The Price of His Betrayal

Decided to Get a Divorce

Clyde's arms encircled me as soon as the words left me.

With a shaky voice, he pleaded, "You don't mean that, Anya. I promise there's an explanation. Let's go home, and I'll explain everything."

Bystanders started to glance at us with interest. I gave in, not wanting to become the center of attention online.

When we returned home, I sat stone-faced on the sofa and waited for his explanation.

He hesitated momentarily before crouching at my feet and looking up at me.

He had humbled himself.

I felt a bitter taste in my mouth.

He had always been a proud man and rarely showed me his vulnerable side.

He only allowed himself to be vulnerable once after learning I sold the property I inherited from my parents to bridge his financing gap.

Like he did today, he crouched at my feet, looking at me with guilt and helplessness in his eyes.

At that time, his expression pained me at first glance. I didn't have the heart to watch him swallow his pride.

But today, I just found him fake and pretentious. It was a fact that he cheated on me. I didn't understand why he looked repentant now. Thinking it was pointless, I looked away.

His attempt to appeal to my compassion didn't work, so he began to explain. "She's a neighbor from my hometown. When I visited my hometown last year, I witnessed her parents forcing her to marry an old man in the neighborhood, but she refused to. When she saw me, she begged me to take her with me, saying she would leave home at all costs.

"During that time, I frequently dreamed of my parents. In my dreams, they told me they couldn't rest peacefully because we didn't have kids. Then, a daring idea occurred to me. I asked if she would like to be the surrogate mother of my child. I would pay her handsomely to thank her for her efforts and ensure she lived a comfortable life after that. She agreed to it, and we…"

He was sidetracked instead of finishing the story. "I don't want you to see me as an irresponsible man who went back on his word. After all, we agreed not to have children when we got married. But I changed my mind later, trying to fulfil my parents' dying wish. That's why I have been keeping it a secret from you. Anya, I swear no infidelity took place. I just want my parents to rest in peace. Can you forgive me?"

My stomach churned.

He gave his behavior a plausible reason. I would be unreasonable if I got angry at him or blamed him.

After all, I told him I had partial ovarian dysgenesis and was infertile.

Like his father, he was the only child in his nuclear family. His parents passed away when he was young, so he had always dreamed of having a family.

He crouched at my feet, a sad look on his usually stoic face.

I would have believed him if I hadn't received the picture from the unknown number this afternoon. It was a reminder that he had committed cheating and would say anything to justify his actions.

He was lying. I was sure of it.

I doubted what he said was the whole truth.

She was her neighbor, and they had known each other since their youth—that was certain.

The rest were excuses.

He promised to cut ties with her after she gave birth to his child and guaranteed everything would remain the same between us.

I thought that was impossible. We were talking about his child, and family bonds were the strongest.

He would never be able to cut ties with the mother of his child once it was born.

My limbs went cold.

I asked him to give me time.

That night, we shared a bed, but we slept facing away from each other for the first time.

Between wakefulness and sleep, I felt Clyde habitually pulling me into an embrace and putting a palm under my belly to keep me warm.

We had a difficult financial situation and could only afford a damp basement in the past, and I would get chills in the winter.

It was worse if I was in my period. The painful experience would keep me awake the entire night.

During the nights, he would take me in his arms, rub his hands to warm them, and cover my belly with one.

He still did that for me, even when our lives were better.

He would pull me into his arms even in slumber.

He did it out of habit, not to pretend.

I was certain deep down he still loved me.

However, the same person cheated on me. Even after I discovered his affair, he still lied to me.

I drew his hand away, deciding to divorce him.

It wasn't a wise choice. His cheating only made a small impact on our marital assets division if I divorced him. I could only expect 10% of the share in this situation.

However, it didn't matter anymore.

Twelve years had passed since I first met him in college.

I believed our passion was real. Therefore, I didn't want us to end on bad terms.