AVA'S POV

I woke the next morning to an empty bed. The sheets beside me were cold, already smoothed out from hours of absence. For a moment, I thought Adrian was in the shower, or maybe in the kitchen grabbing coffee before work. But the house was silent.

Too silent.

I glanced at the nightstand. No note. My heart stuttered. Adrian always left a note when he had to leave early. Just a small thing-a kiss to my cheek, a scribbled Don't wait up or Have breakfast, don't skip it. A routine that had been ours since the first month of marriage.

But today, nothing.

A hollow ache spread through my chest. He hadn't even checked on me.

I pressed my palm against my stomach. "It's okay," I whispered to the life growing inside me. "He's just busy."

But deep down, doubt gnawed at me. I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in my gut.

***

The voices hit me the moment I descended the stairs.

"You're finally awake," Margaret Voss snapped from the living room, her disapproval sharp enough to cut glass. Her graying hair was pulled into its usual tight bun, her eyes pinched with disdain.

Beside her, Marissa lounged on the sofa, scrolling her phone. "Honestly, Mother, I don't even know why you bother or why Adrian tolerates her. She sleeps all morning like a pampered cat."

I frowned. "It's eight-thirty. I came down as soon as I woke up."

Margaret sniffed. "Excuses. Do you know what a real wife does? She wakes before her husband. She makes breakfast for him, for his family. She cleans the house so it's spotless before the sun fully rises. Not stumble around like some spoiled brat who thinks she's above responsibility."

I bit my tongue. For two years, I'd endured this. Their sharp words, their mocking laughter, their constant reminders that I wasn't worthy of their son. That I didn't belong here.

Margaret scoffed. "Of course, you wouldn't know the first thing about being a wife, not to mention a good one. You think this house is some kind of free ride for a charity case."

The words cut deep, even though I'd heard them a hundred times before. To them, I was nothing more than Adrian's pity project-a useless, scarred woman he'd foolishly tied himself to.

But today, something inside me snapped. I was done letting them walk all over me. 

"I am Adrian's wife," I said softly but firmly. "Not your maid."

Marissa dropped her phone, finally looking at me. Her eyes gleamed with mockery. "Did you hear that, Mother? The little stray has found her voice."

Margaret's lips thinned into a cruel smile. "Oh, is that so? Then you won't mind if we start treating you as a wife should be treated. Wash our clothes. Mine and Marissa's. All of them. Including the underwear."

Revulsion rolled through me. "No. I won't."

The room froze.

Margaret's eyes widened in shock, then narrowed into slits. "What did you just say to me?"

Marissa's mouth dropped open in exaggerated shock. "Did she just-?"

Marissa smirked. "Careful, Ava. Mother doesn't like being disrespected."

"I said," I repeated, my voice trembling but steady, "that I will no longer wash your clothes. Or yours, Marissa. Especially not your underwear."

Marissa gasped dramatically, as if I had cursed her. "You ungrateful leech!"

Margaret rose from her chair, her face blotchy with fury. "You dare refuse me? In my son's house?"

Before I could step back, Margaret's hand flew faster than I expected. The crack of her palm against my cheek rang out in the room. My head whipped to the side, the sting burning hot across my scar.

"Ungrateful wretch! How dare you speak to me that way," she spat. "We took you in, fed you, gave you a roof. And this is how you repay us? With disrespect? You would be nothing without my son. Nothing!"

I staggered, clutching my cheek. "I never asked for your roof. I never asked for your food. I only wanted to be a wife to Adrian."

Marissa surged forward, shoving me hard. Her nails scraped my arm. "A wife? Don't make me laugh. You're nothing but a curse. You'll ruin him the way you ruin everything you touch."

I stumbled against the wall, shielding my stomach instinctively. "Stop-please-"

But Margaret struck me again, fists now, not just her palm. Marissa joined in, their jeers blending into a storm of cruelty.

"Ugly-"

"Leech-"

"Curse-"

I curled in on myself, arms wrapped protectively over my belly, tears spilling unchecked.

Finally, Margaret yanked me by the arm and dragged me to the back door. "Out. You're not fit to step foot in this house."

She shoved me onto the patio and slammed the door, locking it behind me.

I collapsed onto the cold stone of the patio, sobs tearing through me. My cheek burned, my arms ached, and all I could think was how careful I had been to shield the life inside me.

Then my phone rang.

I fumbled it from my pocket, my hands shaking. The screen lit with Ethan's name.

I answered, my voice barely a whisper. "Ethan?"

