Burning Love: What If I Never Get Over You

"You're pregnant, ma'am. Congratulations!"

Cheryl Naylor walked out of the hospital in a stupor, but the doctor's remarks continued to play in her head.

When she glanced at the pregnancy test report in her hand once more, her face creased into a sudden smile.

It was the third year of Cheryl and Jarred Fuller's marriage.

They wed not because of love but to fulfill the last request of Jarred's grandmother.

However, Jarred was a wonderful husband once they were married, doing everything a spouse should do. He made sure Cheryl lived a good life and took good care of her. Every year on their anniversary, he would ask his assistant to send Cheryl a gift.

He treated her with the utmost respect and dignity that a wife deserved.

It seemed to everyone else that they were the sweetest and most loving couple.

However, it was a far cry from reality.

Cheryl kept to herself that Jarred did not utter a single "I love you" to her in the past three years they spent together.

Nonetheless, she fervently wanted to marry him, and she was already content with just having his company and presence in her life. She hoped their happiness would only increase now that they were expecting their firstborn.

Cheryl cautiously tucked away the pregnancy test report and eagerly dialed Jarred's number.

"Cheryl."

The man's deep and pleasant voice could be heard via the phone. It had a soothing tone to it.

Cheryl couldn't keep her enthusiasm from coming through, and her voice reflected it. "Jarred, I've got some news for you!"

"I've got something to tell you, as well. Let's talk about it later tonight."

"Okay..."

But before Cheryl could finish her sentence, the call was abruptly ended.

She didn't know what to think at first, but the pleasure of her first pregnancy soon took over.

Night came fast as the sun started to sink lower in the sky.

Bright lights illuminated the River Villa.

Cheryl prepared a feast of Jarred's favorite dishes as she waited for him to come back.

Before long, a car pulling up on the driveway could be heard outside.

As she anxiously awaited his entrance, Cheryl's pulse raced.

The urge to welcome him prompted her to get to her feet.

At that moment, the door swung open, and a tall guy strode in.

Jarred had a reputation for dressing sharply. He was dressed in a tailored grey suit, a crisp white shirt, and a fancy tie.

He had chiseled features and a prominent nose that stood out. His gold-rimmed glasses gave people the impression of being aloof and arrogant.

"You're home. Let's eat dinner first, shall we?"

Cheryl suggested, smiling.

She held out her hand unintentionally to Jarred. However, he just lifted his hand to check the time. A pang of shame from being ignored stopped her hand in mid-air.

"It's already late. You haven't eaten yet?" Jarred's brow furrowed slightly.

"You said tonight..." Cheryl was about to say something but decided against it after a second thought. She then asked, "Have you already eaten?"

Jarred's gaze wandered into the dining room and landed on the meticulously prepared dishes.

"Not yet."

He strolled over to the table as soon as he finished speaking.

Cheryl sighed contentedly and smiled as she joined him.

They sat down to eat.

Cheryl had been slaving away in the kitchen for hours, and she was starving.

After taking a few bites into her meal, she noticed Jarred was staring at her with deep-set eyes.

Jarred was the first to speak up when they locked eyes.

"We should get a divorce, Cheryl."

Cheryl's fork crashed on the table as it slipped from her grasp.

She seemed to be in a state of repressed disbelief as she sat still on her chair.

Jarred stayed quiet, patiently waiting for her to absorb the news.

Even the sound of needles landing on the floor could be heard clearly in the dining room.

The stifling silence was only broken by the sound of an incoming text message.

Cheryl glanced down at her phone to see a message from Sheila Goodwin, her best friend of many years.

"I ran into Jarred and Ines at the art show today! Keep an eye on your man. Don't let that skank Ines take your husband away from you."

Cheryl stared at the screen uncomprehendingly. She fiercely blinked back the sudden scalding tears.

After a while, she mustered a bitter smile.

That explained why she suspected something was off with Jarred today. It was no surprise he didn't come home last night.

Cheryl only understood now why Jarred had been acting strangely.

'What should I do, Sheila?

She already took Jarred from me,'

Cheryl thought to herself. Her eyelids were tightly shut to keep the tears from flowing.

She felt like a knife was stabbing her heart, yet she managed a slight grin. "Are you divorcing me because of Ines?"

Jarred didn't say anything as he looked at her deadpan expression.

After several minutes of silence, he finally murmured, "Yes."

The measured word was a sharp knife lodged directly into Cheryl's heart.

At first, all Cheryl felt was a sudden draft of cold. The chill spread throughout her body and forced a gasp out of her mouth.

Right on the heels of the cold was pain. Mind blitzing, all-consuming pain. It was all Cheryl could do to breathe through the pain cracking her heart in two.

Before Cheryl and Jarred's marriage, she knew Jarred had been in a relationship with a woman named Ines Sampson.

So when Jarred's grandfather had proposed a marriage between her and Jarred, although Cheryl yearned for it, she had refused because there was no way that Jarred would leave his girlfriend for her.

To her complete and utter shock, Jarred had approached her out of the blue. He asked her to marry him and promised that he would be a caring husband to her if she agreed.

