Chapter 8
That evening, he decided he needed answers. He found Carmen in the sitting room, seated at a desk and reviewing documents for an upcoming charity event. She looked up when he entered, her expression cool and guarded.
“Is there something you need?” she asked, her tone clipped.
Marco closed the door behind him and stepped closer, his movements deliberate. “Is there something you want to tell me, Carmen?”
Her brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
He leaned forward, his voice dropping. “Do you have something you need to confess?”
She straightened, her eyes narrowing. “Excuse me?”
“You’ve been so quick to throw accusations at me,” Marco said, his tone measured but sharp. “So quick to threaten to leave. Makes me wonder if there’s more to it than just Arianna.”
Carmen’s anger flared, and she stood abruptly, facing him with defiance. “You’re accusing me of something? After everything I’ve done for you? For this family?”
“I’m not accusing you of anything,” Marco said, his frustration breaking through. “I’m just asking why you’re so desperate to leave.”
“Desperate?” Carmen’s laugh was bitter, filled with disbelief. “No, Marco. I’m giving you a choice—a chance to prove where your loyalties lie. But it’s clear that you’re more interested in listening to her poison than trusting your own wife.”
Marco’s expression darkened. “I wouldn’t have to ask if you weren’t acting so guilty.”
Carmen’s hands clenched at her sides, her voice trembling with restrained fury. “Guilty? You’re accusing me of guilt when you’re the one sneaking off to spend hours alone with her? You’ve crossed the line, Marco. Not me.”
Their words flew like daggers, each one cutting deeper than the last. Marco accused her of letting pride cloud her judgment, of putting her emotions above the family’s survival. Carmen countered that he had sacrificed their marriage for his ego, his need to control everything—even her.
“If you think for a second that I would betray you,” she said finally, her voice breaking, “then there’s nothing left between us to save.”
Her mind replayed the argument from earlier that evening, Marco’s cold words cutting through her like a blade. “Maybe there isn’t [anything left to save].”
How had they come to this?
There had been a time when they were inseparable, when they faced the world together as partners in every sense of the word. She remembered how he used to confide in her, his voice soft and full of dreams about the future they would build. He would hold her close on quiet nights, his kisses trailing down her forehead as he whispered that she was the only person he trusted.
But those days felt like a lifetime ago.
Now, Arianna’s shadow loomed over everything, tainting their home, their conversations, their trust. Carmen tried to picture telling Marco about the baby, but the image crumbled under the weight of his recent actions. Would he even care, or would he dismiss it as another “distraction” from his so-called strategy? Worse, what if Arianna found out? The thought of her child being drawn into Arianna’s web of lies and manipulation made Carmen’s stomach churn.
“This isn’t just about me anymore,” she whispered into the silence, her voice breaking. “I have to protect you.”
Carmen rose from the bed and opened her closet, her hands trembling as she pulled out a small suitcase. She couldn’t stay. Not like this. Not when Marco couldn’t see past Arianna’s games. Leaving him felt like tearing out a piece of her soul, but it was no longer just about her heartache. Her child deserved better than a house filled with tension, distrust, and lies.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Double Life of My Pregnant Ex-Wife (Carmen and Marco)