Avery Pov.

The doctor's words felt like thin sharp needles, piercing my heart repeatedly.

“ The baby is gone.”

Four words, yet those words were about to change the course of my life. If my life was bad, it was bound to be worse from now on.

The tears that I didn't want to shed flooded my eyes and I let them fall.

“I’m sorry, there's nothing I could do.” The doctor added. The pity in his voice was unconcealable and that stung. I hated being on the receiving end of that damned emotion.

As the cruel words of the doctors rang in my mind, I knew that it was all over.

Javier was going to kill me and no one would be able to stop him.

I swallowed hard and forced a smile.

“Thank you, Doctor Park. You’ve been a great help to me during these times.” I bit back my tears, blinking them away. It was no time to cry, not now.

“You’re welcome, my lady. If there’s anything you need, perhaps help with breaking the news to your husband, the prince…”

“No.” I interrupted his words only to realize that it sounded rude. He just wanted to help.

“I’ll manage.” I said in a low voice.

The last thing I needed was for Javier to hear that I might never be able to conceive a child for him after my third miscarriage from another source that wasn’t me. The miscarriage had been bad enough, and the doctor had advised me not to consider carrying a child in my womb again.

My own body rejected all my babies. How was I supposed to deal with that?

“Welcome, my lady.” The servants at the door greeted me as I walked through the door. I hastened my steps, hoping to hide my fear from their prying eyes, but I caught pity as they looked at me.

Everyone had seen them rush me out of the palace with blood painting my clothes red. They knew that I had returned from the hospital without a baby, yet again.

“Lady Avery!” Rose, my personal maid, called out as she hurried towards me.

“You’re back.” The tone of her voice told me all I needed to know, but I refused to believe it, not until I saw it with my very own eyes.

For the past six years, my husband had not hesitated to disgrace me in our marriage, no matter how hard I tried to please him. It wouldn’t be the first or last time he was making me appear like a fool in front of the servants.

“Is Javier back?” I asked, fighting my tears back. Even without hearing it, I knew the answer.

Rose just nodded, “When did he come back?”

“As soon as he dropped you at the hospital. We had all expected that he would be with you during the…” she stopped, fear lingering in her eyes.

“You can say the word, Rose. I’ve gotten more used to it than you think.” I chuckled, albeit bitterly. No woman would want to get used to having miscarriages and definitely not me. But that was the portion of my life, one that although bitter, I had come to embrace.

Rose didn't say a word.

My heart throbbed painfully in my chest as if protesting to pop out.

The realization dawned on me. He didn't even wait to see if I survived. Apparently, my life and death didn't concern him.

I knew that but it still stung.

“I’ll go see him.” I announced and shock was evident on Rose's face.

I swallowed my tears and turned around to head to our room only for Rose to stop me.

“ My lady, think about it. Is it worth it?” She said, trying to dissuade me but I shook my head.

I was determined.

“ It's not worth it but at least I'll not have anything to hold me back.” I replied with a smile.

Over the years, Javier wanted to break our marriage but every time, a baby would arrive and halt his plans.

This time, it seemed like nothing could keep us together.

Six years of pain and torture, begging and humiliation. I was tired.

I ran up the flight of stairs so fast that my body hurt but that didn't stop me.

I paused in front of his door and swallowed hard. No matter how much I tried to convince myself, I was still scared of seeing his betrayal.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open.

There he was, Javier, my darling husband of six whole years, on our matrimonial bed with another woman.

She sat beside him at the edge of the bed, tongues intertwined and lips locked together in a rather loud kiss. He didn’t bother to lock the door this time. It was very clear that he was done with me.

My fingers dug into my palms, almost drawing blood.

This wouldn’t be the first time he was cheating on me. He had been doing this all through the six years of our marriage, but he had respected our bond enough to do it behind closed doors and outside of the palace. No, that was not respecting our bond, just trying to hide white.

