Pearl's POV 

"How do you mean heartless? This is not mine and what is it used for?" My gaze flickers between the bottle content and my husband.

"Enough Of the lies Pearl!" My husband barks in a thunderous voice that has me recoiling. "Enough Pearl, stop...stop lying," he grits, "...to my face, I'm not a child, if you're not the one taking it then who has it? You keep lying to me and I believe every single word you say because I believe that you'll never lie to me. How come there's an abortion pill in your things? You've been aborting all your pregnancies?" He says the last sentence with a hint of disbelief, his eyes flaring with indefinable emotion, I've never seen my husband like this.

Right now he looks like a lethal animal that's looking for a slight reason to unalive something.

"Fabian, you have to believe me, I have never been pregnant and I've never aborted any of our children," My chest heaving with uneasiness, my heart throbbing with fear, liquid heat pooling in my lower belly.

How did that get inside my room? I know for certain that it doesn't belong to me, I would never abort my baby, Not when it would determine my peace in this marriage.

Fabian let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head, lines of doubt were still written all over him.

"Fabian, you have to believe me, I'm telling the truth, this pill is not mine, I don't know...I don't know how it got here, you have to believe me, it doesn't belong to me," I defend myself with my honest truth.

Fabian shakes his head again and shoots me a glare, "I would have believed you on another occasion because I'm so blindly in love with you that I believe every fucking word you say, I should have figured this out earlier, you said you would never give birth, you said that earlier in this marriage, I thought you were joking I didn't know you meant it, I didn't know you could be this evil, the doctor said you were fine, I should have known that this relationship was one-sided, Now I'm beginning to think about all the lies that you have told me in the past that I'm unable to figure out," his hurtful accusations were bruising my fragile heart.

"That's not true!" I counter.

"Oh yeah that's true, and you know what? I hate myself for choosing you over my Mom," 

I throw my arms over my stomach, hugging my stomach so tightly, my nails digging into my skin as tears wracked my body.

"Stop the crocodile tears, I can't believe what is happening right now, You've been killing my children without my consent?" 

"Fabian, I'm innocent of all the things you're accusing me of doing, I would never abort a baby without letting you know, you know this," 

"No, I don't know this, I don't know you, this you standing in front of me, you really never wanted to have children?" His brow creases in amazement, he says words like he can't believe it and he isn't hearing me out.

"That was then, I was younger and scared, you know why," my hands flare in front of me before dropping to my sides, "You know my fears with pregnancy that was born out of my Mom's death, but that won't make me abort a baby if I have one, I'm surprised you're doubting me all of a sudden," I express my disbelief at his behavior, he may have trusted me blindly a few times but I did earn his trust.

Him saying words like this to me is a big lash to my ego.

"That's because lately your claims are not backed up with proof, you've been lying to me a lot Pearl and I will appreciate it if you stop because you're making me feel stupid," 

"I'm telling the truth, Fabian! I'm telling the truth," I didn't know when I lost control over my growing anger and yelled at the top of my voice in a desperate move to defend myself.

My husband grinds his teeth, his muscles twitching under his skin as he clenches his fists, his fingers curling into a ball, his grey eye liquid with rage.

I take an instinctive step backward because he looks like he is about to lunge at me.

"I can't do this," he says, searching the room till his eyes fall on his clothes, he throws them on.

"I made a mistake by coming here," he throws me one last contemptuous look before marching out of the room.

He shuts the door with a loud thud and I flinch back in shock.

It's a different kind of pain when you're accused of something you didn't do by someone you love so much and there's no proof for you to show your innocence.

I lean against the wall crying my eyes out in pain, I drag my back on the wall till my butt hits the cold marble floor, I hug my knees as endless tears stream down my face.

My phone rings on the nightstand where I left it last night. I lean forward to get it, my eyes are glossy with tears. I don't see who it is before picking up the call.

"Hello, Baby Sis, Happy birthday!" My brother says in his usual perky-fake Italian voice earning a weak smile from me.

"Thank you," I say, sniffing sobs.

"When will you be ready today? I have a surprise for you," 

"I don't know," I mutter hopelessly because the pain brewing in my heart is too heavy to step outside with.

"Are you okay, sis?" My brother's voice carrying a tinge of concern.

