Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Belinda lay on the floor, tasting the blood in her throat, as she pushed herself to stand. “Why are you back?”’ Wasn’t he supposed to be at the hospital, doting on his precious Cathy? Kristopher, watching Belinda’s face twist in disdain, leaned back elegantly on the sofa. “Cathy’s just beginning to establish herself here. Imagine the scandal if it came out she was at the gynecologist today”¦”’ “And why should that concern me?”’ Belinda narrowed her eyes, her smirk dripping with sarcasm. “As your wife, who’s just miscarried, should I be upholding your mistress’ reputation?”’ It was clear now why Kristopher had rushed back; he feared Belinda might expose everything and tarnish his beloved’s future. “How dare you use the word ‘mistress’?”’ Kristopher snapped back. Belinda fixed her gaze on him, her words deliberate and biting. “If Cathy valued her reputation, she wouldn’t be involved with a married man, wouldn’t have health issues, and certainly wouldn’t seek treatment at public hospitals.”’ Kristopher’s eyes darkened with fury. “You knew Cathy held my heart even when you married me. And still, you let my grandfather marry us while I was unconscious. How can you call her a mistress?”’ Belinda’s smile soured. Let your imagination soar with “Yes, I made a mistake then.”’ Three years earlier, after Kristopher’s car accident left him comatose, Cathy had fled the country. Belinda believed Cathy had truly left him for good, prompting her to implore his grandfather, Anthony Cox, to arrange their marriage. She vowed to nurture him for as long as she lived. For nearly six months, she tended to him with great care, and gradually, Kristopher began to recover. The severe gastric cancer she developed was largely due to the erratic lifestyle she maintained while caring for him. She had naively believed her sincere affection would thaw his heart, but instead, she found herself drained and forced to end her pregnancy. As his lawful spouse, she was powerless to call Cathy a mistress without facing his sharp rebukes. It became evident that Kristopher was ungrateful and would never be touched, no matter how much she cared for him. With this realization, Belinda gave Kristopher a bitter smile and resignedly said, “If it’s her you want, so be it.”’ She knew it was time to let go of herself. The marriage should have dissolved long before, but it was she who had desperately clung to it. The despair and surrender in her gaze seemed to annoy Kristopher. “What are you implying?”’ he demanded. “Kristopher.”’ A chill enveloped Belinda’s heart. After five years together, as their relationship neared its conclusion, Belinda was surprised by her own serenity, unable to muster even a tear. “Let’s get a divorce.”’ “A divorce?”’ Kristopher paused, then sneered. “What game are you playing, Belinda? Aborting our child and now seeking a divorce? If I agree, you’ll tell my Grandpa that I forced you to do it, won’t you?”’ “I have never gone to your Grandpa to complain. I didn’t before, and I won’t start now.”’ Belinda smirked as she squatted down and retrieved the divorce papers from the drawer of the coffee table. Just then, the ringing of a phone cut through the silence. “Cathy.”’ Kristopher sprang to his feet, his voice laced with anxiety. “What’s the matter? Okay. I’ll be right there!”’ He ended the call swiftly, grabbed his jacket from the sofa, and made for the door. Belinda, clutching the divorce papers, frowned deeply and called out to him, “Sign these before you leave. It’ll only take a second.”’ He seemed not to hear her at all. The door slammed shut behind him as he left. Belinda shut her eyes, sinking into a brief silence. Eventually, she opened her eyes, picked up a pen, and signed her name on the final page of the agreement. Tossing the papers back onto the table, she scooped up her cat, Fluffy, and ascended the stairs to pack. While packing, she called her friend Madisyn Thomas in Rozand to come get her. It had become clear to her. In Kristopher’s eyes, she paled in comparison to Cathy. A single call from Cathy was enough to make him disregard her completely. She had been harming herself over a man who now seemed trivial, especially as she faced stage IV stomach cancer with only three months to live. Resolved, she decided she no longer wanted to waste her remaining time on a marriage that had no future….