On Valentine’s Day, my husband
dated his cousin
Chapter 1
Valentine’s Day. And where’s Mark, my soon to
be ex–husband? Supposedly pulling an all-
nighter at the office. Yeah, right. More like
celebrating with that skank, Tiffany.
Turns out, they were at the hospital getting an
ultrasound, and he’s talking about buying her a
freaking house as a “push present.” A house!
We’re going on two years of marriage, and
we’re still crammed into a dinky apartment.
“You can’t give me kids, Rainey. What else am I
gonna do? The house is the least I can do!”
Like it wasn’t his fault I couldn’t have kids. I’m
not going to say I regret it, but I wasn’t really on
board when he demanded I get an abortion
because it would “hurt his career.”
く
No. I was done.
Let them both rot in hell for all I cared.
I stood in the bathroom, staring at the
pregnancy test in my hand, feeling like I’d just
been doused with ice water. Mark’s been “busy”
at work; we haven’t exactly been intimate for
the past three months. This test? It’s Tiffany’s
little “gift” to me.
Biting my lip, I dialed his number, desperate for
answers. Instead, I got moans followed by heavy
breathing.
“Rainey? What’s up? Gotta run, late night at the
office, won’t be home.”
He hung up before I could even ask him.
My gut screamed that something was wrong. I
<
9:52
drove to his office and spotted Mark and Tiffany strolling out, all lovey–dovey, heading straight for the OB/GYN clinic down the street.
“Mark, isn’t Rainey going to be, like, totally pissed if she finds out?” Tiffany said.
Mark rolled his eyes, pinching her cheek. “She
can’t have kids, what’s she gonna do? I can
barely afford her as is, what does she want
from me?”
“I’ll get you a house and then you can start
relaxing and taking care of our kid.”
I hid behind a parked car, tears streaming down
my face.
A year ago, Mark convinced me to abort our
baby because he claimed he was on the “fast track” and a family would hold him back.
The doctor warned me it could make it harder
to conceive in the future. He held me, said he’d
love me forever.
For his career, I willingly quit my job, becoming
a housewife on his measly $1500 a month
allowance.
We were living in a rented apartment, the
shame. Now he was handing my cousin a freaking house?
Numb, I stumbled out of the parking lot, letting
the rain soak me. I had no idea what to do.
My phone buzzed – Mark.
He wanted me home, pronto. Something was wrong with Princess.
Princess is my cat, my best friend since I was a kid. Fear surged through me, and I raced home.
But when I opened the door, there they were:
<
9:52
Mark and Tiffany, practically glued together.
Princess was fine, purring at their feet.
“Rainey, what happened to you?”
She was dressed in a fancy dress, full makeup, diamonds sparkling everywhere.
And me? Yoga pants, no makeup, looking like a
slob.
“You look like you’ve given up on life, you can’t
hold a candle to Tiffany.”
Mark glared, telling me to get in the kitchen and
start dinner.
Like I’m their freaking maid?
“I’m giving you fifteen hundred dollars a month, what is wrong with you? What is the point of
paying you if you can’t even do that?”
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97
He brushed past me to make Tiffany some tea.
I remembered he didn’t even know how to boil
water.
She gagged, throwing up, and a sonogram report fluttered to the floor, screaming “two months pregnant.”
My nails dug into my palms. I had to stay calm.
Tiffany sashayed over, hand on her little baby
bump, smug as hell.
“Rainey, I’m pregnant.”
My knuckles turned white. I didn’t say a word.
Mark snatched the report, snapping, “What
would you know about kids?”
They acted like a freaking married couple,
—
<
Finally, I managed to choke out, “So, who’s the
baby daddy? You didn’t happen to hook up with
a total loser, did you?”
Mark lost it, pointing his finger in my face.
“Who are you calling a loser?”
He realized his mistake, looked away, and
stammered, “I didn’t want you insulting her.”
Tiffany started fake–crying, running out the
door like a drama queen.
I took a deep breath, staring at the crummy
apartment.
A little while later, Tiffany posted to her
instagram. She was standing in front of a big
house, showing off a new LV bag and even a
signed house contract.
[Push present! Some people are probably so
<
jealous ;)]
A coldness settled in my chest. I hit the like
button.
- ))
After being with Mark for so long, I had never asked him for money or material things. I pitied him. He always had the world on his shoulders.
He clearly thought I was only good for being a
housewife on a shoestring budget.
