From Humiliated Wife to the Woman He Could Never Win Back

“Listen up, Grace is in her second trimester now and I have to pay close attention to her, so you’ll move to the guest room so she can move in here. She also has to have her special meals prepared for her, and she’s to have breakfast as early as 8am. Keep that in mind too.”

I listened in silence as William laid out rules for me like I was a servant. All to make his mistress comfortable.

“Why are you just standing there? Wipe that sour look off your face and get moving! Grace has to lay down now.”

It was our seventh wedding anniversary, and while others celebrated with trips and gifts, I was being thrown out of our bedroom so that my husband’s pregnant mistress could move in.

Without responding, I picked up my already packed suitcase and headed for the front door.

“Mrs Goldberg…” Our housekeeper called, trying to stop me, but laughter erupted behind me.

“Oh let her go. This is what she always does. She’ll be back before you know it.”

Grace laughed too. “I bet you she will be back by the end of the night, begging on her knees for you to let her back into the gates.”

Little did they know that I already had a car waiting for me outside. I was leaving for good this time.

___

Just as I made it to the door, William stopped me.

“Nicole, Grace wants your brooch. Leave it.”

My blood turned to ice. My brooch was a family heirloom. It was the only thing I had left from my late mother, and I was going to pass it on to my daughter someday.

William knew all this, but he didn’t care.

“How much do you want?” He asked after I didn’t make a move.

“I don’t want your money, William.” How much was seven years of slaving away in a loveless marriage worth anyway.

“Then what is it? It’s not like you have a child to pass that on to anyways.”

I was hurt, but I could still remember the last time I refused to give Grace what she wanted. William had slapped me right in front of her and ordered the maids to deprive me of food for days.

“Okay,” I replied.

I carefully unclipped the brooch from my dress and handed it to Grace. “May the child in your womb be safe and bring blessings to you both.” I told her with a smile.

I could see that William was caught off guard by how calm I was. So he offered me what was probably his last shred of dignity.

“Nicole, as long as you behave and take care of Grace the way that she wants, our child will be your child too.”

The second he said those words, the brooch fell out of Grace’s hands and hit the floor, sending glass and diamonds everywhere. A shard pierced her leg, drawing blood.

William reacted immediately, yelling at the housekeeper to call the doctor. Grace gave me a mocking look, and I didn’t blame her. My situation was truly laughable. Even when I had a seizure two days ago, William didn’t show this sense of urgency. Instead, he had ordered the housekeeper to properly disinfect the floor so that Grace and the baby wouldn’t catch anything bad.

I wasn’t needed here anymore, so I turned to leave. But William grabbed my wrist. “Apologize to Grace now!”

“William…”

Before I could even speak, he kicked my heel and pushed me to the floor, making me bow in front of her. The broken glass on the floor drove into my knees and stained the floor red.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Grace, bowing like she was a queen. I wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off her face.

It wasn’t hard to sound sincere. Saying sorry had become second nature to me since I married William.

If he didn’t like how the cleaners washed his suits, I said sorry.

If Grace took too long to answer his calls, I said sorry.

If his coffee was too hot or too cold, I said sorry.

Even when I first found out he was cheating on me, I said sorry for causing him to desire other women.

I apologized three more times before turning to William. “Is that enough?”

“Oh stop with the pretense Nicole. Your precious mommy and daddy aren’t here to protect you anymore, and I definitely won’t fall for your lies.”

I couldn’t believe he was taunting me with my parent’s death. But before I could reply, the family doctor arrived, almost pushing me to the side as he rushed to look at Grace.

As far as everyone on William’s side was concerned, I was discarded goods, and Grace was the center of the universe.