The Weight of Karma
1613 Words
Gabriel drove home like a man chasing the end of something.
The city lights passed in streaks. He didn’t remember traffic lights. He didn’t remember turns. All he could see was Michael’s face.
The pause.
The silence.
The truth.
And Daniel, not his blood.
But his son.
That word still belonged to him. No test could take that away.
By the time he pulled into the driveway, his anger had changed shape. It wasn’t loud anymore.
It was heavy.
Inside the house, Prisca was pacing.
She had been walking in circles for almost an hour. From the window to the couch. From the couch to the door. Her mind would not stop racing.
Michael would crack. She knew that.
He had never been good under pressure.
She had hoped Gabriel would think first, calm down and sleep on it.
But Gabriel did not sleep when betrayed.
Headlights flashed across the curtains.
Her heart dropped.
He was back.
The door opened without hesitation.
Gabriel stepped in slowly.
He didn’t slam it.
He didn’t shout.
That scared her more.
His eyes were steady.
Not confused, not searching, but certain.
“So this is you,” he said.
Her throat tightened. “Gabriel—”
“This has been your plan.”
“No.”
“You ruined my life.”
His voice was quiet and controlled.
It carried more damage than a scream.
She shook her head, tears already forming. “I didn’t mean—”
“You ruined my marriage with Victoria.”
The name landed hard between them.
“You knew I loved her,” he continued. “You knew I would have done anything for that woman.”
Prisca swallowed.
“You knew she couldn’t give me a child,” he said, and this time his voice cracked slightly. “You knew how badly I wanted one.”
She covered her mouth.
“And when you got pregnant for Michael…” His jaw tightened. “You let me believe it was mine.”
The room felt smaller.
Prisca’s knees weakened.
She dropped to the floor.
“It was a mistake,” she cried. “I swear it was a mistake.”
Gabriel gave a short, empty laugh.
“A mistake doesn’t last for nine years.”
Her shoulders shook. “I never meant to hurt you.”
“But you did.”
Silence stretched.
She wiped her face with trembling hands.
“I had something with Michael before I met you,” she said quickly. “We were serious once. But we broke up. I moved on, and then I met you.”
Gabriel didn’t respond.
“And when I found out he was your close friend, I was shocked,” she continued. “I didn’t plan that.”
“You didn’t plan sleeping with him either?” he asked.
She flinched.
“That night,” she whispered, “you told me you were going to see Victoria.”
His eyes hardened.
“You were still married,” she said. “You kept choosing her. Even when you said you loved me.”
“I was trying to hold my life together,” Gabriel replied.
“And I was falling apart,” she said.
Her voice broke.
“I wanted you fully, not half. Not when it was convenient.”
Gabriel turned away from her, jaw tight.
“I was already drinking that night,” she continued. “I was angry, and i felt like I would always come second in your life.”
“And that justifies it?”
“No.” She shook her head violently. “Nothing justifies it.”
He faced her again.
“When Michael came looking for you and you weren’t home,” she said slowly, “he stayed.”
Gabriel’s hands clenched.
“I tried to resist,” she said. “But I was hurt, i was lonely and i made a stupid choice.”
“So you slept with him.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
The word fell between them like a final nail.
Gabriel felt something inside him go quiet.
Not explode.
Not shatter.
Just go quiet.
“And when you found out you were pregnant?” he asked.
“I panicked.”
“Did you tell him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because everything was already messy. Victoria was sick. You were stressed. You kept saying you wanted a child.”
Gabriel stared at her.
“So you lied.”
“I convinced myself it was yours,” she whispered. “The timing was close.”
“You convinced yourself?” he repeated, disbelief clear in his voice.
“I was scared,” she said. “If you knew the truth, you would leave.”
His eyes filled.
“I was scared of losing you,” she continued. “You don’t know what it feels like to love someone who still belongs to someone else.”
The words hung in the air.
“For years,” she said, voice shaking, “I felt like a shadow. You treated Victoria like fragile glass. You treated me like something temporary.”
Gabriel inhaled slowly.
“She was dying,” he said quietly.
“And I was disappearing,” Prisca replied.
Gabriel ran a hand over his face.
“So Daniel was your solution?” he asked.
“No!” she cried. “He was never a plan. He is my son.”
“But I was,” Gabriel said.
She looked down.
“I wanted something that would tie you to me,” she admitted. “Something that would make you choose me.”
He let out a slow breath.
“You used a child to secure a man.”
Her tears fell harder.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“You loved control,” he corrected.
The words hit.
She didn’t argue.
After a long moment, Gabriel spoke again.
“You are lucky Sandra is my child.”
Prisca’s head snapped up.
“What?”
“I did a DNA test.”
Her face drained of color.
“You what?”
“I don’t trust you anymore.”
The calm way he said it hurt more than anger.
“And if Sandra wasn’t mine,” he added, his voice low, “I don’t know what I would have become.”
She stared at him, shocked.
“I would have destroyed everything,” he said.
She believed him.
“Please,” she whispered, crawling closer. “Don’t do this.”
“I am filing for divorce.”
The word landed like a gunshot.
“No,” she said immediately. “You can’t.”
“I can.”
“It was one mistake!”
“It was a choice,” he replied.
She grabbed his leg desperately.
“Think about the children.”
“I am.”
“You’ll break this family.”
“You broke it,” he said quietly.
Her grip loosened.
He stepped back.
“For years, I defended you. I trusted you. I called him my son in front of the world.”
“He is your son,” she said through tears.
Gabriel paused.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Then he turned away.
He walked toward the stairs.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To check on my son.”
The emphasis cut deep.
Prisca stayed on the floor as he disappeared upstairs.
For the first time, fear wrapped around her completely.
Not fear of shouting.
Not fear of anger.
But fear of being left.
Fear of losing everything she fought so hard to keep.
Upstairs, Gabriel stood by Daniel’s bed.
The boy was sleeping peacefully.
One arm thrown above his head.
Mouth slightly open.
He was so innocent.
Gabriel sat down slowly.
He studied his face.
He remembered the hospital room.
The first cry.
The first time tiny fingers wrapped around his thumb.
The first “Daddy.”
School events.
Late-night fevers.
Birthday cakes.
Every memory was real.
Every moment was his.
Blood or not.
He touched Daniel’s hair gently.
“You are mine,” he whispered.
Not because of DNA.
Not because of a name on a certificate.
But because he stayed, because he showed up, and because he loved him before he could even speak.
Gabriel wiped his face quickly.
Then his expression changed.
The tears dried.
Something else replaced them.
Decision.
He would divorce Prisca.
That was clear.
But Daniel—
Daniel would not suffer for adult mistakes.
Gabriel stood up slowly.
He looked down one last time.
“No one takes you from me,” he said quietly.
Downstairs, Prisca sat alone on the couch.
The house felt different already.
She had always believed she could manage the truth, control it, and delay it.
But now it stood in front of her.
Unforgiving.
Gabriel came down the stairs a few minutes later.
His face was composed again.
“I’ll speak to my lawyer tomorrow,” he said.
Her chest tightened.
“You don’t have to end everything,” she whispered weakly.
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he said something that made her heart sink completely.
“I don’t hate you, Prisca.”
She almost felt relief.
Until he finished.
“But I don’t respect you anymore.”
And she knew—
Some things could survive anger.
Some things could survive betrayal.
But not that.
Gabriel walked past her and into his study, closing the door behind him.
Prisca remained where she was alone.
For the first time, she understood something clearly.
Love built on fear never lasts.
And now—
The lie that gave her everything
Was about to take it all away.
- Writer
