Chapter 2 The Reveal (Pt 2)

• DAPHNE
• Divorce. The piece of paper slipped miserably from my hands. Did I read it wrong? No; I saw right. Micah wanted a divorce. A blank expression adorned my face as I stared blankly at the paper on the floor.
• “Micah wants a divorce. Micah wants…” No matter how much I repeated the words aloud, I couldn’t reconcile that they were meant for me.
• A little over four years ago when Micah and I newly got married, we worked hard together to build the company that Micah now ran. Not only him, but I also poured her blood, sweat, and tears into making myself a good and supportive partner for Micah. Although I worked as much as Micah to get the company to what it was today, we both decided—I only agreed after much pressure from Micah—that I would give my shares to him.
• It was only a few weeks since I transferred the last of it to him. Why was a divorce coming so soon after that? I didn’t want to believe Micah used me and now wanted to dump me. There had to be something more.
• A loud sob escaped my lips before I could stop it. With that, it seemed like the dam of tears I’d been trying to hold back was finally released. My whole body wracked as the tears fell relentlessly down my face.
• Today was supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life. I had anticipated the excitement that Micah would get when I told him I was pregnant. I’d even imagined how he would kiss her and tell her he loved her.
• “What went wrong?” Crumpling to the ground, I cried until I had no more tears left in me. My head resting on the cold tiles of the kitchen floor, that was the only thing I felt. Every other part of me was numb.
• It wasn’t clear how long I stayed in that position, motionless, but at some point I heard a noise. Then the next second, I felt a shadow stand over me. It wasn’t until Micah’s cold voice reached my ears that I regained consciousness and snapped back to reality.
• “Get up.”
• “M-Micah.” Pushing myself off the ground, I scrambled to my feet. “Micah, you’re home. I’ve–”
• It was at that moment I noticed that Micah wasn’t alone. Looking past my husband, I was startled to see the person standing behind my husband. A woman smiling smugly. Why had he brought Lori with him? I was confused as I alternated between looking between the two of them.
• “Micah, we need to talk. I don’t understand what’s going on. The driver gave me some papers…Was that a mistake?” It was hard to leave the emotions out of my voice. I wanted, no, needed Micah to say it was all just some mistake or some crazy prank.
• Micah opened his mouth to respond, but before he could get a word out, someone else beat him to it. Under my shocked gaze, Lori, who had previously been standing behind my husband, now walked forward until she was right next to Micah. Then, she took Micah’s hands in hers.
• “A mistake?” Lori laughed. Then immediately, her gaze hardened as her lips curled up in disdain at me. “Do you hear yourself? How could he make a mistake sending you divorce papers? Are you slow, Daphne, or do you just choose to act dumb?”
• I did a slow blink as I processed the words Lori just said. In the past, me and the secretary’s talking had been limited to only a few words of greeting. This was the most I had ever heard her say, and it was also the harshest.
• My eyes slammed shut, as if to protect myself, before jumping open again, focusing on the place where Micah and Lori’s hands met. I noticed with a painful start that my husband was not moving away or refuting Lori’s words.
• “Micah,” No matter how much I tried to control it, my voice broke. I thought I’d cried all of her tears earlier, but at that moment, I felt a prick behind her eyes.”What is this about? Why is your secretary speaking on your behalf?”
• I stared at him, waiting for an explanation. But when it came, it sent shock through my entire core.
• With a cool gaze, Micah said, “Lori has said it all. Daphne, I want a divorce. I realized my mistake for letting Lori go, and now I want her back. But I can’t do that with you in the picture.” His last words were like an accusation, like it was all my fault.
• “Lori is engaged to someone else and she’s pregnant; you’d be destroying two families at once!” I screamed at him.
• The chances that this was a joke were all gone. I knew when Micah was being serious and now was one of those times. Suddenly, I felt nauseated, almost throwing up in the middle of the kitchen.
• “Mi…” I inhaled deeply, the breath leaving my lips harshly. “Mi…” After a few attempts, the words still refused to leave my lips. So, instead of speaking out, I reached out to touch Micah. He wouldn’t be able to refuse me if I did that. I would reveal to him that I was pregnant. Once Micah found out, he would want to be with me again. “Micah, I–”
• Before that even happened, Micah made an announcement which made my whole body freeze up.
• “The baby Lori is carrying is mine. Also, the person she’s engaged to is me.”