"Ava." His voice was tense. "Where are you?"

"At... home."

"Father wants to see you. Immediately."

My heart leapt into my throat. "Is something wrong?"

He hesitated, his silence louder than words.

"Ethan?"

"Just come. You'll see."

The line went dead.

I wiped my tears, forced myself up, and rushed to the gate.

***

The Sinclair estate was a world away from the Voss mansion. Warm. Elegant. Alive.

I stepped into the dining room to find Father seated at the long oak table, Ethan beside him. Father's sharp eyes softened slightly when he saw me.

"Ava," he said, gesturing to the chair across from him. "It's been too long. Sit. Have lunch with me."

I obeyed, my heart hammering. I hadn't sat across from him in months. My marriage had driven a wedge between us, one I had carved myself by choosing Adrian over his approval.

Plates of roasted chicken and fresh vegetables were placed before us. The smell turned my stomach, but I forced a smile.

Father studied me as I lifted my fork. "How have you been, Ava?"

My throat tightened. The truth screamed inside me-I've been humiliated, beaten, unloved. But I forced the lie out. "I'm fine, Father."

Ethan shifted beside him, his jaw tightening. His eyes cut into me, silently accusing me of cowardice.

Father's gaze lingered, displeasure flickering in his eyes. "You look pale. Tired. Marriage should not strip a woman of her vitality. Are you certain Adrian treats you well?"

"Yes," I said too quickly. "He's just... busy with work."

Silence settled. Father's lips thinned, but he didn't press further. Ethan's glare, however, burned hotter than ever.

When lunch ended, Ethan rose. "I'll drive her home."

"No." I stood quickly, forcing a smile. "I'll get a cab. I don't want to..." cause any more misunderstandings. I thought.

Ethan frowned. "Ava-"

"I'll be fine." My voice cracked, but I turned away before either of them could see the tears brimming in my eyes.

***

The house was quiet when I returned. Too quiet.

I stepped into the living room to find Margaret and Marissa waiting, smug smiles plastered across their faces. Their eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction.

"Well," Margaret drawled. "Look who decided to return. Did you enjoy your little outing? Did you beg some rich benefactor for pity this time?"

Marissa snickered. "Probably hoping someone would finally take her off Adrian's hands. Poor brother, saddled with a leech."

I stiffened. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Save it," Margaret smirked. She reached into the side table and pulled out a thick envelope. She tossed it at me like trash. "Adrian asked me to give you this."

Confusion gnawed at me as I tore it open.

Panic shot through me. "That's not-"

The words blurred as my vision swam.

Margaret's voice was poison in my ear. "He's finally realized what you are. A curse. A mistake. And now he's correcting it."

"No..." My lips trembled. "He wouldn't-"

Marissa laughed, her eyes gleaming with cruelty. "Oh, he would. He told Mother to make sure you sign it. Said he doesn't want you clinging to him anymore."

My knees buckled. The papers slipped from my hands to the floor.

Adrian. My Adrian.

The man who had once kissed my cheek every morning, who had once held me like I was his world, was now tearing me out of his.

My heart cracked under the weight of it, splintering into pieces too jagged to hold.

Adrian was divorcing me?

AVA'S POV

 "Well, what are you waiting for?" Margaret Voss's voice cracked through the silence like a whip. Her eyes narrowed on me, her lips curling into the kind of smirk that made my skin crawl. "Sign the papers and stop wasting everyone's time."

I stared down at the divorce documents in my hands, my chest tightening until it was hard to breathe. My hand shook as I clutched the pen, but I couldn't bring myself to move it. "Divorce Agreement". The word blurred on the page. My throat ached.

"I won't sign." My voice shook, but it came out steadier than I expected.

Her smirk vanished, replaced with a sneer. "Ungrateful little-"

"I-If Adrian wants me gone..." I swallowed hard, my voice unsteady but firm, "...then let him tell me himself."

I should have known better than to defy Margaret Voss. But when she shoved those divorce papers at me, my hands trembled and my chest tightened, and something inside me screamed-"don't sign".

My heart twisted, but I held my ground. "No."

Her hand slammed the table, rattling the porcelain teacup she'd been sipping from. "You ungrateful wretch!"

"Adrian doesn't want you. Stop dragging him down with your filth. Do us all a favor and disappear." she sneered, her eyes burning into me.

Marissa, lounging on the couch with her phone in hand, perked up like a vulture catching the scent of a dying animal. "Wait, Ava, do you think you actually have a choice? Mama, she thinks she has a choice."

