“T--- tell me, it’s not true…” Nicole said in a low voice which made the words hard to hear.
Her heart was beating fast as she closed her eyes and thought that this was just a dream and soon, she would be waking up. Everything was just a nightmare.
She heard the man in front of her take a deep breath.
"Yes, it's true. I'm married." Ashley replied.
In a voice void of emotions, she heard those words that sliced her heart into a million pieces and wished that she ran out of breath.
In an instant, she wished death would be upon her. There were a lot of questions that popped up inside her head but she had no strength to open her mouth and raise any of them to the man standing in front of her.
Nicole could still clearly remember how she found out his darkest secret.
She incidentally came across a profile picture while she was scrolling on a social media site. Her heart was beating so fast as the man beside the woman who was smiling from ear to ear looked so familiar to her.
She hoped that she was just a stranger that happened to look like Ashley. But boom, when she clicked on the profile picture, she saw all the details that she never thought she would find out.
Ashley McAdams was already married.
Yes, the man she loved for over a year, the man she shared so many sweet nights with, the man who she thought was her true love had already married a woman named Belinda Scott McAdams.
Worst was, Ashley had been married to Belinda for almost five years, which meant that Ashley made her into a mistress.
Anger ignited in her chest, burning all her breath; while her body was frozen, not knowing how to react. After a long while, she mustered up all the courage to look at him again and he was just staring at her calmly.
So, that’s it?
She couldn’t see any regret in his eyes. It was as if what he had done was just a normal thing to do. It was like cheating was always a part of a relationship and unlucky for her because she was used by this man.
He just admitted so easily. Was he expecting that it would be okay for her?
“H--- how could you?” She said in an almost cracked voice. Her heart was starting to tighten.
“H---ow, Ash? Y--- you cheated on me?” She continued stuttering.
It was never in her wildest dream that she would go through this kind of conversation with the man that she loved the most.
Ashley was close to being a perfect boyfriend. He was handsome, well-built and considerate. There was nothing that she needed to ask him to do for her. Before she would be able to say it, Ashley would be giving her everything that she wanted.
As an orphan, there was much hardship for Nicole. But she always believed that it would be worthwhile if all those sufferings were needed to meet him.
“I am sorry, Nicole. I have no intention to cheat on you,” he said, still calmly, without any guilt in his every word.
Her eyebrows were knitted together because of confusion.
How could he act as if she was just a little child? After all this he had done to her, was he still thinking that she could easily forgive him by merely saying a simple word sorry?
“Are you kidding me?" Nicole scoffed. Her eyes narrowed as she shook her head, "How could you say that you don’t have any intention when you know of all people that you are already married?"
"You are a married man and to be in a relationship with someone else is forbidden for you!” She couldn’t contain the emotions that stirred up inside her.
How could cheating never be intentional? From the beginning, he had the choice. He could have avoided her and yet, he even asked her to live with him under the same roof. He knew that she had never loved anyone else other him. Her world was him, while she was just a part of his.
How dare he say that it was never intentional!
She was in huge pain and yet Ashley was not showing any guilt. He was acting innocent.
“Yes, I know but---”
“Shame on you, Ashley!" She cut his words immediately, not wanting to listen to his sophistry. "How could you do this to me? How could you face me after everything you have done with pride? How conceited can you get?” She said and then chased her breath. Her shoulders were going up and down because of the intense emotions inside her.
Anger spiked inside of her. She was trying to hold off the tears that were already in the corner of her eyes.
"It's over."
She felt like her knees were wobbling. She had taken all the strength to turn around while ignoring his call after her, and left the man inside their room.
Tears burst out the moment she stepped out of the house, but she would never turn back. Even though it felt hurt to leave him, she wouldn’t give Ashley a chance to be with her again. She had to save her pride and her dignity as a woman.
She had wasted too much time and emotions with the man.
Nicole met Ashley in the bar along with her best friend, Margie. He was hot and every girl was eyeing on him but he only talked to her, saying that he had a crush on her. After a few months of courting, she decided to give him a chance. And then everything went smoothly, first date, first kiss and their first night. They finally decide to live together.
They've been together for almost a year and she thought that she already found the man who would ask to be with her forever. But today everything changed.
It was never in her wildest dream that she would be a homewrecker. Nicole came from a broken family where she had suffered enough emotionally. She would never accept a third party in a relationship for she knew how painful and difficult it was to grow up in a broken family.
She had promised herself that she would have a complete family for her children.
Nicole could still hear Ashley’s voice calling out her name but she didn’t give a shit. She just wanted to leave this place as soon as she could. The hate and the anger for him was indescribable. He made her feel so stupid and for that, she hated herself.
Damn it! How could she be so stupid to easily fell from his words? How could she never investigate him or question him before getting into a relationship with him?
Wiping out her tears, she went straight to the garage and sped away her car. She wanted the ground to open and eat her up so she wouldn’t see Ashley ever again.
With nothing in her mind, she continuously drove until she felt tired and stopped the car on the side of the bridge.
“What have I done wrong?” She couldn’t contain her inside emotions any more.
Nicole wanted to shed no tears, but she was just a human. And what happened was just tearing her apart. She let herself feel all the hurt. She was just a victim and yet she felt like she was also like Eden. She was the temptation that let Ashley sin to his wife.
She opened the window of her car and let the cold breeze touch her face. No tears were falling from her eyes. She felt her body and mind were already numb.
She looked around and it was already dark down the bridge. The silence that was around her was deafening and the only sound that she could hear was the sound of the insects on the trees.
The sky was so dark. But her life was darker. She felt like she fell in a pit, and it was so hard for her to climb up. She never imagined herself in that kind of situation. All along, the happiness that she had felt for the past couple of months were all pretension.
She couldn't help recalling the scene in the hospital days ago.
Her period was delayed, so they both thought that she was already pregnant. But the result was negative again. She didn't feel good about it because she always knew How much her boyfriend wanted to have a child with her.
“It’s alright,” he smiled at her. “Don’t worry. We will try again. I am sure that we will have our little angel soon since we are both capable of having kids.”
Now, these words had broken her heart.
Why did Ashley want her to be the mother of his child when he had already married another woman?
It was clear. Ashley was just using her to carry his baby.
How ridiculous? Did the man think that she was a baby maker?