Cheryl couldn't believe her ears. This was her greatest desire coming true before her very eyes. Though she didn't understand why Jarred had suddenly decided to marry her, she had been in love with him since she was a teenager, so she had agreed to marry him.

After they got married, Jarred changed into a whole different person. He dropped his indifferent mask and showed her his caring side.

Cheryl was so immersed in this unreal tenderness that she forgot that Jarred had never been in love with her.

Never.

With her fingertips trembling, Cheryl tried her best to suppress her grief.

She lowered her head and didn't say anything. To Jarred, she looked exceptionally calm and unbothered.

It reminded him of what had happened yesterday.

Ines had returned from abroad unexpectedly and Jarred decided to come home earlier than usual so he could assure her that Ines' returning would not change anything between them. What Jarred hadn't been expecting was to find Cheryl in the middle of a phone conversation with her best friend Sheila Goodwin.

Cheryl's phone was on speaker and Jarred had heard Sheila's teasing voice saying, "Cheryl, it has been more than ten years. Do you still love him so much?"

"Of course I still love him. How could I not? If possible, I want to love him for the rest of my life."

Jarred heard his wife answer Sheila in a voice filled with longing.

He stayed hidden in the shadows, unable to walk into his house.

The sunshine just brightened his shoes, but he didn't feel warm.

More than ten years? They had known each other for only four or five years, but she had loved another man for over ten years.

Since that was the case, wasn't it better if he let her go?

Returning his eyes to the woman in front of him, he waited for her to say something. When he realized that she had no intentions of responding in anyway, his lashes lowered in disappointment.

"What's that?

Are you not feeling well?"

Just as Jarred asked the question, he reached out his hand to pick up the hospital file on the table.

Cheryl's pupils widened in shock. She stared at his hand getting closer to the file. Inside the file was her pregnancy test report.

Was it possible that the discovery of their impending parenthood could be the turning point of their divorce?

Cheryl was well aware that, despite his cold exterior, Jarred was far from heartless. He would almost certainly suppress his sexual urges and treat her delicately in bed. No matter how passionate and sexually stimulated they were at the moment, he would stop as long as she cried out in pain.

When Cheryl saw the file was about to be opened, she gripped her hands tightly, which were dangling on both sides. Her long fingernails were already clawing into her palms, but she was too engrossed to notice.

In the heat of the moment, Jarred's phone started ringing.

The blaring ringtone disrupted everything. It was Jarred's personal number, so only a select few individuals had it saved in their contacts.

Jarred, as predicted, put down the file and picked up the phone first.

Was there nothing more urgent than taking this call? Cheryl relaxed her grip on her sore hands.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Fuller, Miss Sampson has refused to leave the balcony. She's been out there for a while and seems to be upset."

A maid looking after Ines was on the other end of the line. Her tone sounded rather grave.

"I'm scared she'll think of taking her own life."

Jarred's demeanor changed entirely and became almost somber. "Please hand over the phone to her."

"Yes, right away."

Following the rustling noises in the background, a sorrowful female voice could be heard on the other end of the line.

"Jarred..."

"There's a cold breeze tonight. You shouldn't spend too much time on the balcony,"

he remarked in a soft voice, despite his brows knitting in a frown.

"Ines, please be a good girl and listen to me."

Cheryl's eyes widened in astonishment.

What was it like for her to sit there and listen to her husband cajole another woman as if she were a child when he knew she was right there before him?

Cheryl thought it was funny that she still had to sit here. She felt stuck in her seat since she couldn't move her legs. It was as though a ten-thousand pound boulder was weighing down her chest.

Although they hadn't officially divorced yet, Jarred unabashedly showed his concern for another woman.

So, what did he think of Cheryl then?

Jarred's heartlessness devastated Cheryl to the point that she could no longer endure it.

As she tried to cover her face, her body trembled uncontrollably.

Despite this, Jarred was entirely oblivious of her abnormality. Ines' mournful cries invaded his ears.

"I'm so sorry, Jarred. Everything was my fault. I was so reckless that I got into a car accident.

But what's the point of resuscitating me? I'm no longer fertile!

It is now impossible for us to have a kid together."

Ines finally broke down, sobbing hysterically and shuddering heavily.

Jarred scratched his throbbing temples as he removed his gold-rimmed glasses. He had never considered having a kid with Ines, and if he chose to marry her now, it was only because she had previously saved his life.

He said reassuringly, "It's okay. I never intended to have children, anyway."

"Please don't lie to me... It is unthinkable for the CEO of the Fuller Group to be without an heir." Ines cried freely, her face contorted with misery, and her voice shattered with grief.

"I am not really fond of kids, so stop worrying about it and let the maid take you to your room to rest."

Jarred was desperate to put an end to the conversation. He still wanted to ask Cheryl why she had gone to the hospital and find out if she was sick or not.

Sadly, he failed to see the despair in Cheryl's eyes after uttering those words.

If she remembered well, she had attempted to use pregnancy as an excuse to salvage their marriage just now.

Just how stupid could she be?

Jarred could force her to undergo an abortion at the hospital tomorrow if he found out she was pregnant. He would surely go to any length to prevent Ines from being agitated again.

Cheryl's heart sank as soon as she thought about this. 'No way!' she swore inwardly.