FROM DISCARDED WIFE TO UNTOUCHABLE WOMAN

Serena's POV “Congratulations, ma'am. You're a month pregnant.” The doctor said to me, giving me the test result. I took it, still in a daze. “I know how hard you've tried to get this, Serena. I'm genuinely happy that you have at last. You can stop the medications now.” I opened the test result and read through, clearing my doubt. She was right. After eight years of marriage to Adrian Whitmore, I've been unable to conceive. I lost two pregnancies before term. Seeing this not only brought joy to my heart, but also imagined how happy Adrian would be. “Thank you so much, Layla.” I smiled. She returned the smile. “You have to be very careful, Serena. After the hard treatment you put yourself into just to have this baby, there might be complications.” She paused and added, “Do come in for weekly check-ups.” I nodded, thanked her again and stepped out of the hospital. The Whitmore driver was already waiting for me. “Madam, Mr Whitmore asked to bring you to the Whitmore family house.” The driver said once I reached the car. Whitmore family house? I sighed in my heart. The last time we went there, my father and mother-in-law kept asking when I was going to give them an heir. They had tortured Adrian with cruel words. Why would he want me there now? I nodded at the driver and stepped into the car. Perhaps I shouldn't be worried, since I have the test result in hand. They would not humiliate me or my husband anymore. I caressed the test result, unable to contain my excitement. You know that feeling where you desperately want to give the man you love the one thing he wishes for and you finally do. I placed my hand on my belly. “Please stay, baby.” I whispered. “I will nurture you very carefully.” Soon, we arrived at the Whitmore family mansion. As I walked towards the entrance, my gaze fell on the garden where Adrian had publicly proposed to me. A small smile crept to my lips. We had been childhood sweethearts and although we've been married for eight years, staring at Adrian's golden, brown eyes still made butterflies flutter in my belly. It was time to share the news of my pregnancy! I lifted my hand to open the door when I stopped mid-air. “Darling, you must have some more! You need to eat enough to raise a healthy baby.” The voice of my mother-in-law, Helen Whitmore passed through my ears. “She's right, my love. Tell me if you want something else, I'll have the cook prepare it.” Adrian's voice came next. I forced my legs to move and pushed the door open. There were four people seated at the dinner table. Richard, my father-in-law, Helen, Adrian, and a stranger. They all stared at me like I wasn't supposed to be here. My husband's arm was wrapped around this stranger, whose skin was flawless. Unlike my chubby self, she was petite, young and slim. I forced the lump down my throat and spoke. “Dad, mom, what's going on here?” Helen Whitmore glanced at me and then back at the stranger, ignoring my presence. Adrian got up just then, after kissing the stranger on the cheek. “You're here.” He said as he walked over. “Serena, meet Camille, my soon-to-be wife.” It felt as if my heart squeezed behind my chest hearing him say those words. “Have you lost your mind, Adrian?!” I didn't know when the words bursted out of my lips. I was already worked up. I could feel the blood boiling in my veins and I had to remind myself that I must not stress due to the pregnancy. “Camille is eight months gone. She's expected to deliver our baby boy in a few weeks from now.” He told me casually. My voice broke. “You betrayed our trust and love just because of an heir?” “While I was working hard, putting myself under a number of crazy treatments, just so I could conceive even at the expense of my health, you were out there with another woman?!” “Don't make yourself look like the victim, Serena.” Helen Whitmore fixed her gaze on me. “You had eight years to prove yourself to Adrian, but you couldn't. You know the tradition of this family. Left to me, Adrian should have gotten rid of you many years ago!” “How could you be this heartless, mother?” I forcefully held back my tears, “You know how devastated I was after losing both pregnancies. You saw the effort I put into this, even when it should have cost me my life. And now, you sit there trying to convince yourself I'm not the victim?” “You will not speak to my mother that way, Serena.” Adrian's cold voice hit me. “If this is about your effort, I'm ready to reward you. I already plan to have a hundred million dollars wired into your account.” I laughed, as hot tears threatened to fall but I refused to let these people see me cry. “You're stupid if you think you can replace the love we shared with a million dollars!” I spat. “If having an heir was the only thing that truly mattered to you, then you never loved me, Adrian!” “I surrendered all for you, Adrian!” I trembled, struggling to hold my emotions back. “I stopped my dream for you, I did not pursue my studies further, for you. I stopped acting like other girls my age for you, I risked my life twice for you, I remained a housewife for you, I abandoned my home and my life for you, I did everything you ever asked me to that I don't even recognize myself after eight years!” “We don't need all this, Serena.” He shut me off. “What's important is a child to uphold the Whitmore family's name, and Camille has achieved something you couldn't for eight years.” “An heir, right?” I repeated and held up the test results. “I'm pregnant.”