Broken Hearts and Second Chances

Beside me, Sarah answered Patrick’s call.

“Can you and Cat stop being so unreasonable? Do you want to get a divorce over something so trivial? You knew about Megs long before the wedding!

“What’s wrong with Matthew and I caring for our sister? Don’t threaten us with a fake pregnancy and a miscarriage. I barely touched you after we married. Given your health, there’s no way you could be pregnant. And let’s be real, I don’t believe you would willingly walk away from being the wife of a Brosnan. That’s a privilege a girl like you only dreams of.”

Tears streamed down Sarah’s face as she cradled her stomach. But then she forced a smile. “You may not believe me now, Patrick but I’ll make you change your mind.”

“What a load of crap!” he snapped and then hung up.

In the hospital room, Sarah and I exchanged glances. We wanted to cry but stifled our tears and forced a bitter smile.

For the next two days, neither Matthew nor Patrick attempted to reach out.

Sarah and I focused on recovering in the hospital and hired a divorce lawyer to draft the divorce agreement.

When we were ready, we mailed it to Matthew and Patrick.

Sarah had added something a little extra.

“Since Patrick doesn’t believe that I was pregnant,” she said, “I’ll show him our baby!”

…

After mailing the divorce agreement, Sarah and I returned to the hospital room. Bored, I started scrolling through videos on my phone.

Then a video titled “Heroes to the Rescue” popped up on my feed.

In the footage, after Matthew and Patrick fell into the river, they disregarded their injuries as they swam toward Megan. Battling the raging river, they lifted her out of the water and slowly brought her to the shore.

The video clearly showed Sarah and me being tossed around by the churning waters, our heads, bodies, and bellies repeatedly slamming against the rocks.

Eventually, the rescue team arrived and pulled us from the water.

I began scrolling through the comments.

Most viewers seemed oblivious to our struggle for survival, focusing instead on the Brosnan brothers’ heroic rescue of Megan.

A swarm of fangirls flooded the comments:

[Ahhhh, I’m so jealous! I wish I were the girl in the video, being saved by two muscular hunks!]

[Honestly, even if I just choked on a bit of water, I’d be willing to get hurt for those handsome guys!]

[I always thought a love triangle with three people would feel crowded, but now it seems just right!]

Megan even chimed in with her own comment:

[Oh you guys have got it all mixed up! I’m just their little sister, but my brothers treat me so well, don’t they? As a foster sister, I don’t know how I’ll ever repay them.]

That really set off the people in the comments.

[You’re not related by blood? Just offer yourself! Go for it!]

[Exactly! Just think, on the left, one set of abs, and on the right, another. How intoxicating!]

Megan had replied with [You’re all such jokesters! How can a sister marry her brother?]

In the heat of the moment, I responded to Megan’s comment:

[What’s wrong with that? Since there’s no blood relation, go ahead and marry him. We’ll gladly step aside for you!]

Megan did not comment after that.

I thought she may have told Matthew about what I had done, and soon enough, his call came through.

“What did you mean by that? You made Megs cry! She was being considerate about the whole thing and wanted to apologize to you.”

I remained unmoved. “Then let her. She should apologize.”

Matthew erupted with anger.

“Megs’ gentleness isn’t an excuse for you to bully her! She has both me and Patrick to protect her. Given how urgent the situation was, wasn’t it my responsibility to save her since she can’t swim? Megs was abandoned by her biological parents and suffered a lot in the orphanage. Shouldn’t we treat her well?

“You should apologize to Megs in the comments. Some people are starting to side with you, saying she’s a mistress.”

“Isn’t that what her behavior suggests?” I retorted coldly.

“Let me make this clear, Matthew. There’s no way I’m apologizing to Megan for this! Not a chance!”

That would be Impossible! I had not done anything wrong so why should I apologize?

I ended the call.

I knew it would not be long before he saw the divorce agreement.