After the Third Time

I met Henry's gaze as I calmly replied, "I'm going to crash at a friend's for a bit. We're divorced, and me being here just doesn't feel right."

Confusion flickered across his face, my serenity sending ripples of unease through him.

"You know, you really don't have to leave..."

My hands clamped the big suitcase shut, silencing whatever he was about to say.

"Your wife's expecting, and here you are, shacking up with your ex. Got a game plan for explaining that to everyone?"

Henry's face twisted with discomfort, his hand hovering in the air, reaching for me, but no more pleas left his lips.

I gave him an icy look, hefted my suitcase, and did not look back as I walked away.

That home, once ours, reeked of another woman. I was done with it all.

I was done with Henry too.

Something clicked for Henry, and he called out after me.

"Don't forget, we're getting remarried on the first of next month. Be at the County Clerk's Office!"

The first next month? That was when my flight was.

Talk about timing.

I could not help but smirk at the irony.

My best friend, Wren Rogers, had seen it all. She saw the rise and fall of Henry and I.

Wren saw how Henry doted on me and had been by my side through the sleepless nights after each divorce.

"Are you really set on leaving this time?"

Wren was with me at the hospital for a baby check-up, watching my face for any sign of distress.

"Do you plan to keep the baby a secret from Henry?"

With my departure for overseas studies looming, I had less than two weeks left.

Since the divorce, Henry had all but disappeared from my life. I stopped keeping tabs on him, focusing instead on wrapping up my affairs at home.

I was heading to a place called United Germland to study, and it would be a long while before I came back.

I nodded, my hand instinctively resting on my belly. "It's not necessary. This baby might never even meet its real father."

"Selena?"

A familiar voice came from behind me, tinged with a surprise that was hard to catch.

Wren and I turned around to see Henry, his hand gripping Melanie's shoulder, his eyes wary.

"Did you come here for me?" he asked.

My heart twinged, but I held back Wren, who was ready to jump to my defense.

"You're overthinking it. We were just passing through."

Melanie stepped out from behind Henry, her face a picture of innocence, yet her smile was anything but.

"Selena, this is the maternity ward. How could you just 'pass by'? You're here for Henry, aren't you?"

Henry's eyes, complicated and heavy, landed on me, his voice filled with resignation,

"Selena, there's no need for this. I told you that we're getting remarried on the first of next month."

I stayed quiet, hiding behind Wren, not ready to reveal the truth.

Melanie's eyes flashed with anger, and suddenly she clutched her stomach while exclaiming, "My stomach... Is the baby coming?!"

Henry's face twisted in sudden panic, and he swept Melanie into his arms, bolting for the door.

As he rushed by, Melanie's hand shot out, gripping my arm with a fierce tug.

I stumbled, crashing to the ground as Wren's gasp echoed in my ears.

Pain washed over me, turning my face ghostly pale. Wren, shaking, lifted me up, her voice breaking as she called for a doctor.

Through the blur, I caught Henry hesitating for a split second, but then, he was gone, not once looking back.

With his retreat, the last thread of hope I clung to snapped.

I should have seen it coming. He had left me for Melanie previously, and there was no turning back.

The pain in my belly dragged me down into an abyss of darkness.