Vivienne hurried down the stairs the moment she heard Alder's car pull into the driveway, her heart leaping after fifteen long days of his absence from the house.
They had been married for twenty-one months now, and though she was two months pregnant, she and Alder had barely spent a full month together under the same roof.
"Honey," she called breathlessly, nearly slipping on the stairs.
Alder Duvall stood at the dining table, accepting a glass of water from the housekeeper. He glanced at her with a look so cold that it froze her step.
"What is it?" he asked, irritation lacing his tone.
Vivienne's chest tightened at his snap, hurt, but she forced a smile as she moved closer.
"I'm just happy you are home," she said softly, wishing she didn't have to lie about how she truly felt.
What she really wanted to ask him was whether the rumors spreading online were true.
The loud whispers that he was planning to divorce her and marry Lyra Devereux. The rumors had made her sleepless for nights.
"If you have stared at my face enough, then I will be leaving," Alder said flatly, startling her.
"You are leaving already?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yes, I still have some important work to deal with," he answered, setting down the glass and walking toward the door.
He pulled it open, and Vivienne's breath caught when the door swung wide. Standing outside was Lyra, waiting with a big smile.
As soon as Alder reached her, she slipped her arm through his and tugged him away like she belonged there.
Vivienne's face paled as the door closed, shutting her out of the sight that broke her heart.
"Could Alder really be cheating on me?" she thought, lowering herself into a seat.
It was true that Alder hadn't married her for love. He had only agreed after she saved his life by donating her blood to him.
When he asked what she wanted in return, she had blurted out the only thing her heart desired. Becoming his wife.
She had been his intern then, secretly in love with him since her very first day at the company.
She wanted nothing more than to be by his side, and to her surprise, he honored her request.
For a brief time, she thought he might return her feelings and worked hard at making him fall in love with her.
But immediately after their wedding, his mother, Sloane, insisted she quit her job and dedicate herself to the household.
Out of blind devotion, Vivienne obeyed, becoming a full-time housewife.
Alder wasn't warm, but Vivienne was satisfied with sharing meals with him from time to time, and the day they got intimate for the first time, she couldn't contain her happiness.
Everything shifted with Lyra Devereux's return from her Master's course in Paris on their one-year anniversary and decide to show up there, running the celebration.
She was Alder's childhood sweetheart, the woman Sloane had always preferred for her son.
Under the guise of working at Alder's company, Lyra began visiting their home at all hours, claiming it was for work and shutting Vivienne out of their private world.
Desperate to win back Alder's attention, Vivienne had stopped taking contraceptives as she had agreed with Alder, and was elated when she discovered she was pregnant and told him.
She believed the child would bring them closer, but instead, Alder grew even more distant, no longer sleeping at home and always away for business.
Vivienne sighed and turned back toward her room to finish the work on her computer. She had agreed to quit working at the company, but for her sanity, she took an online job with a small company.
She had just opened her computer when a sharp pain stabbed through her abdomen.
Vivienne assumed it was because she hadn't had anything to eat all morning, and stood up to get some food, but as she climbed the stairs, the pain intensified, and then something warm and wet trickled down her legs.
She looked down and saw blood.
A scream tore from her throat, and she collapsed within a twinkle of an eye.
The housekeeper rushed over, her cries echoing through the hall before everything went dark.
When Vivienne regained consciousness, she was lying in a hospital bed.
The doctor and the housekeeper stood at her side, their faces shadowed with worry.
"Mrs. Duvall," the doctor said gently as she opened her eyes.
"My baby? What about my baby?" Vivienne asked, clutching her stomach.
The doctor hesitated before shaking his head.
"The child's condition isn't very good. We've stopped the bleeding, and we have to admit you and watch the fetus's condition first, but I'm afraid the baby doesn't have a high chance of surviving the night."
His words cut deep into Vivienne's heart, and tears spilled down her face.
The housekeeper also sobbed softly, knowing how much she cherished the baby.
"Oh my, Madam. What do we do now?" the housekeeper cried.
Vivi's brain went blank for a few seconds, terribly shaken by the doctor's remark, and she could only think of one person.
"Where is my phone? Call my husband," she whispered.
The housekeeper quickly dialed Alder's number. The phone rang and rang, but no one answered. S
She tried again, and again, until finally she lowered the phone with a helpless shake of her head.
"Sir must be very busy."
Another spasm of pain ripped through Vivienne. She cried out, gasping,
"Call Ken and tell him to find Alder," she instructed, referring to Alder's assistant.
She always turned to him whenever she couldn't reach Alder and needed to speak to him.
"Okay, ma'am."
Vivienne waited, and hours crawled by, but neither Alder nor Ken appeared until it was late in the afternoon, and she eventually fell asleep.
She woke at four from the intensified pain, and the doctor and nurses rushed to her side, examining a few things.
"How is my baby?" she asked desperately.
The doctor's expression turned grave after reading her chart and data.
"I'm afraid nothing more can be done. To save your life, we have to terminate the pregnancy."
Vivienne's sobs filled the room, raw and broken.
The child had been her last hope, the only thing that felt truly hers in a life where she owned nothing.
No parental love or love from her husband.
Her life is indeed so pathetic.