CHAPTER 2
1410 Words
CHAPTER 2
NORA'S POV
Questions drifted into my thoughts like unwelcome guests, each one more frustrating than the last. Could Vanessa be telling the truth? Had Ethan been lying to me all along? What was truly going on behind my back?
I had noticed the late-night meetings, the weekend trips, the holidays spent in empty rooms where his presence should have been. But I had never questioned him.
He had always assured me that it was just a busy period, that it would all settle down soon. I believed him because I wanted to believe him.
But now... now I wasn't so sure.
Was I truly that naive? Had I allowed myself to be blinded by love, to the point where I couldn't see what was right in front of me? My heart ached painfully at the thought.
I pulled into the driveway of our mansion, As I turned off the engine, I sat in the car for a moment, staring at the nothingness ahead. I sighed tiredly, I needed to confront Ethan.
I opened the door with my keys, I was greeted with the living room but it was dark and felt empty. I located the light switch and flipped it, Ethan was seated with a bottle of vodka not so far from me.
"Where were you and why are you coming back so late?" He asked me and I shook my head.
"I'm not late," I replied him, as my eyes went to digital wall clock.
Oh s**t! It was 8pm already, I probably didn't notice because i was deeply thought about Vanessa's words.
Ethan narrowed his eyes at me, clearly not satisfied with my answer. "It's late, Nora. You should have called."
"I didn't realize it was so late," I said quietly, not wanting to provoke him. My mind raced as I tried to figure out how to approach the subject that had been eating away at me since my conversation with Vanessa.
But before I could say anything else, Ethan spoke again.
"Where were you?" he repeated again, this time with more insistence. His grip tightened around the bottle, and I could see the tension in his jaw.
"I was just out," I replied him, choosing my words carefully. "I needed some time to think."
"Think?" He let out a bitter laugh, one that sent a shivers down my spine. "And what exactly were you thinking about, Nora?"
His question hung in the air like a loaded gun, and I knew that this was it—the moment of truth. My heart pounded in my chest as I struggled to find the right words, but they eluded me.
How could I tell him what I was really thinking? How could I admit that I was questioning everything, that I was starting to doubt the very foundation of our marriage?
"I..." I hesitated, my voice faltering as I tried to summon the courage to confront him. "Ethan, I-I...."
"You were out cheating on me with another man, weren't you?" His accusation hit me like a slap to the face, the words sharp and venomous as they left his lips.
How dare he accuse me of cheating when he was doing so himself?
I took a step back, stunned by the suddenness of his accusation. "What? No, Ethan, that's not—"
"Don't lie to me, Nora!" He roared, his voice echoing off the walls of the empty room as he tossed the vodka bottle close to me and it shattered against the wall.
"What the hell Ethan!"
I yelled at and he began to approach me.
"What did he promise you? Is he richer than me? Is that why you cheated on me?"
What the hell was he saying? Did he think, I loved him only for his money and his reputation.
"What's that?" His eyes went to the medical reports in my hands, "is that the divorce papers?"
"No, it's -" Before I could finish my sentence, he yanked it out of my hands.
"Give it here." He opened the file and his eyes widened in shock, "Y-you're pregnant?" He asked me and I shook my head.
"I-it's not mine, it's Vanessa's baby." I said softly with a swallow. "And she said that it is yours." I wanted to see his reaction but he managed to keep a straight face.
"Ethan.....Have you been cheating on me?" I asked him finally, the words came out of my mouth.
He averted his gaze, as he replied me with silence. "Ethan...." I called out his name.
"Ethan, please answer me." I pleaded.
And then, he laughed—a harsh, bitter laugh that sent chills down my spine. He threw his head back, his shoulders shaking with the force of it. "It was so obvious," he said, his voice tinged with mockery. "I can't believe you didn't notice it all along. I mean, late-night meetings? Did you seriously believe that excuse?"
His words were like a punch to the gut, knocking the breath out of me.
How could he be so cruel? How could he stand there and laugh at my pain, at my naïveté?
"H-how could you Ethan?" My voice trembled as tears threatened spill out.
"Ah, please! Don't act so sentimental with me, Nora," he sneered, his words laced with venom. "You spend my money every day buying clothes, cars, jewelry, and other useless stuff to maintain your lifestyle. The only thing I want from you is a child, and you can't even give me that."
My vision blurred with tears as I stared at him, at the man that I had once loved. I couldn't understand, how could he reduce our marriage to something so shallow, so transactional?
"Ethan, how can you say that?" I whispered, my voice breaking under the weight of my emotions. "I never cared about your money or the lifestyle it afforded me. I loved you... I still do, despite everything."
He scoffed, the sound filled with disdain.
"Love? You call this love?" He gestured around the room, his eyes filled with contempt. "What kind of love is it that can't even give me a child? All these years, Nora, and still nothing. Do you know how humiliating it is for me to be married to a woman who can't fulfill her basic duty as a wife?"
The words stung like a thousand needles piercing my skin.
"Is that all I am to you, Ethan? A baby factory? You don't care about me at all, do you? You only care about what I can give you!" I yelled out with frustration as tears spilled out of my eyes.
"You're overreacting, Nora." He said to me as he reached out his hand to my face but I slapped his hand away from my face.
"I'm overreacting!"
The audacity of this man to cheat on me and tell me that I am freaking overreacting.
I couldn't continue this anymore, this marriage with someone that only sees me as a tool. I couldn't believe that I spent all my life caring and loving someone who didn't give a s**t about me! This needed to end, this madness had to end. I was done with this marriage.
I ran upstairs to the room, he called me multiple times but I didn't answer. I packed my things inside the traveling bag and rushed down.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" he stopped me with his hand on my arm.
"Why do you care? You have Vanessa don't you?" I said to him.
"Nora, come on! It was a moment of weakness, you can't fault me."
Are you kidding me? He was still defending himself.
"Oh really Ethan! Just how many moments of weakness have you had? And yes! It is your fault that you can't keep that thing under legs on your pants." I said to him removing his hand from mine.
"Nora, I.........." I didn't even wait for him to finish before I said my ultimatum.
"I want a divorce Ethan, I will have my lawyer finalize my own end of the paper."
"Nora........Don't do this, we can still make it work." He said and I scoffed.
"Goodbye, ethan." I said to him as I opened the door.
"Nora, if you step through that door, I will withdraw all my support to your family and make sure you regret it."
"Fine, do it." I said as I stepped out of the house.
"Nora! Nora! Wait........."
- Writer
