Chapter 1 I Was Betrayed

Katherine's POV

I stood in the center of our living room, nervously clutching the test results I'd just picked up from the doctor's office. Three months. I was finally certain I was pregnant. Taking a deep breath, I steadied myself to share this joyful news with Alexander Hudson, imagining his warm smile—the one I hadn't seen in weeks.

"Alexander, I have something to tell you—"

But muffled moans drifting through the bedroom door made me freeze. It was Sarah Porter's voice—my half-sister's—and my heart sank like a stone as I realized she was in our bedroom.

"Alexander, I love you... I've always loved you..." Sarah's voice was tender, laced with an affection that pierced my chest like a blade.

A wave of dizziness crashed over me. The blood in my veins turned to ice. My hands trembled uncontrollably, the test results slipping slightly in my grip. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but I had to see it for myself.

Carefully, I edged forward and nudged the door open just a crack. There was Alexander's tall figure, his familiar broad shoulders now wrapped around Sarah. Her arms encircled his neck, her face nestled in the crook of his shoulder—a sacred place I'd always thought belonged to me alone.

I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle a gasp. Tears blurred my vision, but I could still make out Alexander leaning down to kiss her, his lips brushing hers with a gentleness. In that instant, my heart shattered into a thousand jagged pieces, each one cutting deeper than the last.

"Alex, our son William—he's already born," Sarah said, her voice smug. "When are you planning to divorce Katherine?"

William? My mind spun in chaotic spirals, but I forced myself to keep listening, clinging to the fragile hope that this was some terrible mistake.

"I'll handle it," Alexander replied, his voice calm and distant, "when I find the right moment."

"What if Katherine is pregnant too?" Sarah asked.

Alexander paused, his silhouette still against the dim light. Then he delivered the words that crushed me entirely. "Get rid of it."

His cold, callous response sliced through me, sharper than the winter nights we'd once spent curled up by the fireplace, whispering about our future.

How could that man be gone? I stumbled back. My world collapsed in that moment. I had always believed our marriage was built on love, that the warmth of his touch and the promises we'd made meant something. Never had I imagined Alexander could betray me so ruthlessly.

Looking back, the signs were there—the late nights at the office, the hushed phone calls, the way he'd stopped reaching for me in the dark over the past few months.

I couldn't hold back any longer. With a surge of raw emotion, I shoved the door open fully.

"How could you?" My voice broke, torn between pain and fury. "In our home? In our bed? Why, Alexander—why would you do this to me?"

Sarah pulled away from him quickly, but there was no shame in her eyes—only a flicker of triumph that twisted the knife deeper.

"Katherine—" she began, her voice dripping with false sympathy.

"Don't!" I thrust a hand up, cutting her off. "Don't you dare speak to me. You have no shame!"

I turned to Alexander, searching his face for something—guilt, regret, anything to show he still cared.

But his expression was blank, almost lifeless, his jaw tight as if holding something back. The Alexander I knew would have reacted, would have stammered an excuse or reached for me.

This eerie stillness only deepened my confusion and despair.

"Is this why you've been so distant lately?" I demanded, my voice trembling. "Because you've been with her? Because you've had a child with her behind my back?"

Alexander just stared, unblinking, as if I were pleading with a stranger wearing my husband's face.

Sarah's lips curved into a cold smile. "He never loved you, Katherine. It's always been me."

Her words were a final blow, and I couldn't stand another second in their presence. Silent tears streamed down my face as I bent to pick up the fallen test results, my fingers brushing the paper that held my fragile hope. I walked to the door, grabbed my car keys, and took one last look at what had once been a home filled with love. Then I slammed the door shut behind me with a loud bang.

With a heavy heart, I stumbled to the car. Once inside, my hands shook uncontrollably on the steering wheel.

How could Alexander do this to me?

We'd been in love—or at least, I'd believed we were. Every whispered promise under the stars, every night spent tangled in each other's arms—had it all been a lie?

My hand drifted to my stomach, where our child was growing, a child he'd so heartlessly dismissed.

But even after what I'd seen and heard, a desperate part of me couldn't accept that it was all over—maybe I'd misunderstood something.

With trembling hands, I started the car and pulled away from the house, the tires crunching against the gravel as I fled the wreckage of my life. I pulled out my phone and dialed his number, needing to hear him admit the truth himself.

My finger slid across the screen, and my heartbeat thundered in my ears—one, two, three...

"Hello," his voice answered, cold as frost. "What is it?"

"Alexander," I rasped, my throat raw from crying, "is Sarah's child yours?"

The brief silence on the other end sent my heart dropping into a void.

"What if it is?" he finally said, a chilling laugh punctuating his words.

His response struck me like a physical blow, obliterating the last shred of hope I'd clung to. "Alexander, how could you do this to me..." I whispered. My heart turned to ashes, and my voice felt like a distant, muffled whisper.

"Where are you?" he asked suddenly.

"Why does it matter to you anymore?" I shot back, bitterness seeping into every word.

"Explain yourself. What exactly are you talking about?" There was a trace of bewilderment in his voice, but I was done listening to his lies.

Just then, as I opened my mouth to respond to him, I caught sight of a truck in my rearview mirror, barreling toward me at terrifying speed. I slammed my foot on the brake—nothing. Panic surged through me as I realized the brakes had failed.

"I'm—help!" I screamed, yanking the steering wheel hard to the right.

The car smashed through the guardrail, tumbling over the edge and down the cliff. In the final second before darkness swallowed me, I heard Alexander's voice shouting through the phone. "Katherine!"