CHAPTER 2

Anastasia 

My knees hit the tiled floor before I even realized what was going on.

The sound of Brandon kissing Rosalie rang in my head as my fingers dug into the cold ground beneath me.

No.

No, this couldn't be happening.

I stared at them from behind the pillar with blurry eyes, my entire body trembling violently. Brandon's arm was wrapped around her waist possessively while his hand rested over her swollen stomach.

No matter how I told myself that it wasn’t what I thought, but I could still see the truth slapping me in the face.

My chest constricted painfully.

I had always believed my marriage was perfect.

Not perfect in the unrealistic fairytale sense, but at least, it was real, stable, loving.

Brandon had loved me.

Hadn't he?

He had even assured me that he didn’t care if we didn’t have a child yet.

My eyes stung as I stared at her swollen stomach and instinctively wrapped an arm around my own body protectively.

Carefully, I pushed myself up from the floor, terrified they would notice me. My legs felt weak beneath me as I quietly backed away from the pillar.

Brandon never saw me, neither did Rosalie.

I doubted either of them even imagined I would discover their little family.

The thought nearly destroyed me.

I somehow made it out of the house and back into the sunlight, but the fresh air did nothing to stop the suffocating ache inside my chest.

The moment I reached my car, I gripped the door handle tightly just to steady myself.

My hands were shaking so badly that I almost dropped my keys.

I slid into the driver's seat and locked the doors immediately, then I broke into tears.

A sob ripped out of my throat so painfully that my throat hurt. Tears blurred my vision almost instantly as I bent forward over the steering wheel, crying like my heart had been ripped out of my chest.

Because maybe it had.

I loved Brandon. God, I loved him so much.

Even now, after what I had just seen, part of me still wanted to wake up from this nightmare and hear him explain that there had been some misunderstanding.

But there wasn't, there couldn't be.

I had seen the way he touched her, the way he looked at her, the way he rested his hand protectively over her baby bump.

My crying worsened as memories flooded my head mercilessly.

I remembered staying awake for nights helping Brandon prepare presentations when he first started managing my father's company.

I remembered skipping meals just to accompany him to business events because he said he hated attending them alone.

I remembered defending him every single time the Moretti family looked down on him for being illegitimate.

I had fought for him.

I had even endured his mother.

A bitter laugh escaped me through tears.

His mother had hated me from the beginning, yet I still tried so hard to win her approval.

Nothing I did was ever enough.

Not the countless errands she forced on me like I was some servant in my own home.

And Brandon had always told me to endure it a little longer.

"She's old-fashioned, Ana."

"She's just emotional."

"Please don't fight with her for my sake."

For his sake.

Everything had always been for Brandon's sake.

And while I was sacrificing pieces of myself for him, he was building another family behind my back. And with his secretary.

My hand slowly moved toward my stomach.

The pregnancy test was still inside my purse.

A fresh wave of tears spilled down my cheeks.

"Our baby..." I whispered with a broken voice.

The pain inside my chest became unbearable.

I stayed in the car for nearly thirty minutes, crying until my eyes became swollen and my throat burned painfully.

Eventually, exhaustion settled heavily over me. I wiped my face shakily and started the car.

The drive home felt empty.

Like I had left part of myself behind in that house.

When I finally pulled into the Moretti mansion driveway, I stared at the grand building numbly.

I had lived here for three years, and suddenly it no longer felt like home.

The maids greeted me as I walked in, but I barely heard them.

I walked upstairs mindlessly and headed straight for my room.

The second the door closed behind me, I was swallowed whole by silence.

I slowly walked toward the mirror to look at my reflection.

My eyes were red and swollen. The earlier radiance that had been there when I left initially was gone, replaced by something dark.

I looked broken.

My gaze slowly dropped toward my stomach which still looked flat as if there was no other life growing inside it..

Carefully, I placed a trembling hand against it.

"Mommy will protect you," I whispered softly.

I told myself that I would not let myself break over this, I would protect my marriage, and most importantly, I would protect my child.

Suddenly, the bedroom door burst open so violently that I almost jumped out of my skin.

My mother-in-law stormed inside without knocking, her sharp eyes immediately locking onto me.

"There you are." she snapped. "Where the hell have you been all day?"

Normally, I would've lowered my head and apologized to keep the peace.

But today, I had nothing left inside me to endure her misgivings.

"I went out," I said in a low tone.

Her eyes narrowed instantly.

"I've been looking everywhere for you. I needed you to accompany me shopping and run errands, but you disappeared like some irresponsible child."

Something inside me cracked instantly.

Errands?

I had just discovered my husband was having a baby with another woman, and she was yelling at me about errands?

A hollow laugh nearly escaped me.

"I'm not your servant," I said in a tired voice. “You could have easily sent one of the maids on your errands.

The room fell silent.

My mother-in-law stared at me in shock, as if she couldn't believe I had spoken back.

"What did you say?"

I slowly looked up at her.

"I said I'm not your servant," I repeated, my voice shaking slightly. "You can't expect me to sit around waiting for your commands every second."

Her face immediately twisted with rage.

"How dare you speak to me like that?"

I laughed bitterly, tears gathering in my eyes again.

"How dare I?" I whispered. "Do you know what I've sacrificed for this family?"

"Oh please," she scoffed. "What exactly have you sacrificed besides spending your father's money?"

That stabbed deep.

"You ungrateful woman," she continued harshly. "My son gave you his name and this home, yet you've still failed at the one thing a wife is supposed to do."

My hand instinctively moved to my stomach.

The gesture didn't escape her notice.

Her lips curled mockingly.

"What?" she sneered. "Are you finally pregnant after all these years?"

I stiffened instantly.

The look on my face must have confirmed it because her eyes widened briefly before narrowing again.

And then she let out a hollow laugh.

"Well, about time," she said cruelly. "Maybe now you'll stop being useless."

Something inside me snapped completely.

"I am not useless." I basically yelled.

Something shifted in her expression. She stared at me in unbelief.

"You've become so arrogant." She yelled, her eyes flashed with fury.

Before I could react, she shoved me hard.

A scream tore from my throat as my body lost balance.

I crashed onto the floor violently, my stomach hitting the cold, hard floor.

Pain exploded through me instantly.

My breath hitched violently as terror flooded me.

"My baby…" I curled instinctively around my stomach, crying out in pain.

But instead of helping me, my mother-in-law stepped backward coldly.

"Maybe this will teach you some respect," she spat.

Fear slammed into me.

"W-Wait..." I gasped weakly. "Help me..."

My vision blurred from pain, but she ignored me completely.

Then, to my horror, she walked out of the door and locked it from outside.

Panic consumed me instantly.

"Please!" I screamed desperately, tears pouring down my face. "Please, help me.”

Pain tore through my stomach again.

Hot tears streamed endlessly down my face as I weakly dragged myself across the floor.

"Help..." I sobbed.

The room spun violently around me.

And the last thing I remembered before the darkness completely swallowed me whole was clutching my stomach in terror.