Chapter 2
The memories came rushing back like a tidal
wave.
Damien Corwin and I had grown up together. Childhood sweethearts, married for eight years–we were the couple everyone envied.
That night, when his competitor drugged him and he slept with a college girl, he called me the moment he sobered up. His voice trembled.
“Callista, I was set up! I already paid her off- she’ll never show her face again!”
And I believed him.
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Chapter 2
+ 5 Points
But it didn’t take long for that woman, Delphine Wynter, to resurface. Her parents had died in an accident, and she went to Damien for help while he was drunk again at a business dinner.
The second time.
Once is an accident.
So what was the second time?
Then came the earthquake in El Salvador. Damien had been on a business trip. It was Delphine, pregnant, who clawed through the rubble with her bare hands to pull him out.
A life–saving debt–and the baby in her womb -became chains Damien couldn’t break free from.
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Chapter 2
+ 5 Points
He knelt before me, sobbing uncontrollably. I laid down my terms.
“Damien. Either we get a divorce…”
“Or she disappears.”
“I’m not getting divorced!” His eyes were bloodshot as he gripped my hands. “But I have to take responsibility…”
He wouldn’t let me go. And he wouldn’t let her go either.
So I left. I went to the Blue Ridge Mountains for peace and solitude. Until Delphine gave birth–and his parents demanded I come back.
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Chapter 2
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I pulled out my phone in the dark and finally sent the message I should’ve sent long ago:
Let’s get a divorce.
Not ten minutes later, the front door burst open.
Damien stormed in, sweat still clinging to his brow. “Callista! I’m not agreeing to a divorce!”
I sat quietly on the couch and sighed. “Let it go, Damien. I’m tired.”
“I told you–she’ll never come between us!” His voice was shaking.
And then–his phone rang.
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Delphine’s crying voice came through the receiver.’Damien! The baby… the baby’s sick! Fell earlier, has a fever. The doctor says it might be serious–they want to move him to the ICU!”
Damien’s expression changed in an instant.
He looked at me, then at his phone. After a long pause, he said, voice strained, “Callista, I… I need to check on him…”
I watched as he rushed out the door.
And suddenly, I laughed.
This was my marriage. Even divorce had to wait behind another woman and her child.
I smiled bitterly. “Go. The baby needs you.”
Chapter 2
+ 5 Points
He left, the gust of wind from the door brushing past my cheek–just like he’d never been here at all.
I sat in the dark alone, tears silently falling.
knew Damien might never marry Delphine Wynter. But he’d always be pulled away, again and again.
If we didn’t divorce, how much longer could I live like this?
A lifetime?
A familiar pain twisted in my stomach.
I opened my phone.
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Chapter 2
+ 5 Points
On Delphine Wynter’s social media feed, Damien was pictured beside an incubator, his face pale and drawn, his worry etched deep.
I met with a lawyer to draft the divorce papers.
Then I handed in my resignation at the company.
The HR rep stared at me in disbelief. “Mrs.Corwin… does Mr.Corwin know you’re resigning?”
I smiled faintly. “He’s a little too busy right now.”
I caught the flicker of pity in her eyes. I knew exactly what she was thinking.
7/10
Chapter 2
+ 5 Points
Back at the villa–Elmswood Estate–we had only stayed here a few times after marriage.
While packing, I stumbled across a yellowing slip of paper.
Callista,I don’t know when you’ll find this note. By then, maybe we’ll already have a bunch of kids. I love you so much. No matter what happens, don’t leave me.
A tear landed on the paper. A sharp, wrenching pain shot through my stomach.
Darkness swept over me, and I collapsed to the floor.
When I came to, the shrill ringtone of my phone pierced the silence.
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Chapter 2
+ 5 Points
“Callista! What the hell do you want from me?!”
Damien Corwin’s voice thundered through the speaker. He rarely ever used my full name like that.
“Delphine’s done everything she can to be considerate! I’ve told you again and again -she won’t threaten your position! So why would you send her those vile messages? Why would you curse my child?!”
gave a bitter smile.
He didn’t even ask if it was really me. Just judged and condemned me on the spot.
“Are you finished?” I asked calmly.
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He paused for a moment. “The baby’s full–month celebration is next Sunday. You will be there. Stop being petty, okay?”
“…Okay”
I hung up and stared out into the night.
10
