Secrets and Second Chances

MARIA'S POV

I raced up the stairs, my heart dancing with every step. Three years, three long years of cold, empty marriage, and now, finally, I had a reason to hope.

I was pregnant.

I could hardly breathe as I imagined the look on Ethan's face.

Maybe, just maybe, this baby would change everything.

Maybe it could make him see me and love me so much.

Though he did, it was just a little, and ever since we got to the third year of our marriage, he started behaving so distant.

I burst through the door, my cheeks flushed with excitement.

But as soon as I stepped inside I heard muffled voices.

I paused.

My smile froze on my lips. I shook my head, pushing the doubt away.

No, this was a happy day.

But when I opened the door to our bedroom, my world shattered.

There he was. Ethan, my husband was on the couch with a woman sitting casually across his lap like she belonged there.

Her lips pressed against his, their bodies entwined as if I didn't exist.

"Ethan!" I gasped, my voice breaking. He pulled back, startled, his eyes meeting mine with a mixture of shock and annoyance.

"Maria," he said, his voice flat, almost bored. "You are back earlier than I thought."

I stood there frozen, the room spinning around me. "Who is she?" I managed to choke out, pointing at the woman who seemed comfortable in my home.

He didn't even have the decency to look guilty, at least that could be better but instead, he smirked, he did and said

"This is Susan, my college sweetheart and we are getting married soon."

His words hit me like a slap.

"Married?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "But we are married, you and I, for three years, Ethan."

Susan, still sitting on his lap, chuckled softly, a smile spreading across her perfect face. I felt my heart twist painfully at the sound.

Ethan rolled his eyes, a look of irritation crossing his face. "Oh, come on, Maria, you knew this was a business arrangement from the start. Your father practically forced me into this mess, and now that he is gone, nothing is holding me here anymore."

My chest tightened, and I felt a tear drop down my cheeks.

"You promised, Ethan, you said we had to give it a chance, that we would try!"

"Try?" he laughed, a bitter sound that echoed through the room.

"I never agreed to any of this. You threw yourself at me, and your father made sure I had no choice. But now I'm done, Susan and I are moving on together."

I staggered back and felt my world crumbling around me.

I wanted to scream to tell him about the baby, but the words were stuck in my throat, swallowed by my pain and shock.

Susan's smile only grew wider, her hand reaching to caress Ethan's cheeks. "Why are you doing this?". I cried, my voice breaking. "I thought we were finally getting somewhere..."

"Getting somewhere? Where exactly?" Ethan snorted. "Maria, you are delusional. This was never real, not to me, and now it's over."

Tears blurred my vision as I stepped closer, and my hands trembled.

"But- I love you," I whispered, the confession sounding so small and pathetic in the face of all their confidence, their certainty.

Ethan's face darkened, his eyes flashing with anger. "Love me? You don't even know what that means. You think you can trap me with your desperate infection just like your father tried to trap me into this sick marriage."

His words were like knives each one cutting deeper than the last.

Susan's laughter was soft and mocking.

"Ethan, don't be too hard on her," she cooed, her voice dripping with fake sympathy.

"She is just... confused."

I wanted to run to hide but I forced myself to stand tall even as my heart shattered. "I'm pregnant", I blurted out, hoping and praying that it would change something. That he would soften, that he could remember the man he used to be for a moment, just a moment. There was silence, and then Ethan's expression turned cold, the lips curling in disgust.

" You are lying", he spat. " Do you think a baby will fix this? Fix us? You think you can manipulate me into staying?"

" I'm not lying!" I cried, feeling the tears stream down my face.

" This baby is yours, Ethan, our baby -"

Susan leaned in closer, her smile even more smug. "Ethan, don't fall for it. She is just trying to hold on to you to cling to some pathetic hope that you will stay."

Ethan didn't even look at me. He turned to Susan, who handed him an envelope with joy plastered on her face.

He tore it open and pulled out a stack of papers.

" Here," he said, tossing them at me. The divorce papers landed at my feet and my eyes bulged out in shock.

"Sign them," he commanded. "I already have."

I stared at the papers, my vision blurring with tears.

I felt like I was drowning in the air, thick and heavy in my lungs.

"How can you be so cruel?" I whispered. "How can you throw me away like this?"

He sneered. "Cruel? The only cruelty here is you forcing yourself into my life for three years. Sign the damn papers, Maria!"

I looked from him to Susan, her smile so victorious, so assured.

My hands shook as I picked up the papers. This was happening. The life I had tried so hard to build, the love I had so foolishly believed in, it was all falling apart.

With trembling hands, I grabbed a pen from the table, my heart was breaking with every stroke.

"You'll regret this, Ethan". I whispered, my voice hoarse with emotion."I swear you'll regret this".

His cold laughter followed me as I turned to leave, my world crashing down around me.

I stepped out of the room each step feeling heavier than the last

I was alone, abandoned, but as I reached the door, I glanced back one last time.

