“Is she carrying your baby?” Meera let out the question that was bugging her mind. Although she didn’t want to believe that he cheated on her, her husband didn’t give her another option.
Silence descended in the room as everyone directed their glares at Vivian’s flat tummy.“You’re not dumb after all,” Vivian puffed her chest and smirked.A sharp pain stabbed Meera in the heart. It was so painful that she wanted to die.“You evil woman!” David freed himself from his captive and swiftly pounced on Vivian.Vivian, who didn’t expect such an attack, took a hard kick to her stomach and fell back with a sharp cry, ending up falling on the tall cake.“Ahh!”“Vivian!”Ben rushed forward to rescue her but it was already too late. Her white dress was stained with different colors of cake. He scooped her in his arms and was about to rush her to the couch when David swung another vase at them. Unexpectedly, the vase, which was meant to hit Vivian, slammed on Ben’s head, causing him to fall on the couch with Vivian in his arms.“Ben, our ba– baby!” Vivian started gasping for air.“Get the car!” ignoring the blood trickling down his forehead, Ben ordered the guards that were stationed outside and carried Vivian and hurried out of the house.“I’ll kill you two!” David was extremely furious. He took the knife from the cake and was about to dash after them when he heard his sister’s tired voice.“Enough.”He froze and turned his head to Meera, “Sister…”“That’s enough.”The scene of Ben protecting Vivian with his body squeezed her heart even harder. She hated this so, so much and couldn’t breathe.Tired of standing there and becoming a laughingstock, she mindlessly headed for the stairs. She was mentally, physically, and psychologically exhausted and needed some rest.Maria and David watched her climb the stairs until she disappeared into the passageway. Looking at his sister’s lone figure, David’s eyes watered. He turned to Maria and begged, “Sister Maria, please, can you be with my sister? She’s very sad.”“I know, I’ll go right away,” she hurried after Meera to their bedroom.Getting to the room, Meera was hugging her knees and staring at space. She still could not believe what happened to her. She and Ben had never talked about having kids. Indeed, he liked kids but she thought it was normal.If she had known he was desperate for a child, there were a lot of ways they could get one... Unless he wasn’t lying when he reiterated Vivian’s claim... She was just a stand-in wife!Reliving that scene shattered her heart so badly that she couldn’t find the energy to cry anymore.All of a sudden, her bedroom door was pushed open and the panicking Maria rushed in saying, “You scared me. I– ““Maria, do you think we can still make things work? Do you have a sliver of hope that Ben was just acting?”Seeing her friend speaking so soullessly squeezed Maria’s heart. She squatted in front of her and held her hands, “I don’t know what to tell you, Meera. You know him better than I do, but I know Vivian better. Since Vivian is involved, chances that you might win him back is slim.”“How slim?”“2 out of 100. That bitch would do anything, including ruining lives just to get what she wants. Since she has set her eyes on your husband and the scum feels the same way, I’d say you quit before you get hurt...” when Meera raised her eyes to look at her, she added calmly, “I’m sorry I can’t sugarcoat the reality.”Meera wiped the lone tear that had rushed down on her cheek and asked, “Where are the divorce papers?”“They are downstairs. I'll get David to bring them over,” Maria put a call through to David and a few minutes later, the boy entered with the papers.Meera hesitated for a while before signing them. Once she was done, she got up from the bed. She was about to leave when she remembered something and paused.She took off her wedding ring and placed it on the document. She took the black card he gave her and added it to the file. After leaving everything that would be a constant reminder of Ben and today's incident, she wrote a small note and attached it to the papers before leaving with her friend and brother.It was night when Ben returned home from the hospital with Vivian. Ben paused by the entrance and took a glance around the living room. The house which used to be a cozy home suddenly was shrouded in sadness. “Ben, why aren’t you entering?” Hearing Vivian’s soft voice, he flattened his lips and stepped in. “I’m hungry, get the servants to prepare me something.”Ben glanced at her, “We don’t have servants in the house.”Vivian gasped, “What do you mean? Then who used to prepare everything? You?”“Where do I have the time? All the work in the house was done by Meera.”“Then, get her to prepare something for me. I can’t cook and the doctor said I mustn’t starve.”“Right. Her brother hurt you, so she should take responsibility until you’re well,” he helped her to the couch before adding, “I’ll be right back.”Ben left for the stairs and soon enough, he arrived at their bedroom door. He stood there for a few moments, thinking of how to start a conversation before he turned the knob and
The next day...Meera was seen coiled up in her bed, refusing to eat or drink. Maria looked worried as she paced back and forth, trying all she could to get her friend out of that destructive mood. “Meera, David is worried about you and he wouldn’t eat since you refused to eat. You know he has an ulcer and you don’t want him rolling around, so please eat something.”Meera stayed silent while staring down at her toes. She wouldn’t blink nor utter a word. Maria sighed, “Come on, don’t do this to yourself. This is exactly what they want to see. Get a hold of yourself, Meera. Do you think they’d give a fuck if you die?”“What did I do wrong? He told me he was fine with my body’s situation after what happened six years ago, so why did he try to bring it up yesterday?” Meera lamented in a hushed voice. Her eyes were swollen and red. More tears cascaded down her cheeks as she spoke. Maria sighed again and sat beside her on the bed, “I understand. You were not to blame for what happened si