Margaret's face twisted. "You don't want to sign? Fine. We'll help you."

Her face went red with fury. "Hold her, Marissa."

She lunged at me. Before I could react, Marissa grabbed my arms from behind, pinning me as Margaret forced the pen into my hand. My body shook with fear, but I twisted violently, sending the papers scattering to the floor.

"Stop it!" I gasped, breaking free for a second and fumbling for my phone on the counter. My fingers barely brushed the dail button beside Adrian's name on the screen when-

SMACK.

Marissa's palm cracked across my cheek, sending the phone clattering to the tiles. Pain radiated through my jaw as she snarled, "You stupid cow. Always ruining everything!" her voice shrill with rage. 

I dove for the phone. My heart pounded with one thought: Call Adrian. He'll stop them. 

Will he though? 

I pushed back the negative thought.

He has to.

Marissa's shadow loomed above me. The glint of metal caught my eye. A kitchen knife.

"Try that again," she hissed, the blade hovering. "Go ahead. Touch it. I dare you."

Terror shot through me, cold and paralyzing. 

"Marissa, what are you doing? Please stop." she stalked closer and panic seized my throat. I had to act fast.

"Marissa, please. You don't understand-"

I attempted to distract her as I lunged for the phone.

And then I felt it.

White-hot pain exploded through my stomach.

I gasped, the air ripped from my lungs as the blade tore into me. My hands instinctively flew to my abdomen-my baby. Oh God, my baby.

A scream tore from my throat, raw and broken, as Marissa staggered back, eyes wide with shock at what she'd done. Blood pooled beneath me, warm and spreading, soaking into the tiles.

"Mama..." Marissa's voice cracked, high and panicked. "I-I didn't mean-"

Margaret's eyes bulged. She grabbed her daughter by the arm. "Idiot! What have you done?"

"She moved, I swear-"

"Shut up!" Margaret hissed, her gaze flicking to me crumpled on the floor. I pressed my hands harder against the wound, feeling life slip through my fingers with every drop of blood. Panic clawed at me. Not my baby. Please, God, not my baby.

I barely registered their voices, muffled by the rush of blood in my ears.

"What do we do?" Marissa whispered, trembling.

Margaret's lips thinned. "We can't let Adrian find her like this. He'll think we did it."

"We did do it!"

"Then we'll make it look like she ran off. L-like she abandoned him for good."

No

I wanted to scream. Did they really despise me that much? Couldn't they see that I was still here? still fighting.

Help me. But the world was tilting, spinning.

"Get some sheets," Margaret barked.

But Marissa remained standing, ramrod and frozen with fear. "Marissa!" Her mother's voice cut through the air, snapping her out of her daze 

"U-uh sheets? What sheets? Sheets for what?" She stuttered out and Margaret gave her an impatient look.

"What do you mean what for? We'll wrap her body and dump her somewhere far." Margaret looked like she was loosing her mind.

Marissa whimpered. "B-body? But she's still breathing-"

"Then hurry before she isn't!"

They left the room in a frenzy, their footsteps pounding up the stairs.

My chest heaved, my breath shallow. I reached blindly, blood-slick fingers scraping against the tiles until I found my phone. My vision blurred, but I pressed it to life, scrolling shakily through recent calls until I found his name.

Adrian.

With trembling fingers, I hit dial.

The ringing filled my ear like a lifeline. Once. Twice. Three times.

Then-click.

"What?" His voice snapped through the speaker, sharp and impatient.

Relief and despair collided in me. My lips trembled as I whispered, "A-Adrian... help me... please..."

Silence. A beat of confusion. "Ava?" His tone sharpened, laced with something I wanted to believe was alarm. "What's going on?"

My throat tightened, tears streaming down my face. "I-blood-Adrian, I'm scared-our baby-"

But before I could finish, his sigh cut me off. Cold. Detached.

"Stop it, Ava. Stop this pathetic act. Haven't you humiliated me enough? Do you want to destroy my career completely? Throw your tantrums somewhere else."

"No, Adrian, I-I'm not-"

Click.

The line went dead.

For a moment, I couldn't breathe. The stab wound burned, the blood loss dizzying, but nothing hurt as much as the sharp crack that split my heart at his dismissal.

He didn't believe me.

Adrian didn't know it but, his dismissal hurt worse than the hole in my stomach.

I let the phone slip from my hand, my body trembling violently as darkness closed in around me. My palm still pressed weakly against my stomach.

"I'm so sorry, baby," I whispered, voice fading into a sob. "I'm so s-sorry...."

And then, the world went black.