“Nelson’s my husband,” I said, playing the part of the desperate wife. “If something happens to me, it’ll affect him too.“>
I faked a sense of urgency–and just like I expected, it only made them more annoyed.”
Dorothy slammed her hand on the table and widened her eyes in theatrical outrage. “Do you even have a conscience? That’s your husband you’re talking about! You’d drag him down with you?”
“I don’t want that to happen,” I replied meekly. “But if you could just help me out…”
“Then get a divorce,” My quiet father–in–law, Jose, finally spoke.}
I held back my smile.
There it is. The words I’d been waiting for.
“Divorce?” I gasped, turning to Nelson with a wounded look. Sure enough, his eyes shifted–thoughtful, calculating. His father’s suggestion had clearly landed.
“But Nelson and I love each other,” I said, my voice trembling. “And I’m carrying his baby. There’s no way we’d get divorced?“}
I clutched Nelson’s arm like I was begging for a lifeline. In turn, his eyes wavered. He looked torn.}
Dorothy jumped in. “Alisha, it’s not that we’re being cruel. It’s just… we really can’t help you. And Nelson–he can’t be dragged down by this. He’s worked for years to build his reputation at work. If you go down, he goes down too. His whole future would be ruined.”
Dorothy’s words hit home. I could see it in Nelson’s face–because they were true. He had worked himself half to death just to secure his position. Getting promoted as a public employee was no small feat. He’d spent years clawing his way up.
Now, I could see he was wavering. He was almost convinced.}
So, I let a few tears slip down my cheeks. “Nelson… is that how you truly feel?“}
Nelson pressed his lips together, clearly about to say something–until Dorothy pulled him aside.}
“Don’t be stupid,” she hissed. “I told you from the start, a woman who stirs up trouble is dead weight. If you don’t divorce her and she ends up in prison, that debt becomes yours!“}
“But… she’s pregnant,” Nelson murmured.}
Dorothy scoffed. “We don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl. If it’s a boy, fine–but if it’s a girl, then we’ve really gotten the short end of the stick!”
“You’re young, good–looking and your career’s on the rise. You could have any woman you want. Why chain yourself to this jinx?“> They thought they were whispering. They didn’t know I could hear every word, loud and clear.
After a long pause, Nelson walked back to me with a serious look on his face
“Ali,” he said, “let’s go to the hospital and find out the baby’s gender. If it’s a boy, I’m sure my parents will be more willing to help. Don’t you think that’s fair?”
I stared at him, pretending to be stunned.>>
Dan jumped in without missing a beat. “I never said I’d help! If this baby isn’t a boy, well, our family still has me to count on. Worst case, my brother can just find a woman who can give him a son. Simple.”
Now I understood why Nelson was hesitating. It wasn’t out of love–not for me, not for the baby.“]
He was weighing the odds. If I somehow got through this crisis, he’d still have a legal claim to half my company’s profits. He and his family had already benefited plenty from my business over the years.
He was a deeply selfish man. That had never changed.
Of course, I knew full well the baby I carried was a girl. That also meant: the moment they found that out, the Reeds would toss me aside like yesterday’s trash.
“Nelson,” I asked quietly, “if our baby turns out girl, would you really divorce me?”
He replied, “When disaster strikes, it’s every man for himself, Alisha. You grew up alone–you should understand that.”
The next day, we met at the maternity hospital.}
Normally, doctors here would never reveal a baby’s gender before birth–it was against their peculiarw policy. But this time, the Reeds had pulled strings. They found some distant cousin who worked at the hospital.
“It’s a girl,” the doctor said.
ebors Revenge I’ll Make My Husband’s Family