"You think this is over?" I whispered to myself. "Just wait and see".

Maria's POV

"Come back here". I heard a voice say behind me just when I was almost out of the house. A shiver ran down my spine and my legs felt so weak that I couldn't turn around.

I already knew who had that voice; it was no other person but Ethan. His voice was ice cold and dripping with so much venom.

"What did you just say?" he asked me, and before I could speak, he raised his finger in warning. "Don't even try to lie."

I swallowed hard, sweat beads forming on my head, and I glanced up at Susan, who had her arms folded across her chest with a sly smile on her lips.

I had wanted to leave peacefully without any trouble but now I guess that peace was far from me.

"She threatened me, Ethan," Susan said, and in seconds, she was already beside him, holding his arms and casting a hateful glance my way.

I felt so small, so insignificant my life had changed in just a few minutes.

"She threatens to kill me, Ethan," Susan said, and without even waiting for confirmation, Ethan's hand sliced through my face, making me reel back from the hot slap.

"So, this is what you plan to do, huh? I thought I was married to a human being all these years. I never knew I was married to a demon." Then he looked me over from head to toe and back again. "And where do you think you're going with that lousy baggage of yours?"

Tears streamed down my face, and I could hardly breathe; the pain and betrayal cut through my chest like a hot knife.

"You asked me to leave". I managed to say in a small voice hoping he wouldn't give me another slap.

"Now, you listen to me, you fool," he said, holding my jaw in between his fingers and pushing my head backward.

"I know what you are planning but I'm smarter than you. I know you have plans of going out there telling all bloggers that I treated you badly and have you divorced."

I tried to shake my head that I wasn't going to do much, but his fingers deepened into my cheeks, almost drawing out blood.

"You will go in there and pretend like nothing happened. You will be on house arrest until I toss you away."

"Until our wedding, baby." Susan chipped in, smiling at me.

"Now, take all this nonsense inside". He said kicking the luggage and pushing me away. My purse fell out of my hands, spilling out the contents.

"And what is that paper for?" he asked as I bent down to pick up my purse. And then he snatched the paper from my hand, his eyes going through it, his face expressionless, then mad anger danced in his eyes.

"What nonsense is this?" He said, waving the pregnancy result, and Susan snatched it from his hand, shock, and surprise plastered on her face.

"Are you trying one of those stupid tricks of yours?" He asked, approaching menacingly.

"No," I swallowed, fear crawling down my chest. "I'm preg-"

But I couldn't complete my sentence as he cut me off with another slap.

"She is lying; do not believe her, Ethan". Susan yelled at the top of her voice. She squeezed the pregnancy result, roll into a ball, and threw it at me.

It was at this moment that I knew that my life wasn't mine anymore.

"You will have to remain indoors, imprisoned by these walls until you give birth to that child, which I know isn't mine." He said with so much venom in his voice. "I do not want the world to see me as a bad person."

They turned around and walked away, leaving me outside. The sky grew dark, and it began to rain.

The next few months came rushing by, and I lived like a fugitive, always hiding from the bitter, icy remarks about me and Susan's hateful glances because she had come to live with us.

She had become my husband's mistress and made my life worthless.

The only time I got to leave the house was during my antenatal and I was drawing nearer to my due date.

My child was the only thing that kept me alive, which kept the hope in me. I had turned to a maid and had to wake up very early to prepare breakfast for them.

"Grrrrrghhh". My phone rang that morning and the caller ID almost made me disappear in fright. There was no other person but Aunt Maggie.

Ethan had given me a stern warning that no one should visit me.

"What am I going to do right now?" I said to myself in a small voice before picking up the call.

"Hey, Maria, how are you doing?" She asked in her usually excited voice. " I'm outside the gates". My eyes began to spin in my head as the phone shook in my hand. The call ended, and before I could leave the kitchen, I heard Aunt Maggie's voice.

"Why does she have to come today?" I asked myself one more time, glancing down at my protruding stomach and then out of the window; the sun was already hiding on the horizon.

I walked quickly to the living room and met the shock of my life, there exchanging hot words with each other was no other person but Aunt Maggie and Susan.

"I still can't believe that my sister raised you". Aunt Maggie spat.

"I do not care about whatever you are saying. I want you to leave now." Susan yelled, pushing Aunt Maggie's luggage to the ground and stamping at the contents that had spilled out.

'Susan, please don't do this". I implored.

"You and that stupid bastard you are carrying in your womb should stay away from this. You have no right to allow visitors into my home".

"Your home?" Aunt Maggie laughed then turned to me questioningly.

"Yes", Susan said when I couldn't say anything. "I'm getting married to Ethan soon. Get that into your skull, old hag".

Anger flushed through Aunt Maggie's face, and she raised her hand against Susan's cheeks; just immediately, Susan retaliated and tried slapping her.

"Susan, please, no, don't do this," I said, running to stand in between them, and in blinded anger, Susan pushed me.

