Katherine Gilbert gripped the medical report tightly as she stood on the rooftop of Gilbert Hospital.
Beaming at Charles Roulstone, she was overcome with bliss and excitement. She was finally pregnant!
Perhaps now, he would see her in a new light when she told him the good news… or so she thought.
Charles shot a cold gaze in her direction.
"Katherine, we are in an arranged marriage, nothing more. You've already got what you wanted. What else do you want from me?"
"Charles, you know what I want," she said in a pained voice.
"I have some good news that I wanted to share with you. Charles, I'm preg..."
"If it's anything to do with you, how could it be good news?" He snapped at her, cutting her off.
At this moment, Fiona Johns interjected, "Katherine, stop playing your mind games! Ever since you pressured him to sleep with you by using Gilbert and Roulstone Ventures as an excuse, Charles has only ever been disgusted by you!"
"And now, you're threatening us with your life? You're a real piece of work!"
Fiona advanced towards Katherine menacingly, but as she came closer, she pretended to trip and sprain her leg.
Alarmed, Charles ran over to help her up.
"Fiona! Please be careful where you step, my dear."
After gently lifting her back on her feet, he rounded on Katherine.
"Watch where you're going! She's pregnant!"
"But Charles, I didn't do anything to her!"
Charles ignored her protests.
"I'm warning you. Don't you dare hurt Fiona! Or else I'll make your life a living hell!"
Hearing those words from his lips, Katherine was utterly devastated.
For two years, Katherine had been married to Charles. And for two painful years, Charles had never cared to look at her. All because their arranged marriage had dashed his hopes of ever being together with his one true beloved, Fiona.
Before Katherine's marriage to him, Charles' parents had extracted a promise from him to never see Fiona again, and he had agreed.
Yet here she was in the flesh, right here in Riverdale! And to add salt to the wound, it seemed she was carrying Charles' child!
Katherine bit her lip till she could taste blood, and finally asked, "Charles, what is the meaning of all this? Why didn't you tell me about Fiona?"
"Oh, it must’ve slipped my mind," he replied haughtily, not looking at her.
Fiona pulled out her phone and scrolled through her photo album. She strode over towards Katherine, apparently unharmed from her fall moments earlier.
"Look, Katherine, our wedding photos! We took them last week." She gloated.
Katherine stared at the photos in horror, her face turning pale as a sheet.
Katherine noticed the photos were dated from the week before, when she was having a terrible bout of morning sickness.
She recalled that memory with a stab of pain. She had called up Charles many times, begging him to come home and take her to the hospital.
But before she could even finish, he told her he was busy with work. After ordering her to sort things out with the butler, he abruptly ended the call.
With a sinking feeling, Katherine realized that he hadn't been busy at all – in fact, he had been taking wedding photos with Fiona in secret.
Ignoring Fiona, Katherine focused all her energy on Charles.
Pressing him for an answer, she asked, "Three months ago, you went on that business trip to New Zealand. But the truth is, you were there to see her, weren't you?"
Nonplussed, Charles glared at Katherine as he thought of something to say.
Before he could reply, Fiona answered, "No, you're mistaken. Charles did go on a business trip. But after that, we went to the Maldives together."
As she shared this, her hands caressed her belly. It was a subtle movement, but even without words it was obvious what had happened; the baby had been conceived while they were vacationing in the Maldives.
The year Katherine had married Charles was the same year he had stepped up to direct Roulstone Ventures. At the time, Charles told her he was so swamped with work, he couldn't even get the time off to take their wedding photos together.
Distraught, Katherine had tried to convince herself that he really had no time, that for Charles, his business came first.
But it was at this moment that Katherine realised it wasn't the business that came first – she just came second to Fiona.
Katherine crumpled her pregnancy report and gave Charles the coldest stare she could muster.
"You've been waiting for this day, haven't you? Now that Fiona is pregnant, and now that you've taken wedding photos, it's obvious what must be done. I want a divorce."
Charles frowned suspiciously. This seemed all too easy. Why was Katherine taking the high road?
"Alright," he replied slowly. "Is there anything else?"
Katherine sneered at him.
"What more is there to say? I'll sign the divorce papers. My lawyer will hand them over to you. Once you've signed, it's over between us."
Hearing this, Fiona was overjoyed. Noticing that Charles was hesitating, she held her belly and cried, "Charles, my belly… It hurts…"
Charles' attention snapped back to Fiona, and he immediately strode over to her side and held her tenderly.
"Fiona, you're going to be alright. I'll take you to the doctor now."
Seeing Charles' concern for Fiona, Katherine's heart shattered into a million pieces, and she felt like she couldn't breathe.
The threat of divorce was her last attempt at making Charles care – but compared to Fiona's cries of distress, he seemed to barely register it.
"Since you love her so much, I suppose this is really the end for us," she thought.
Katherine called up her lawyer.
"Hello? Yes, it's me. I want to file a divorce with Charles. Yes, he's agreed. Yes, I know what I'm doing. Please prepare the papers now. I'll be on my way shortly."
At Gilbert Law Firm.
After signing the divorce papers, Katherine told the lawyer, "Please inform my parents that Charles and I have signed the divorce papers."
"Certainly, Miss Gilbert. May I inquire as to your future plans?" The family lawyer asked with some concern. He could tell that something was amiss.
"I'm going abroad for a while," Katherine replied. "It's alright, I just need to catch some fresh air. I’ll be fine."
After leaving the firm premises, she took a car to the airport.
As soon as she left town, her car was stopped by several black cars.
A few men quickly got out of their vehicles and smashed open her car window. They forced open her car door, and dragged her into one of their cars! They even blindfolded her and tied her hands and feet.
Katherine could only manage to shout out feebly, "Who are you working for?! If this is about money, you can take it all!"
