Chapter 2

2

I turned toward the bedroom to pack my bags as soon as I finished speaking.

I was done wasting words on him and his fake, manipulative face.

The trials he wrapped in the name of "love" were never about affection.

They were a slow execution, stripping away my trust and killing my hope for this marriage bit by bit.

For five years, I told him how much I hated being tested.

I told him a thousand times that trust and honesty were the only things that mattered to me.

But he never listened.

He only cared about his own ego and whether he could keep me under his thumb.

"Vanessa, no! Don't go!"

Lucian suddenly lunged forward, grabbing my wrist with a cold, trembling hand.

"I messed up, Vanessa. I really, really messed up this time."

"I'll never test you again, I promise. Just give me one more chance, okay?"

"We don't have to divorce. We can make this work."

His tears began to fall, splashing onto the back of my hand like icy needles.

In the past, seeing him cry would have broken me. I would have folded immediately.

Now, I felt absolutely nothing.

"It's too late."

I pulled my hand back with a slow, deliberate strength.

My gaze was distant and chilled.

"I gave you so many chances, Lucian."

"When you planted that fake strand of hair on my coat the first time, I told you to stop."

"When you faked those dirty chat logs, I told you there shouldn't be a next time."

"But you?"

"You treated my words like garbage."

"You pushed me to the edge of a breakdown every single time."

"There's nothing left to say now."

Lucian stood there, frozen, as the tears streamed down his face.

He looked at me with a mix of desperation and refusal to let go.

I ignored him and walked straight into the bedroom.

I pulled out the suitcase I had hidden in the back of the closet.

It didn't have much―just some clothes and my essential documents.

This marriage had given me nothing but scars, and I wasn't taking those with me.

I zipped the bag shut and walked back into the living room.

Lucian was still standing in the same spot, staring at me with hollow eyes.

Just as I reached the door, he tackled me from behind, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Vanessa, you can't leave!"

"You can't just abandon me like this!"

He was sobbing now, his voice cracking with a wild, desperate edge.

"I'm pregnant!"

"Vanessa, I'm pregnant!"

"Do you really want our baby to grow up without a mother?"

I stopped in my tracks.

Pregnant?

I was stunned for a split second before the absurdity of it hit me.

It was another trick. Another desperate lie to keep me chained to him.

We hadn't even shared a bed in nearly a year.

I had spent the last twelve months drowning in his mind games and gaslighting.

I was too exhausted to even think about intimacy.

There was no physical way he could be carrying a child.

I slowly turned around to look at his tear-streaked face.

I had to admit, his acting was getting better.

The trembling lip, the shattered gaze―it was enough to fool anyone else.

But five years of being lied to had made me immune to his drama.

"Is that so? You're pregnant."

My voice was dead quiet, as if I were listening to a stranger talk about the weather.

"Fine. Let's go to the hospital right now."

"If the doctor confirms you're actually carrying my child."

"I'll wipe the slate clean. I'll pretend the past never happened."

"We'll stay together and I'll take care of you."

Lucian's sobbing stopped instantly.

A flash of pure panic crossed his face.

He stammered for a good while before he could find his voice.

"It… it's too late at night."

"The clinics are all closed."

"Let's just go tomorrow, okay?"

I looked at his frantic expression and felt a bitter laugh bubble up inside me.

Of course it was a lie.

I didn't call him out. I just pulled out my phone and swiped to unlock it.

"Doesn't matter. The private urgent care centers are open twenty-four-seven."

"I'm calling right now to book an emergency appointment."

"We're going to get you checked out immediately."

"If it's true, I'll bring you home and treat you like royalty."

Lucian turned white as a sheet.

He let out a sharp cry and slapped the phone out of my hand.

"No! Vanessa, don't call!"

He was shaking, and the fear in his eyes was finally real.