"Mildred, let's have a baby. A little girl who looks just like you. I'll give her everything beautiful this world has to offer."
But when that tiny life actually arrived, the timing couldn't have been worse.
I refused to be a burden to him. I wanted to pour every ounce of energy into paying off his debt. So I scheduled the procedure behind his back and let them take our child.
Turns out I was nothing but a fool dancing on his strings.
Tears splashed onto the rice. I chewed the meat I hadn't tasted in months, laughing at my own stupidity. My own blind devotion.
I sat there until the sky turned black, until Dominic's call finally came.
His voice through the speaker was bright with excitement.
"Honey, I got paid today! Hurry home—I bought you that little cake you love."
I wiped my face dry and rose on unsteady legs.
When we married, I had made one thing absolutely clear to Dominic.
I would never forgive betrayal. I would never forgive deception.
He had committed both. Which meant we were about to reach the only possible destination.
Divorce.
When I walked through the door, the floor was strewn with crushed red roses, petals torn and scattered.