Chapter 1. Leaving Me
Leaving me
"Congratulations madam, you're pregnant!"
Vanessa couldn't stop thinking about the doctor’s words from that morning. She had been quiet all day because her mind kept bouncing from excitement to nerves.
"What the hell is wrong with you?” Alec, her husband snapped in an irritated tone. “You’ve been zoning out all day," his voice fell flat as he pulled off his shirt and walked away, not even bothering to wait for an answer.
Vanessa tried but she really couldn’t stop her eyes from hungrily tracing every inch of his bare skin.
Even after four years of marriage, seeing him naked still made her blush, though Alec never seemed to notice or didn’t care.
Before she could tear her eyes from him, he put on a towel and headed straight to the bathroom for a shower.
Once she heard the water running, Vanessa quickly reached into her drawer and pulled out the pregnancy report for her surprise reveal.
Earlier that day, she'd gone to the hospital, thinking her sickness was a result of simple fatigue from all the endless hours she had been putting into her husband’s company. But then the doctor had completely shocked her by saying she was pregnant!
After all these years of trying, she was finally going to have the baby she had longed for!
Vanessa furiously clutched the report to her chest as a small smile crept across her face. She couldn’t wait to share the news with Alec.
She really hoped that maybe, just maybe, this would finally change things between them and they could finally be one happy family.
A few minutes later, Alec walked back into their room in a low hanging towel, but Vanessa didn’t have time to ogle him as her heart had began racing from anxiety.
Taking a deep breath, she approached him with a smile, while hiding the report behind her.
"Alec? Can we talk? I- I have something I need to tell you," she said, trying to keep her voice steady, even though her hands were shaking a little.
"What is it?" Alec snapped, his tone annoyed, not even bothering to look up as he dressed.
Vanessa opened her mouth to speak, but Alec’s phone suddenly rang loudly, interrupting her.
Completely ignoring Vanessa, Alec glanced at the screen, and his face immediately tightened. Without a word, he walked over to the balcony, closed the door in Vanessa’s face and answered the call.
Vanessa should have felt hurt at how easily he disregarded her, but something else was bothering right now.
She quickly checked the time on her phone and confirmed that it was almost 1 am. Who could be possibly calling him this late?
She felt an uncomfortable knot form in her stomach. Alec kept his call quick and in a very low volume, and when he came back inside, his expression was colder than usual.
"I have to go," he said suddenly, already heading toward the closet to grab fresh outing clothes. “I won’t be coming back tonight so don’t wait for me.”
Vanessa was stunned and confused. “Wait, what? Where are you going?" Vanessa asked, her voice rising in concern. "It’s the middle of the night Alec! Where will you even sleep?”
"Something important has come up and it needs my attention," Alec just replied curtly, not even turning to look at her as he pulled on his jacket.
Vanessa gaped at him. He was intentionally refusing to tell her anything, why?
"Alec, wait, what I want to tell you is important—can you just listen for a second?" Vanessa tried again, feeling the desperation rise in her chest. But he was already at the door.
"I said not now, Vanessa, don’t you have ears?” he snapped, cutting her off without a second thought. "We’ll talk later."
Before she could even say another word, Alec was gone, the door slamming shut behind him.
Vanessa stood there in stunned silence, her hand still clutching the pregnancy report. This was not how she expected the night to go.
Hot tears welled up in her eyes and clogged her throat, but she blinked them away. It wasn’t the first time Alec had brushed her off like this, like she wasn’t even worth the dirt under his shoe.
Every time she thought they might finally have even a single moment of polite conversation, something or someone always took him away.
She had hoped, even prayed that telling him she was finally pregnant would make a difference in the way he treated her. But even now, he didn’t want to spend any second with her. Alec was always quick to focus on something else — anything but her.
He only ever came to her when he wanted sex, after all, that’s why he married her. Because even though she had always loved him, he only wanted sex from her and he didn’t want to share her with any other man. But aside from that, he ignored her.
Hours passed, and Vanessa couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned her mind replaying the scene of Alec whispering on the phone over and over again. Just as she was about to finally drift off, her phone started ringing.
It was her best friend, Amber.
"Hey, Nessa, are you okay? You didn’t tell me you were sick. Are you and Alec already back from the hospital?" Amber asked in a worried tone..
Vanessa frowned, very confused. "Sick? Hospital? No, I’m at home. Why do you ask?"
Amber hesitated. "Oh, really? That’s great, cause I could’ve sworn I saw Alec earlier at that new hotel downtown... carrying some fragile looking woman who I thought was you."
Vanessa’s heart began to pound as blood drained from her face. "Carrying a fragile looking woman in ? What do you meanAmber?" she asked, her voice beginning to shake.
"Yeah well... but maybe it wasn’t him. It probably wasn’t him, Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you," Amber added quickly, sensing Vanessa's unease.
After hanging up, Vanessa’s mind became a mess. Who could Alec have been with? And why would he hide it from her?
She was about to put her phone away when a notification popped up. It was from a celebrity gossip page and the headline caught her attention immediately.
Famed model Isla Maxwell has finally returned to the country, and she has been photographed being accompanied by a mystery man. Could this be a secret romance?
Vanessa clicked on the article and she immediately regretted doing that. She felt physically ill with dread as she scrolled through the photos. Though the image was a little blurry, she recognized him instantly.
It was her own beloved husband Alec. Carefully cradling a fragile looking Isla in his arms, but the problem was Isla was his ex and his first love.
Her hands violently shook as she researched and read other headlines from different articles about the same pictures.
"Isla is back, and with a new boyfriend! She’s still so elegant and beautiful, even when she’s sick."
"Who’s the hottie with her? He’s fucking gorgeous! Are they officially together?"
"They should get married already! They look perfect together!"
Vanessa’s breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t believe it. Alec, her husband had left her in the middle of the night to be with his ex-girlfriend— Isla?!
She gripped the pregnancy report so hard that it ripped and fluttered to the floor but she didn’t care.
All the hope and joy she had felt just hours ago had vanished into hurt and rage. Alec hadn’t even looked at her long enough to hear the news about their baby.
Because for Alec, Only one person could ever be important enough for him, and the person was not Vanessa or their child, it was Isla.