Marina grabbed my arm. "Godfrey, let's not get divorced, okay?"
She pulled me into the corner, her voice dropping to a whisper laced with guilt. "About the baby... I was just so lonely that night. It only happened once. I never thought I'd actually get pregnant."
But I saw it. Right there on her face, beneath the performance of remorse, a flicker of something unmistakable.
Happiness.
"If you want to blame someone, blame me," she continued. "Don't blame Tristan. He's still just a kid..."
I laughed, and tears spilled from my eyes. "A twenty-six-year-old kid?"
I turned to leave.
My brother Derek Simmons blocked my path.
"Bro, she just made a mistake. People slip up."
"Just forgive her."
"When the baby's born, raise it as Nathan's little brother or sister. Problem solved."
Then four-year-old Nathan toddled over, wrapped his small arms around my leg, and sobbed. "Daddy, please don't leave Mommy. And don't be mad at Uncle Tristan. He's so nice to me..."
My own child. My own flesh and blood. Standing on Tristan's side.
The loneliness that hit me was absolute. It carved through my chest like a blade, slow and deliberate.
Every single one of them, for the sake of what they stood to gain, was trying to force me to stay in this marriage.
Had they all forgotten what I'd done for this family?
Marina and I were college classmates.
One afternoon, a downpour hit campus. I slipped on my way back to the dorms and twisted my ankle so badly it swelled up like a balloon. The pain was blinding.
That's when Marina appeared, umbrella in hand, and helped me to my feet.
By the time we reached the hospital, I noticed one whole side of her was soaked through.
"Thanks for that, Marina. Really."
"We're classmates. It's what we do."
She flashed me a smile, bright and unguarded, the kind that belonged to someone who still believed the world was good. That smile burned itself into my memory.
After that, I pursued her.
It didn't take long before we were together.
Near graduation, her family's company ran into serious financial trouble.
She threw her arms around me, sobbing, and told me that to save the family, she'd have to obey her parents and marry some man in his fifties. She'd be his fourth wife. Her job would be to bear him five or six children.
She looked utterly helpless. The light in her eyes had gone out.
My heart broke for her. I promised I'd do everything I could.