Fabian's POV 

It's still hard to believe that Pearl could do such a horrible thing, but the truth is in my fucking face, and I have to believe it if not my life will become more miserable than it already is.

My heart stirs with pain, I have been lied to all these years, I trusted her, I fucking trusted her! Why would she do such a thing to me?

I need her to carry my baby, I need her to give birth to a mini-me, someone she and my mother can use to remember me when I'm gone.

I can die anytime.

A cough erupts from my inside and my palm flies to catch the blood that splutters from my mouth before it stains my clothes.

I look around my car, my eyes searching for my tissue until I get my hands on it.

I clean the blood off my hands and mouth before resting my back on the seat to ease my nerves before I start driving.

My vision is blurry and void, I wish things were happening differently. I don't mean to be hard on Pearl to give me a child, but I have a fucking choice.

But I'm still mad at her for aborting her pregnancies without telling me, doesn't she trust me the way I trust her? Why would she betray me like that? She knows I would support her through anything. How long has this been going on? Why didn't I find out sooner? 

Questions start swirling in my mind and I stop myself before I hurt myself even more, my heart is already concealing so much pain, it won't be nice to poke it.

My phone screeches signaling me of an incoming call, I look over to see who it is.

Dr. White? Why is he calling me? 

"Good morning, Doctor," I say after sliding the green icon.

"Good morning, Fabian, Your mother is in the emergency room, she was involved in a fatal accident and she'll need a blood donation," 

"What? When was that?" 

"It's not something to discuss over the phone, please come as fast as you can and save her life," The call disconnects.

I turn on the ignition of my car and drive into the asphalt road, driving at a very high speed.

°•

Beep. Beep. Beep.

 Where the only sounds that occasionally pierced the heavy silence in the room.

My fingers clasped around my Mom's hand, my thumbs caressing her hand and her wrist.

Whenever I raise my eyes to look at her face, I fear for how I will cope if I lose my Mom to an accident.

Tears sting my eyes at the thought that I'll become an orphan. At the thought of losing my only family, Pearl was a part but after what I found out today, I doubt that she is still part, she hurt me deeply.

I slap myself mentally for restraining my Mom from coming around our house because of her.

Love makes you foolish, they say, but I think it went beyond foolish, I was brainless whenever it came to her.

"Fabian," I hear the strained voice of my Mom and I spring up from my seat to embrace her.

"I'm sorry Mom," I murmur into her hair.

"It's okay, Son," She pats my back weakly.

I pull away from the hug, "How are you feeling. Mom?" Sitting half butt on the bed.

"Better," she admits.

"I'm very sorry, Mom... for choosing Pearl over you," 

"I've already forgiven you for that,"

"You may have but I hate myself so much for what I did, Pearl has been aborting her pregnancies, I found an abortion pill in our room, and she denied using it," I shrug softly, still overwhelmed by the bald truth I just discovered.

"What? She has been aborting my grandbabies?" My mother's tone is sharper than her usual tone. I know she's pissed, but I'm even more pissed because I feel like the world is closing in on me.

"Yes Mom," I nod.

My mother looks away, shutting her eyes, I feel ashamed for bringing this upon us.

"I never liked that girl, not once, I tried many times to adjust but we were incompatible, I don't know what she gave to you that made you so in love with her that you don't even care about what anyone thinks, I knew she was evil, but I didn't know she could go to such an extent," 

"I didn't know better," I say.

"You knew better, Son, there are a thousand good girls out there that are ready to have your baby, she doesn't mean well for you, what wife wouldn't want to give her husband a child? She's very evil, and devilish." My mother spits the last part in a venomous tone.

Other times I'll advocate for Pearl whenever my Mom starts spewing how much she hates her, but right now I regret the times I did that.

A deafening silence falls between us.

"What are you going to do now?" She speaks up after a while.

"I don't know, Mom," I reply, squeezing my forehead with my thumb and index finger.

"Look at me Son," she prompts me to look at her, I turn my neck for our eyes to connect.

"I am your mother, and you will listen to me this time, You will Divorce her, " I groan internally, tearing my eyes from my mother's eyes, "You are not getting any younger and so am I, I can die any day, I need to see my grandbaby before I die, I need you to listen to your mother, Son, Divorce her she doesn't love you," I feel an internal impulse to protest or defend Pearl but I can't, not after what she's done.