I felt myself falling, the pain running through me. The last thing I heard was the cry for help, and then I fell into nothingness.

Maria's POV

Being unconscious was something which I had come to cherish and I didn't wish to wake up to this cruel world. I wanted to die.

I opened my eyes wearily and glanced at the white ceiling which was a stark contrast to my room.

I tried to get up and mad pain protested through me, breaking down every strength I had left.

My whole body felt numb and weak and I couldn't even lift a finger. I must have been unconscious for a long time as I glanced to my left, there was a machine beside my bed beeping.

I tried to sit up, but I couldn't; the pain was too much, and tears were brimming in my eyes.

The only thing I could remember was that Susan had pushed me and that was it, the darkness closing in on me.

I was half aware of my surroundings, and I tried to call for help, but my tongue lay limp and dry in my mouth.

I heard a door open faintly, and someone walked in, but I just couldn't make out the figure.

I felt someone touch my hands, my vision was blurry and I felt like passing out.

"Maria," I heard a soft voice, and I looked down to find Aunt Maggie standing beside me. "You are finally awake, thank goodness". She said, her voice breaking.

"Aunt, what happened to me?" I asked sniffing. "I can't feel my body. Did anything happen to my baby?"

I could make out her figure perfectly, and a sad expression crossed her face when she heard me ask about my child.

"Maria, you don't need this now. You need plenty of rest, and when you get better, we'll talk about this". She said in a soothing tone.

"Please, Aunt Maggie, I need to know, did anything happen to my baby?"

"Don't worry, dear, you are in safe hands. You are in the hospital now, and you and your child are fine."

I exhaled in relief and shut my eyes momentarily trying to push out the sharp sun rays.

Aunt Maggie let go of my hand and went to the window, shutting the blinds.

"How is it now?"

"Much better." I inhaled, "Ethan." I suddenly asked. "Where is Ethan, how long have I been unconscious? Is Ethan outside and -"

But she didn't let me finish.

"I told you already that you need plenty of rest, child, one question at a time, okay?"

I managed to nod and she helped me sit up.

"You have to eat something and take your medications because they are very important," she said, sitting on the bedside. "You also need enough strength to take care of your babies".

I looked up at her, my eyes bulging in shock and surprise.

"Babies? I don't understand," I said in a very small voice, which was barely above a whisper. "I'm expecting just one baby".

Aunt Maggie nodded sweetly and squeezed my hand gently.

"We all thought the same, too until the doctor suggested that we had to take the babies out because you were bleeding profusely." She smiled again. "Congratulations."

Tears swelled up in my eyes and I quickly hugged Aunt Maggie.

"My babies, can I see them now?" I asked, with excitement laced in my voice.

"Not now, Maria dear, they are so little, premature actually, and they are in incubators. Susan's push made you go into early labor".

I was so happy, and I momentarily forgot about the pain I was going through.

My child. Ethan's baby, perhaps this child would bring us closer and make him love me.

"Did Ethan know about this? Did he know his babies are -"

I couldn't complete my sentence and I watched as anger flashed through Aunt Maggie's face.

"He knows, Maria." She said in a small angry voice and looked away.

"So, where is he? He is coming to the hospital right away, correct? To see his babies". I asked, smiling, but there was something that kept nagging at the back of my mind; something kept telling me that everything wasn't okay.

"He is in Miami". Aunt Maggie said, making my eyes dance wide in shock and confusion.

"Miami." I stammered. "Wh-what is he doing in Miami?" I asked hoping that Aunt Meggie would say something positive, that she would say he was preparing a nice place for us.

"Four days ago, when you lost consciousness after Susan pushed you, the next day, they both got married." She explained. "I had to call the ambulance, and since then, both Ethan and Susan have never visited you in the hospital."

I couldn't even say anything but I could feel the weakness on my cheek.

I was crying and a knot tightened in my stomach, my heart clutched, making it impossible for me to breathe.

"Does he hate me that much?" I asked in a very small voice which was laced with pain and misery.

"They left today for Miami for their honeymoon". She finished, staring at me.

"Maria, please, you have been strong for your babies". Aunt Maggie said, reaching over to wipe the tears off my cheeks but the pain was just too much for me to bear. I began to sob.

"I have never done anything to hurt him, never cheated on him. I loved him, Aunt". I said crying. "I love him, why did he do this to me? Why did he take my love and wash it down the drain?"

"They said they will be back in a month". Aunt Maggie said trying to make me feel better. "He called yesterday".

I lifted my eyes.

She nodded and continued. "He asked about you. He doesn't know about the babies yet."

Slowly I wiped my tears, overcome with mad anger.

" Do not let him know about them". I voiced out angrily.

" Why? Maria, he is -"

" I don't care". I yelled. "When he calls, tell him the babies are dead".

"What! Are you crazy?" She asked, surprised.

"I'm leaving this town with my babies Aunt, and he will never see them".