Chapter 4

She tortured herself with the images her mind created.

Archie kissing Faustina's body.

Archie whispering "I love you" into Faustina's ear.

Archie gently washing her, just like he used to do for Karyme.

The jealousy and pain were so intense she thought she would go insane.

But slowly, the pain began to fade, replaced by a cold, hard emptiness. The frantic madness settled into a chilling calm.

Two weeks later, Faustina missed her period.

A week after that, a doctor confirmed it. She was pregnant.

Archie knelt before Karyme, his head in her lap, like a guilty dog.

"She'll be gone as soon as the baby is born, I promise," he pleaded. "We'll have our family, Karyme. Just you, me, and our child. It will be perfect."

Karyme stroked his hair, her touch mechanical. Inside, she was silently counting the days until she could leave.

Archie was true to his word in one way. He treated Faustina with cold indifference.

Faustina, for her part, was quiet and unobtrusive, shrinking into the corners of the vast house, trying to be invisible.

The day of Faustina's first prenatal checkup arrived.

"Archie," Faustina said, blushing, her eyes downcast. "Could you... could you come with me?"

Archie's face hardened. "I'm busy. I'll have a driver take you."

He leaned closer, his voice a low threat. "Don't ever forget your place, Faustina. Don't start wanting things that don't belong to you."

Then he turned to Karyme, his expression softening instantly. He whispered sweet nothings in her ear, his hand possessively on her waist.

Faustina watched them, her eyes filling with tears. She turned and walked away, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Archie excused himself. "I'm just going to the restroom, my love."

Karyme knew he was lying. She followed him.

She stopped dead at the end of the hallway.

Archie had Faustina pinned against the wall. His hand was resting on her still-flat stomach.

"Don't be sad," he was murmuring, his voice impossibly gentle. "It's for the baby."

Faustina bit her lip, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek. "You should go back to her, Archie. She'll be waiting."

He chuckled, a low, intimate sound. "Are you jealous?"

His hand slid lower, slipping under the hem of her dress.

"I can't be too nice to you in front of Karyme," he whispered. "It would make her suspicious."

Faustina let out a soft moan, half-protest, half-surrender.

"But... she might see us."

"You're the mother of my child now," Archie said, his voice thick with desire.

"Archie," Faustina breathed, her head falling back against the wall. Her eyes were glazed over as she melted into his embrace.

"The baby wants to see his daddy," Archie whispered, his lips finding hers.

Their panting filled the hallway, their bodies moving together in the shadows.

Karyme felt like she had been plunged into a freezing lake. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

Her heart felt like it was being beaten with a hammer.

He had lied about everything. Every promise, every apology, every declaration of love.

It was all a lie.

She stumbled back to her room, her body moving on its own.

She pulled out her phone and opened a hidden photo album.

She clicked on the first picture. A small boy with Archie's eyes and her smile stared back at her.

Jalen.

Her son.

Four years ago, she had given Archie a child.