It didn’t hide anything though. Everyone who knew us knew that Javier was in love with one woman, and that woman wasn’t me.

Watching them entangled without any care in the world, I had this impulse to rush and tear her to pieces but I stopped myself.

No, I absolutely wouldn't stoop so low.

She wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t worth it. My heart squeezed painfully in my chest as I staggered backward. I didn’t have it in me to confront him.

I had begged for so many years. Begged him to give me a chance, begged him to love me back, yet even in my most vulnerable moment, a moment that could have claimed my life, he was in the arms of another woman.

There was nothing more to say to either of them, so I walked away. Maybe my actions could be considered cowardly but at this point, I didn't care.

No one, not even the guards or maids said a word to me. They walked past me, speaking in hushed tones, but I could hear them. Pity, disdain, mockery. Those were the three most distinct emotions I could detect from them.

Standing at the gate, I looked back to the huge palace and made a solemn vow. I was going to make them eat the shit they fed me. The pain, the betrayal, the humiliation. I would pay it back a hundredfold.

The heavy raindrops hitting my bare skin mixed with my tears, washing them away. These were going to be my last tears for that*sshole.

***

Hailing a cab, I left the pack and headed to the city. I stopped at a mall to get a red thigh-high dress and matching red leather boots. I was no longer going to sit around and watch Javier hurt me.

Some might say it was the pain of losing a third child in five years that was driving me crazy, and they could have been right. Others might say the constant betrayal of my husband had pushed me down my cliff, and they would have been equally as correct.

However, when I appeared in the club with my boots and dress and a bottle of cognac in my hand whose contents I didn't hesitate to push down my throat, nothing mattered anymore. I blended into the darkness and rowdiness of the club. I was far away from the palace, no one would ever guess it was me.

I threw my hands in the air and allowed my hips to sway to the beat of the music. I had never tasted alcohol in my life, but I was going to drown my sorrows in as many bottles as I could…

With this alcohol and dance, I was going to let go of everything. I let go of the love I had for that undeserving man.

“What the fuck?!” A male voice screamed loudly as I emptied my throat on his white colored shirt, creating a hideous map made of vomit.

“Eww.”

“Oh my goodness.”

“She had so much to drink.” Random voices were heard as the crowd slowly shifted away from us.

I couldn’t look away from the mess I created on an innocent man, nor could I ignore the steam of annoyance that exuded him.

“I cannot believe this! Why would you keep on drinking if you know you have gone far past your limit?” He scolded.

That voice.

My gaze rose to his face. Blue eyes and shimmering dark hair, a pointed nose that rested above pale red lips adorned by a dark mustache that connected with the beards underneath his chin.

Was it a cruel fate? Or was it just a coincidence that the man I had puked on looked just like Javier, my soon-to-be ex-husband? Did I have a thing for barging into and ruining the lives of people who looked like him?

As the thoughts flooded my mind, I broke into tears. I didn’t know what else to do.

“I’m so sorry.” There and then, every pent-up frustration I had gathered in my heart came rushing out.

“It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault I can’t keep a baby alive in my womb. It’s not my fault that he doesn’t love me! It’s not my fault!”

His eyes narrowed on me, glazed with confusion.

“Miss, are you alright?”

I pushed my hair away from my face and saw his eyes shine with recognition. Did he know me?

He placed his hands on my shoulders and tried to calm me down.

“I’m so sorry for ruining your shirt, for ruining your night, for ruining his life.” I could have imagined it, but I swear his jaw hardened at my last sentence.

The handsome stranger placed his palm on my cheek and brushed the tears from my eyes with his thumb. No one had ever, not even my husband, touched me with so much affection and care.

“It’s alright. You didn’t ruin anything.” He spoke softly. Something about his blue eyes gazing directly at mine made my heart race. “You could never do that Avery, not you.”

That was the most my sanity could take, and I lost it. In a frenzy, I grabbed him by his collar and placed my lips against his.