A few hours later, Maria barged into Meera’s room, yelling in excitement. “Meera, look, yours and Ben’s news is all over the internet and everyone is on your side!” Meera, who just managed to fall asleep after not shutting her eyes since yesterday, moaned as she tried to sit up. She was having a severe headache and her dimmed eyes wouldn’t open wider than it already had. Seeing she was having difficulty sitting up, Maria put the matter aside and got on the bed, “Are you okay?” she touched her forehead and winced, “Oh My God! You’re burning up. We have to go to the hospital.”“I’m fine... What happened on the internet?” “Forget about the internet, you need to see a doctor. You look excessively feeble and dying!” without waiting for her to protest, Maria helped her out of the room while screaming for her brother. “David, we’re going to the hospital, your sister is unwell!”David, who was in the sitting room, impatiently waiting for Mr. Greg’s message while also reading the news abo
Vivian froze and slowly looked up at him. “You have feelings for her...” not hearing a response after a while, she added, “I knew it!” standing up, she pointed at him, “then why did you betray her? Why have you been sleeping with me behind her back?”“Be thankful that I chose you over her. Whatever I do should not be your business– ““You lie! Benjamin, you lie! The earlier you know that I’m not Meera, the better for us all,” she glared at him. “What makes you think you can ever be Meera? If not that I needed a child, would I have accepted you back?”“Excuse me?”“You heard me. You can’t hold a candle to Meera in any way. She doesn’t give me as much trouble like you do.”“Then why did you come running back to me? Was it that she couldn’t satisfy you in bed like I do?”“Don’t delude yourself,” with that, he walked out of the house and slammed the door behind him. He needed something to calm himself. Vivian narrowed her eyes at his disappearing back and a villainous smile crept into h
“What’s wrong with Meera?”“She’s dear to my grandfather. What if she gets some shares from him? Some of the board of directors want my stepsister on the seat. And you know how her mother is. She would do anything to have her daughter on that CEO seat. As it stands now, she and I have the same amount of shares. She’s intelligent and capable, so right now, I need more shares to be victorious. I can’t count on my grandfather’s shares, but I am more inclined to think that he would reserve some shares for Meera.” “Since you have such worries from the start, you should have waited until after the Will was read. How did you manage to ruin your chances so badly?” the other guy couldn’t understand. Ben sighed in frustration, “It was Vivian. She wanted me to give Meera the divorce papers on our anniversary, otherwise she’d abort the pregnancy.”“Wow, Vivian is ruthless and I tell you bro, you have a dim future with that girl around you.”“You’re not helping matters, James.”“Hahahaha... Poki
The frustrated Ben had no idea what to do next. The papers were already with his lawyer– Vivian’s uncle. The man had been pestering him to give Vivian what she deserved after she got pregnant for him and now, trying to take the divorce papers back from him would be impossible. Meera will definitely be enraged if she knew that he already sent the divorce papers to court. A thought crossed his mind and he went for his phone. “Let me call her and explain,” he picked the phone he threw away only to see it was damaged. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” anger and frustration burned in him. He passed a hand over his hair as he paced the room. “I have to go to her, I have to…” he picked up his car keys and dashed out of the room. Meanwhile, at Meera’s home..Maria sighed for the umpteenth time as she looked worriedly at her friend who was lying on the bed with eyes fixed on her phone. Her friend received a court summon from their lawyer a few minutes ago. She agreed to go, but her eyes had been stuck t
“Meera, I saw how much you also wanted to give us a child, so I became desperate to fulfill our dream. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I swear, I was going to tell you but Vivian threatened to abort the pregnancy if I didn’t do as she said. I know it will be hard for you to forgive me… I’m not asking for forgiveness right now, but please, I just want us to forget about the divorce and return home.” Maria laughed out of anger. Is this man for real?!Meera who had been quietly watching him as he knelt in front of her, parted her lips and said slowly, “You still haven’t learned to stop blaming others for the mistakes you choose to make.” “Can’t you feel my sincerity?” He looked straight at her face, hoping she would be moved by his tears, “It was a mistake that was committed only once and it was through the influence of alcohol. You can ask James and Ray, they were aware of how and when it happened. The woman I chose to carry our child was not Vivian. I have no idea how I woke
‘Shut your mouth, you fool! I knew you’d be like this. Anyway, I don’t have the time to battle words with you. I came across a scandalous post about your ex-wife, so I decided to get you to see too, maybe then, your eyes will open to the lies she’s been feeding you with. Also, it’s an opportunity to clear your name and turn the table.’ “What is– Beep... Beep... Beep!” Ben stared at the disconnected call with gritted teeth. He hates it when she does that. But that was not the most important thing right now. Vivian wouldn’t act that way if something hadn’t come up. Ben went online and was shocked by what was trending. “Meera, you lying bitch!!” He roared and bolted to the court. ... Meanwhile, in one of the tall buildings in the hearts of the city, Greg was seen in his office, staring at the pictures that were sent to his phone a moment ago. He picked his coat from the hanger and was about to dash out when his assistant barged in. “Greg, the meeting is about to start.” “Postpone