A Cruel Surprise

The sterile scent of rubbing alcohol and lavender air freshener hung heavy in the examination room. Dr. Brenda lowered her silver clipboard, a warm, reassuring smile spreading across her face.

"The blood work confirms what we suspected, Mrs. Prescott," the doctor announced, her voice soft in the quiet space. "You are officially five weeks pregnant."

Vivienne slapped a trembling hand over her mouth. A sharp, stuttering breath escaped her lips, quickly followed by the hot prickle of tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. This was it. The absolute greatest news she had ever received in her entire life.

For two long, agonizing years, she had endured a marriage built on obligation. Dominic Prescott had married her strictly to satisfy his powerful family. He had never loved her, his heart firmly anchored to a woman far outside Vivienne’s social orbit. But now, everything could change.

Whenever they attended galas or business dinners, Vivienne would quietly watch from the sidelines as Dominic’s cold exterior melted around children. He craved a family. Now, she carried his child, and she fiercely hoped this tiny heartbeat would be the miracle that finally brought their dead marriage to life.

"Are you feeling alright, Mrs. Prescott?" Dr. Brenda asked, reaching out to gently squeeze Vivienne’s forearm.

Vivienne blinked rapidly, nodding as she accepted the printed test results from the doctor.

"I am, doctor. Thank you so much," Vivienne managed to say. She carefully adjusted her clothes, stepped down from the examination table, and grabbed her designer handbag.

"I need to get home right away," Vivienne added, her chest fluttering with nervous excitement. "My husband actually took the week off, so he’s at the house today. I have to tell him the news."

The doctor offered a kind nod. Vivienne pushed out of the room, her heels clicking softly against the linoleum hallway.

As she descended the clinic’s front steps, a sharp vibration echoed from her handbag. She paused on the second step. Thinking it was Dominic checking in, she quickly fished out her phone.

The screen lit up with a notification from an unknown number. There was no text, just an attached media file.

Vivienne tapped the screen. A loud gasp ripped from her throat.

It was a series of candid, high-resolution photographs. Staring back at her was her husband, standing intimately close to a woman Vivienne would recognize anywhere.

"What on earth is Monica doing here?" she whispered to the empty air, her heart shifting into a chaotic, terrifying rhythm.

With a trembling thumb, she swiped to the next image, and then the next. When she reached the final photo, the tears she had been fighting to hold back finally broke free, cascading down her pale cheeks.

The image was zoomed in on Monica’s hand, resting flat against Dominic’s chest. Sitting on Monica’s ring finger was a massive, brilliant-cut diamond engagement ring.

It wasn't just any ring. It was an exact, flawless replica of the band Dominic had coldly shoved onto Vivienne’s finger two years ago.

The realization slammed into her as she stumbled toward her parked car. Monica hadn't just arrived. She must have been back in the city for months, maybe longer. Dominic had been secretly seeing his first love behind Vivienne’s back the entire time.

Sitting behind the steering wheel, Vivienne gripped the leather so tightly her knuckles turned entirely white. The sheer disrespect of it all burned in her chest. Unable to contain the mounting agony, she slammed her palms against the steering wheel, hitting it over and over until her hands throbbed. The physical pain was nothing compared to the crushing weight in her chest.

Monica didn't genuinely love him. Vivienne was entirely convinced the other woman had only returned to punish her because Dominic had been forced to marry Vivienne instead. Wiping her ruined makeup, she forcefully twisted the key in the ignition and sped out of the parking lot.

An hour later, Vivienne pulled into the sprawling driveway of their shared estate. She stepped out of the vehicle, her fingers digging mercilessly into the strap of her bag as she marched toward the towering front doors.

She pushed the heavy mahogany door open and stepped into the dead silence of the living room.

Dominic was already there. He sat perfectly still on the long leather sofa, his long legs casually crossed. Sitting squarely in the center of the glass coffee table was a single manila folder.

"Dominic," Vivienne said, her voice tight. She stopped mid-step, using the back of her free hand to quickly wipe the remaining dampness from her cheeks.

She forced her feet to move, closing the distance between them.

"You're home early," she tried to say normally. If those photos were real, she had expected him to be out spending the afternoon with Monica.

Dominic stood up. He didn't offer a greeting. Instead, he reached down, picked up the folder, and held it out across the table.

"Here," he instructed, his tone completely flat and devoid of any human warmth. "Sign the papers. I will personally deliver them to the lawyers this afternoon."

Vivienne stared at him, her brow furrowing in deep confusion. She reached out and took the folder from his hand.

Flipping the heavy cover open, she pulled out the thick stack of premium paper. All the blood instantly drained from her face. Printed in bold, glaring red ink across the very top were two words.

DIVORCE AGREEMENT.

He was throwing her away. Vivienne slowly raised her head, meeting his icy stare.

"Why?" The single word cracked as it left her throat, a fresh wave of tears instantly blinding her vision. She already knew the answer, but she needed to hear him admit it.

