The Contacted Heiress

Fairy tales lied. Claire should have known the moment she decided to leave everything behind, her home, life, family to be with the love of her life, Leo. He was the man of her dreams, the one who gave her hope when there was none and was supposed to be her happily ever after, but instead he became Claire's biggest mistake. For three years, Claire endured his harsh treatments, his insults, his late nights spent in clubs wasted. All because she loved him. Because she believed love could fix anything. “You’re useless,” he had told her once, his voice as sharp. “A wife who can’t give me an heir is no wife at all.” The memory churned her stomach, but she had stayed. Because she thought she could change him. Then it happened. The two pink lines on the pregnancy test made her heart stop. After years of trying and praying, it happened. She was finally pregnant. Claire's eyes suddenly became teary, her hands instantly rubbing her belly, as if to protect the little bean growing inside her. This will fix everything, she told herself. She couldn't wait to tell Leo. She felt something she hadn't felt in years. Hope. Hope that they will start over. Claire smiled as she closed her eyes, imagining how Leo's face would light up when he heard the news. “This will surely make him happy,” she whispered to herself. “It has to.” Stepping inside, the house was eerily quiet. Usually, Leo’s voice echoed through the halls as he barked orders at the staff or paced in his study, phone pressed to his ear. But tonight, there was nothing. Just silence. Her head snapped toward the sound of laughter drifting from upstairs, a woman’s laughter, light and teasing. Her stomach twisted. “Leo?” she called out, her voice shaking. There was no response. Claire took slow steps as she made her way upstairs. She tried to act brave, but her instincts told her something was definitely wrong. She stopped outside the door, her eyes slightly closing as she tried to steady her breath. She could hear whispers drifting from inside. After a moment of debating, she pushed the door open and was met with a horrified sight before her. Leo, her husband, who she's been married too for three years, and her best friend, or rather, ex-best friend now, Evie, tangled in the sheets of their bed. Their matrimonial bed. Claire's breath hitched. “Leo?” He turned around, glaring at her, looking bored. There was no guilt, no shame. Just a smirk that made her blood boil. “You’re home early,” he said casually, as though she’d interrupted him watching TV. Evie sat up, pulling the sheets closer to her chest as she rubbed circles on Leo's hands. She turned to Claire with a smirk on her face. “Claire, I'm so sorry you had to find out this way," Evie mocked with a fake pout. “You knew it was bound to happen soon. You couldn't give Leo what he wanted.” Claire gasped at Leo's words. She couldn't believe the man who she had loved all her life stood before her and disregarded her in front of her best friend who she has always confided in. “You disgust me,” she spat, pointing at them. “Both of you.” Leo didn’t flinch. Instead, he walked to the desk, pulled out some papers and threw them on the bed. “Spare me the drama Claire,” he said, his tone bored. “Just sign the divorce papers and leave. This has been over for a long time. You’ve served your purpose, Claire. I don’t need you anymore.” Her eyes dropped to the papers. The words Divorce Agreement written boldly made her heart stop. She couldn't breathe. “You want to divorce me?" she finally whispers after a moment of silence. “Yes I do. Why wouldn't I?" he barked. "You failed as a wife. You can’t give me what I need, an heir. It’s time we went our separate ways.” Claire gasped as she staggered back, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. The man she left home for, the man she loved had suddenly become a stranger. “And her?” Claire spat, glaring at Evie, who looked smugly triumphant. Leo shrugged. “She knows how to please me. Something you clearly can’t do.” A fire ignited in Claire’s chest, burning away the despair and leaving only anger . “You bastard,” she hissed. Leo smirked, leaning casually against the desk. “Sign the papers, Claire. Make this easier on yourself.” “Fine,” she said, after a moment of silence, her voice steady and cold. “I’ll sign. But not because you told me to. I’ll sign because I’m done. Done with you. Done with this farce of a marriage.” Snatching the pen from the bedside table, she scrawled her name across the papers and thrust them back at him, meeting his smug gaze with rage in her eyes. “There,” she said. “Congratulations, Leo. You’re free.” Claire saw something pass through his eyes, regret but it vanished as quickly as it came and Claire couldn't care less about that. “You’ll regret this, I promise you," she spat. “Both of you." She glared at Evie who looked unfazed by the whole situation. Claire turned her gaze back to Leo. “You’ll realize what you had lost, but mark my words, it’ll be too late by then.” Claire angrily exited the room, the door shutting loudly behind her. She walked downstairs, feeling exhausted from being in this house. Once outside, she felt the rain falling heavily on her, soaking her clothes. She stood frozen in the driveway, her mind replaying all that happened. She stared back at the house which had now turned into her nightmare. Chucking to herself, she pulled out the pregnancy test from her purse, her hand tracing the two pink lines. This was what she prayed for but now it all felt meaningless. She dropped the stick on the driveway, the rain washing it away. Sliding into the backseat of the car, she rested her head on the headboard, her mind swirling with different ways to make Leo and Evie pay for what they had done. She pulled out her phone from purse, dialing the one person who'd always be by her side and never break her. “Claire?” A smooth voice rang out, warm and steady. Tears filled her eyes, but a smile made its way to her face. “Hi Grandfather," she said, wiping the tears with the back of her hands. “I'm coming home."