"You didn't want to be the bad guy, so you let me do it for you. Now that something's happened, you're standing here playing dumb."
"If I'd known, I never should have gotten involved in the first place."
The moment the words left my mouth, my emotions surged too high.
A sharp cramp seized my stomach.
I doubled over, clutching my belly, and sank back against the hospital bed.
Zachery panicked immediately. "Ellie, don't get worked up. The doctor said the baby's condition is very unstable right now."
"Just rest and focus on the pregnancy. We can talk about the pardon letter later."
The worry in his eyes was genuine.
But I felt nothing anymore.
"I want to be alone," I said, barely above a whisper. "Please leave."
It wasn't until the room was empty, until it was just me and the silence, that the tears finally came.
In five years of marriage, Zachery had been perfect in every other way.
He was romantic. He remembered every anniversary. He'd secretly plan surprises for me.
No matter how busy he was, he always made time to help me care for my paralyzed younger brother, without a single complaint.
"He's your only family. Of course I'm going to treat him well."
That was the reason I'd held on this long.
But now I'd been run over, hospitalized, and my baby was barely hanging on.
And Zachery had chosen to stand with the person who did this to me.
The betrayal cut deep.
I turned it over in my mind again and again. In the end, I swallowed my hurt and decided to give him one more chance.
As long as Zachery stopped defending Gertrude. As long as he never brought up that pardon letter again.
I would forgive him one last time.
But the moment I picked up my phone, his message was already waiting.
"Ellie, I signed the pardon letter for you."
"But Gertie's parents promised they'll bring her to apologize to you in person."
In that moment, my heart finally died.
I called Vivian Cole directly.
"Draw up a divorce agreement for me. The sooner, the better."
On the other end of the line, Vivian frowned. "You're the one who got him his job. You bought the house, the car, all of it. If you divorce him now, you're the one getting screwed."
My voice was flat. "He'll be walking away with nothing."
Before my parents passed, they left me a sizable inheritance and a network of connections. More than enough to support me and my paralyzed brother.
Even if I never married again, I'd be just fine.