'd cooked dinners he never ate. The living room where we'd hosted parties, playing the perfect couple.
All of it was a lie.
I stopped at the window, looking out at the New York skyline. Millions of lights. Millions of people. Millions of lives being lived.
And mine was about to change completely.
I pressed my hand to my stomach.
"It's going to be okay," I whispered. "We're going to be okay. I promise."
Somewhere in this city, Damien was probably with Isabella. Happy. Relieved. Finally free of the wife he never wanted.
And me?
I was going to be a mother.
Alone, but not lonely.
Heartbroken, but not broken.
I'd survived three years of loving someone who couldn't love me back.
I could survive anything.
Six months from now, I'd be gone. New city. New name maybe. New life.
Damien Cross would be a memory. A mistake. A lesson learned.
And this baby?
This baby would be my future.
My hope.
My reason to keep going.
I just had to survive six more months.
I could do that.
I had to.
- Writer