"I'm sorry, Vivienne," Dominic stated, looking at her as if she were a stranger. "Even after two years of this marriage, I couldn't find it in me to love you. This arrangement was a mistake from the very beginning. Two years is more than enough time to try, but we are simply not meant to be."

He shoved his hands into his pockets, standing tall and immovable.

"This marriage only happened because my father demanded it," he continued ruthlessly. "He no longer has that control over me. It is time for both of us to step out of this bondage."

Vivienne sniffled, her chest tightening so severely she could barely draw breath.

"Is that really all, Dominic?" she asked, her voice shaking uncontrollably. She prayed silently, begging whatever higher power existed that he wouldn't say Monica’s name. Her fingernails dug into the thick legal documents, denting the edges.

She wasn't ready to let go. Even if he hadn't learned to love her yet, she couldn't just walk away. Not now.

"Dominic, please, I am begging you not to do this to me," she pleaded, abandoning every ounce of her pride. "I will be good to you. I will do better. Whatever you want me to change, I will do it. Just please don't leave me."

It was humiliating. It shattered her soul to know he was only doing this because the woman he truly wanted had finally returned.

Seeing her raw desperation did absolutely nothing to soften his features.

"Monica is back," Dominic declared bluntly. "I want to start a real family with her. She is the love of my life, the only woman I have ever truly cared for. It should have been her two years ago, but my father forced my hand. Now, I am making my own choice."

"Then what happens to me?" Vivienne cried out, stepping closer to the table. "What was I to you for the last two years?"

Dominic remained completely silent, just staring at her weeping face. Deep down, his mind was made up. He firmly believed he owed his very life to Monica, convinced she was the brave little girl who had dragged him from the wreckage of a brutal car crash when he was just a child. Now that she was back, he was going to give her the world.

"If my father had not threatened me, I never would have stood at an altar with you," he finally answered, his voice devoid of pity. "Now that Monica has returned, you mean absolutely nothing to me."

He let out a heavy sigh, clearly annoyed by the emotional display.

"I have no desire to drag this out in court. Name your price for the alimony, and I will have the legal team draft the transfer immediately."

Vivienne stared at him in horror. Did he honestly think this was a negotiation? He was entirely blind to the fact that her heart was being ripped to shreds.

"Monica does not love you," Vivienne fired back, her voice raising in desperation. "You know exactly why she came back after all this time! She is only after your money. Can't you see she only wants you now because you just became the CEO of Prime Core?"

Dominic let out a harsh, mocking scoff. A deep look of pure disgust twisted his handsome features.

"At the very least, Monica would never stoop so low as to force herself onto a man who isn't desperate for her, and who clearly doesn't love her," he snapped.

The insult hit Vivienne with the force of a physical blow. The air rushed out of her lungs.

"I am giving you twenty million dollars for the alimony," Dominic continued, adopting a strict business tone. "All your remaining expenses will be fully covered. If you need a property to live in, I will purchase one for you."

To him, twenty million was an absurd amount of money, more than enough to make any woman happily walk out the door. He honestly believed she was just holding out for a better payout.

A single tear slipped free, falling directly onto the white paper in her hands and leaving a wet, dark stain over the typed words. If he could discard her with such terrifying ease, there was no point in fighting anymore.

She reached down, grabbed the expensive silver pen resting next to the folder, and dragged her signature across the dotted line.

"You can stay here for tonight," Dominic ordered as she dropped the pen. "Monica will be moving her things in tomorrow morning."

"Why didn't you just tell me she was back?" Vivienne asked quietly, staring at the freshly signed ink.

Dominic frowned, a flash of genuine confusion crossing his face.

"I guess you weren't aware of the little surprise messages being sent around," Vivienne muttered, turning her back to him. "Don't worry about me. I will be packed and gone before she even gets here. Say hello to Monica for me, Dominic."

Without waiting for his response, she marched toward the grand staircase and began the long climb up to the second floor.

"This is the right choice," she whispered to herself repeatedly, finally reaching their bedroom and firmly shutting the heavy door behind her.

She leaned back against the wood, sliding slowly down until she hit the floor. Her hands moved instinctively, coming to rest gently over her flat stomach. The sudden reminder of the tiny life growing inside her made the agony in her chest double in intensity.

If she had shown him the medical report, would he have ripped up the divorce papers? Would he have abandoned Monica? Even if he did, it would only be out of obligation to the baby, not out of any desire for Vivienne.

She covered her face with her hands, sobbing uncontrollably into the quiet emptiness of the room. It was finally time to let go of this one-sided love. She would keep her baby a complete secret.

The ultimate tragedy of it all burned in her mind. Dominic was completely wrong about everything. She had never married him for his wealth, and she hadn't done it because she was desperate for status.

She had married him because she had truly, deeply loved him. And she loved him because she was the one who had actually pulled him from that burning car thirteen years ago.