Divorced And Pregnant: My Beautiful Escape

The pregnancy test was positive. Two lines. Sharply clear.

Amelia had been staring at it for an entire hour. She sat on the edge of the sofa, her fingers cold and slightly trembling as she rested them on her still-flat stomach-a gesture she had repeated hundreds of times, an unconscious act of protecting a secret that was both terrifying and miraculous.

On the table lay the ultrasound report from New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Her name. Six weeks pregnant.

The doorbell rang.

It wasn't a polite chime. It was a frantic, insistent buzz-someone leaning their full weight against the button.

Amelia opened the door.

November's cold wind rushed in, thick with the stench of whiskey.

Hunter Nicholson stumbled into the apartment. He tugged roughly at the knot of his custom tie, his movements harsh and impatient. He didn't even look at her.

"You're three hours late," she said. Her voice was calmer than she expected.

She reached out to take his suit jacket.

He jerked his arm back and shoved her.

Not pushed. *Shoved.*

Amelia lost her balance and staggered backward. The sharp corner of the marble console table dug into her lower back. Pain radiated through her instantly. She bit her lip to suppress a cry. The taste of blood filled her mouth.

She bent down, her movements stiff, and picked up the jacket from the floor.

The smell hit her.

It wasn't just whiskey. Beneath it was a sweet, floral perfume. Chanel No. 5. A scent she knew well. A scent that did not belong to her.

Her gaze froze on the dark fabric's collar. There, nearly hidden in the shadows, was a faint, waxy smear of deep red lipstick.

An icy hand seized her heart, squeezing the air from her lungs. She snapped her head up to look at him-he had already moved to the wet bar, his back to her, pouring a glass of water, ice cubes clinking violently against the crystal.

He drank it down in three large gulps, his Adam's apple bobbing, his entire posture radiating a tense, suppressed frustration.

He turned around. His sunken eyes finally landed on her. Cold. Devoid of warmth. Sweeping over her pale face like she was a piece of furniture he had long grown tired of.

"Audra is back in New York," he said. His voice was flat, a statement of fact that brooked no argument. "I want to terminate the agreement early. As soon as possible."

The suit jacket slipped from Amelia's numb fingers and fell silently onto the carpet.

That name echoed through the empty living room-her sister. The one who was supposed to marry Hunter. A name she had tried so hard to forget for three years.

"Audra?" she whispered, her throat tight. She needed to hear it again. To confirm this wasn't a nightmare conjured by her anxious mind.

The muscle in his jaw twitched. The distinctive dark red birthmark near his eye seemed to deepen. A sign of impatience.

"Don't make me repeat myself. My lawyer will send over the papers tomorrow. You'll get the breach compensation."

Clean. Precise. A business transaction. A hostile takeover of her life.

"But... the contract," she managed, the words catching in her throat. "We still have six months."

A cruel, humorless smile curved his lips. "Don't be greedy, Amelia. You'll get a generous severance. Don't push for anything more."

He turned his back to her again, heading toward the master bedroom. For him, the conversation was over.

A desperate, primal instinct took over. She lunged forward, her hand shooting out to grab the sleeve of his crisp white shirt.

"Hunter, wait. Please."

He recoiled as if her touch had burned him. With a flicker of pure disgust, he shook her off.

"Stay away from her," he warned, his voice a low growl. "Don't think about contacting her. Don't go near her. Take the money and disappear quietly."

The bedroom door slammed shut in her face.

The sound vibrated through the floor, traveled up her legs, and seeped deep into her bones.

Amelia stood alone in the long, silent hallway, staring at the unmoving wooden door.

She didn't cry.

Her eyes were dry. Cold. Hollow.

She looked down at her hand. At the simple, unadorned platinum band on her ring finger.

Slowly, she slid it off.

The metal was cold. Like every night of the past three years.

She turned and walked back to the living room, picking up the ultrasound report from the table. She stared at the small, bean-shaped shadow on the paper.

Then she pulled out her phone and dialed her lawyer's number.

"I want a divorce," she said. "Not a termination agreement. A divorce. I want him to leave with nothing."

A pause on the other end of the line.

"Amelia, you know that kind of case-"

"I know. But I'm pregnant." She paused. "His child. And his mistress-is my sister."

Another pause. Then:

"Nine o'clock tomorrow morning. My office."

Amelia hung up.

She folded the ultrasound report and put it in her pocket.

She took one last look at the closed bedroom door.

Then she grabbed her coat, walked into the hallway, into the elevator, and into November's cold wind.

Behind her, that door never opened.