I'm still very much in love with her, I don't know if I'm ready for a Divorce.

Pearl's POV 

"What will you like Ma'am?" The butler asks, holding tightly onto his notepad.

"I'm okay, thank you," I say with a forced smile but my brother, Paul, beats me to it.

"What do you mean by 'you're okay?' Today is your birthday, I didn't bring you here to watch people," 

"I'm fine seriously, I just don't have the appetite for anything," I say honestly, Paul signs in resignation.

"Give us your best wine, When her appetite comes up we will order some food," Paul says to the butler and he nods.

"Happy birthday Ma," The butler says with a sweet smile and I return it.

"Thank you," I reply and he scurries off.

When the butler is out of sight Paul drops his smile and narrows his eyes at me, I turn away my eyes from him, I know he has figured something strange.

"When we were in the car on our way here you didn't say a word, I didn't give it much thought but when a foodie like you rejects food I know something is up, what's going on with you?" 

I shrug "It's nothing, just marriage issues," I lie, actually there's a little bit of truth in it, but I fear for a lot of things. I chose a part seven years ago. I hope it won't be my doom.

"Marriage issues? Why do I feel like this one is tough? Like tough tough, because you'll always have issues with your partner or... you don't feel like talking about it?" I choose the latter, I'm not in the mood to discuss what happened earlier with Fabian. Not here. Not now.

"I don't want to talk about it," I tell my brother everything that bothers me but when Fabian looks me in the eye and tells me he doesn't trust me anymore, it's too much to handle emotionally, I don't want to make a mess of myself either.

"Okay," Paul relaxes in his chair, but his hands are still on the table, "But you know I'm always here for you when you need to talk to someone?" 

"Yes," I nod, coyly.

"Alright," he gives me a reassuring smile.

The butler returns with a wine and everything they do happens in a haze and before I know it, Paul is handing me a glass, "Let's make a toast." 

"Cheers to more life and happiness, make a wish," he urges me.

I close my eyes.

"I want to get pregnant, I want to have a baby for Fabian, I want my marriage to have the stability it once had, filled with warmth, love, and happiness," 

I open my eyes.

"Cheers!" My brother squeaks, clinking his glass against mine, I sip a little out of my drink and drop the glass.

"Do you feel better?" He asks.

"Yes," I smile genuinely, "How is Dad?" 

"Dad is fine, he hasn't changed much from the man you know, if you ask me he gets even more ruthless as the day goes by," I sigh in disappointment.

"You don't need to worry about the old man, he is doing good," Paul chides with a wave of dismissal.

"Does he talk about me?" I chew the inside of my cheek, mentally holding my breath hoping the answer would be different this time, that itching feeling that my dad will care about me one day never really goes away.

Paul scans my face with a pensive look, beneath his stern face I see pity in those eyes, I get my answer even before he speaks.

"He won't ever love me, will he?" I say looking in another direction but I don't see what's in front, my mind is spiraling with thoughts.

"Can we not talk about that? Today's your birthday," He tries to wave off the matter but I don't feel like letting it slide. I only get to see my brother once in months, most likely every birthday for the past seven years.

"Paul, will you tell me the truth if I ask you something?"

His eyes are hesitant with dread, he reaches for my hand that is flat on the table, "Of course, I will tell you if I have the answer," he says with a small smile.

"Do you think Dad loves me?" 

He drops his head and slowly raises it after a beat of pause, "I can't tell you if Dad loves you or not, but one thing I know is that no parent hates their child, they may go through challenging times, they may not say it with the language you want to hear but trust me they always love their children," My brother's tone has less conviction but there's some truth in his words.

I may not have had the fatherly love I've been craving for all my life, but the love I got from my husband and my brother is close to nothing in this world, but the marks of my father's disdainful glare are hard to get off my skin.

"And this is how you spend your evenings?" A strangely familiar voice rings between me and my brother stealing our attention.

I flinch when I see my husband staring at me with a ferocious intensity, his eyes still red, his hair looks disorderly which is unlikely, his sleeves rolled up to his elbow, his veins bulging out of his neck and forearms, he looks like a raging monster.

I squirm uncomfortably under his scrutiny as his eyes flicker between me and Paul who is also horrified. We have been caught at last, and I feel like disappearing right now.