Clarisse, who was nearby, saw Victor taking Alice inside. Alice looked like she had been crying.
“What’s going on?” she asked, watching as they both went inside. She decided to wait outside for a few minutes before going in.
“What happened? Why are you crying? Your face is so red and swollen,” he asked, sounding deeply worried.
“Ramses… he broke up with me,” she said, crying harder.
“That bastard!” he grunted. “How dare he make you cry?”
“I was so shocked. I didn’t do anything wrong. I tried to please him with everything, even kept our relationship a secret like he wanted. I couldn’t think of going to anyone else but you. No one knew I was dating him.”
“It’s okay. Stop crying over a punk like him. He doesn’t deserve your tears,” he said, pulling her closer, wiping away her tears, and hugging her.
“Hope your wife won’t be angry that I’m here?” she asked, her voice filled with sadness and worry, breaking his heart.
“Don’t worry about her. You’re fine. Just let me know if you need anything.”
“Hmm, maybe a distraction. Because right now, I feel so worthless, and no guy is going to want me.”
“No, no. Don’t say that. You’re very beautiful.”
“I’m not,” she wept.
“Yes, you are,” he said, grabbing her cheeks gently, assuring her. They locked eyes, and her gaze fell on his lips. She licked hers slightly, and he couldn’t resist. He captured her lips with his, and she responded immediately, kissing him back deeply.
“What’s… going on here?” The trembling voice of Clarisse interrupted the intimate moment. Victor groaned in frustration.
“Don’t you know how to knock?” he yelled, standing up. He dragged her outside and faced her. “Alice is very sad, and she needs me. Find somewhere to stay until I tell you to come in,” he said, walking away, giving her no chance to say a word.
Clarisse scoffed, then laughed bitterly, and then cried. The rain soon began falling, soaking her as she struggled to find shelter. She cried and shivered, finding it difficult to sleep on rainy days. She had developed a fear of the rain ever since the car accident 12 years ago.
She felt nauseous, her stomach aching as she trembled in the dark. She cried herself dry, terrified of the rain that kept on pouring, triggering painful memories until she couldn’t take it anymore and fainted.
Victor, on the other hand, was having the best moment of his life. His fantasy had finally come true in the most romantic way he could imagine-a rainy night, making love to Alice. Her moans, accompanying each of his thrusts, made him feel on top of the world. He made love to her, ensuring she enjoyed every moment of the night until she agreed to become his. However, she had one condition: he had to divorce Clarisse.
Clarisse’s eyes flickered open slowly as she lay on the bed. Her gaze shifted to the white ceiling, and the familiar smell in the air brought her some comfort. She looked around and saw the IV drip being administered.
“You’re in the hospital,” a feminine voice said.
“Fainting on the street like a homeless cat… I don’t know what rumor you’re trying to spread, that we’re maltreating you?” Bree said, her tone irritated.
Clarisse turned to look at her. She was the only one present in the dimly lit hospital room.
Bree was about to say something when the doctor entered.
“How are you feeling, Mrs. Arthur?”
Mrs. Arthur? The term felt strange to her, a reminder that she was married into the Arthur family-something she resented.
“Can… you… just call me… Clarisse?” Her voice was weak.
“Oh, okay. How are you feeling, Clarisse?”
“Weak. I feel so weak.”
“That’s understandable. You’ve shown all the symptoms of malnutrition, and considering the position you were in, that’s not good.”
“Position? What position?” Bree asked, moving closer to them.
“Hmm, I guess Miss Clarisse didn’t tell you,” the doctor said, looking between Bree and Clarisse. He made a gesture, asking if he should continue, and Clarisse nodded slightly.
“Okay… Miss Clarisse was pregnant.”
“Pregnant?”
“Yeah, four weeks pregnant.”
Bree scoffed and eyed Clarisse with disgust. “I’m not sure if I should believe anything you’re saying, or if I should assume my suspicions were right. You were seeing someone while married to my brother, and now seeing you outside, it’s probably him throwing you out of the house. No wonder he gave me the divorce papers to sign. You’re such a shameless whore.”
“Umm, calm down. This should be discussed at another time, because that’s not what she needs right now,” the doctor intervened.
“Who cares about what she needs right now?” Bree scoffed.
Clarisse swallowed hard, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall. She weakly turned to the doctor and asked, “Doctor, how’s my baby?”
“Bastard baby,” Bree mumbled under her breath.
“Well… that’s what I was about to inform you. I’m sorry to say, but due to undernutrition and some trauma, you lost the baby.”
“What?” Clarisse gasped.
“I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t… get what you said.”
“I’m so sorry, but… you lost the baby.”
“Are… are you sure? You should check again… maybe the scanning machine had an error.”
“I’m sorry.”
Clarisse collapsed back onto the bed, breathing hard through her mouth as the doctor left to give her some space.
Bree stood there, holding the divorce papers. “Here are the divorce papers. Victor asked me to give them to you because he doesn’t want to ever see your disgusting face. You need to sign them now because I’m leaving,” she said, but her words were lost on Clarisse.
Clarisse was no longer in the world; her body and soul felt heavy with grief. The loss of her baby was like a black hole in her heart, an emptiness that seemed to consume her from the inside out.
She stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling the silence envelop her, cutting her off from everything and everyone. She wanted to scream, to release the anger and sorrow eating away at her soul. But she was too exhausted, too defeated, and too broken to do anything but lie there, suffering in the darkness of her grief. She was a ghost of her former self, a shadow of the woman she once was.
Impatient and irritated by the silence, Bree dragged Clarisse to sign the papers before leaving. On her way out, she called Victor, informing him that the task was done. Victor then told Alice, asking her to go get Clarisse, who was still in the hospital. Despite the doctor’s objections, saying she needed more rest, Alice couldn’t wait to get everything over with. She hated the thought that there was even a slim possibility she might end up marrying a disabled man.
Clarisse’s heart skipped a beat the moment she stepped back into the house she had so desperately tried to escape from. It felt like going from hell to hell. She couldn’t lift her head until she reached the living room. There, she stood, staring blankly with no expression on her face, in the presence of Ferdinand and his wife.
The maids had begun to gather in the corner, surprised to see Clarisse and curious about what was going on.
“Clarisse? What’s she doing here?” Maid 1 asked.
“Beat me, but I have a bad feeling about this,” Maid 2 said.
“I thought you’d have some manners now that you’re married, but you still don’t know how to greet your elders,” another maid added.
“She’s divorced, Mum,” Alice said, not looking away from her phone.
“I wonder what your mother spent her days doing while she was alive that you lack all morals and discipline. You couldn’t even keep your marriage? You’re such a failure.”
“Your incompetency is for the best. You’re getting married in a few days.”
Once again, the maids gasped in shock. Clarisse finally looked up. Her eyes were red and swollen, the light in them completely gone.
“Married?”
“Yes, you’re getting married. You should start teaching her the ethics of marriage that she lacks. She can’t mess up this opportunity for me,” Ferdinand said.
“Of course, honey. I’ll teach her some lessons that’ll be useful for her,” Patricia said sweetly, rubbing her husband’s chest. “And you, get back to work and wait for my call,” she dismissed the maid.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.