A BROKEN WOMAN

~Kelsey

"Who's this?" My husband's groggy voice sounded over the phone, laced with irritation.

I clutched the payphone in the dimly lit hospital corridor, my fingers trembling as I held onto the phone like my life depended on it.

"Honey, it's Kelsey," I whispered, my throat raw from crying.

He paused for a few seconds. Then I heard low mumbling and shuffling of papers.

"What do you want?" he asked, his tone shifting from irritation to outright disgust.

I swallowed hard. "Please, can you come pick me up? The baby, it—" My voice cracked.

"I'm busy."

The line went dead.

I stared at the receiver in stunned silence. The emptiness in my chest expanded and grief swallowed me whole.

Was this his way of showing me he didn't care if our baby died?

Marcus had never wanted kids, but he also despised condoms and birth control. So what was I supposed to do?

"Ma'am," a nurse's voice interrupted my thoughts, gentle yet firm. "You need to get back to your room. You're still bleeding."

Her eyes held pity and it made me feel worse about my condition.

I forced a small smile, nodded, and shuffled back to my sterile prison.

Beyond the thin hospital room walls, a woman’s labor screams echoed loudly, a cruel reminder of everything I had just lost.

The scent of antiseptic and iron made my stomach churn. I needed to get out.

I threw my sweater over my hospital gown and slipped out unnoticed. Chaos worked in my favor as a group of nurses rushed to wheel in bloodied teenagers from a car crash.

The smell of blood from their wounds nearly sent me to my knees but I pushed forward.

I reached the hospital gates and slipped out without the security noticing.

The streets were alive with activities. Fast taxis and passerbys who stared at me like I was something out of a freak show.

A sleek black Mercedes zipped past, then slowed. My heart lurched as it began to reverse towards me.

Marcus would kill me if one of his associates saw me looking like a disheveled, desperate mess.

Panic seized me. I flagged down random cars until, mercifully, an elderly woman pulled over.

"Are you alright, love?" She asked as she scanned me through her thin glasses.

I nodded, too drained to speak.

The ride was short, filled with my paranoid glances at the rearview mirror to be sure I wasn't being followed.

The woman dropped me off near the bus stop. I offered to buy her gas but she turned me down and invited me for dinner.

I barely muttered a thank you before she drove off.

I turned toward the large gates of my husband’s mansion. The security opened the gates without question and starred at me as I made my way to the front door.

The sound of loud laughter froze me in my path. I inched closer to the door and the sounds became more audible.

Marcus wasn't alone. He was with a woman.

I took a deep breath and twisted the large door knob with shaky hands. The door slid open, revealing my husband laying on a woman’s lap.

Not just any woman, my sister!

Hailey scrambled up, covering her bare chest with her palm as she gathered her belongings that were scattered around.

It felt like my world was coming to an end. My body shook violently as I took in the sight before me.

It felt unreal. Hailey hated him. After my father had forced me to marry Marcus and save him from bankruptcy, Hailey was the only one that stood against it. She had literally called me a sold off commodity on my wedding day and had caused a horrible scene.

Realisation hit me like a brick. She didn't do all those things because she cared about me.

She did it because she wanted Marcus.

This was too much to take in.

For a moment, I swayed, gripping the wall for support. But I would never give them the satisfaction of seeing me break apart.

"Good to see you too, Hailey," I said, my voice eerily calm as I walked past her.

Marcus reeked of alcohol, his glassy eyes barely registering my presence as I leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

Hailey flinched. "Kelsey, I—"

I held up a hand, silencing her. "Get out."

She stepped closer, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Please, I know what this looks like—"

"I don’t want to have you thrown out, so leave on your own." I tried to keep my voice steady, but inside, I was crumbling.

She hesitated before nodding, grabbing her shoes and bags with shaking hands.

I wanted to ask why. To demand an explanation. But what good would it do? No answer could unbreak me.

The door slammed shut behind her and Marcus stood up immediately.

"You sent my guest away," Marcus slurred, tilting his head at me.

I turned to him, rage bubbling beneath my skin. "I was having a miscarriage, and you were screwing my sister?" My voice shook with fury.

His expression remained blank.

"I've been faithful to you, Marcus. Where did I ever go wrong?"

He yawned. "I'm hungry. Fix me something to eat."

The words hit me like a slap.

I watched, stunned, as he staggered toward the stairs, disappearing without another glance.

The weight of it all crushed me and I collapsed into a chair, silent tears trailing down my face.

Despite the pain in my heart and the intense regret I was feeling, he was still my husband. He had saved my family from ruin and I owed him my love and diligence.

I plated his dinner, my hands numb, my body on autopilot as I pulled out his meal from the fridge and tossed it into the microwave.

I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist and even though my brain wanted me to push him away, my heart wanted him.

"I'm sorry," Marcus whispered into my ear.

I felt repulsed by the sound of his voice but I managed to keep my emotions at bay.

"I love you. Don't ever forget that," he murmured, pressing kisses along my neck.

My grip on the plate tightened.

"Our baby died, Marcus." My voice, hollow.

"And you slept with my sister."

"We can always make another baby," he said casually, his hand roughly squeezing my backside.

Nausea surged through me and I pulled away from him.

"Marcus, stop!"

His expression darkened as anger flashed through his eyes.

He grabbed my arm, his fingers biting into my skin as he pulled me closer to him . "I am your husband. Your only purpose is to please me."

"Let me go," I whimpered as I tried to break free from his grip.

He yanked my hair, dragging me closer.

"Your body belongs to me," he growled. "If I say I want it, you spread your legs like the whore you are."

A sob escaped my throat as he shoved me against the kitchen island, knocking the air from my lungs.

"Strip!" He commanded as he stalked me like a feral predator.

"Please don’t do this," I pleaded.

A slap cracked across my face, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth.

I struggled, clawed at him, but his grip was like iron.

"I’ll have the cleaners and security take turns on you until you're so ruined no man would want to touch you" he sneered, unfastening his belt.

Panic surged through my veins.

With the last of my strength, I rammed my knee into his groin.

He bellowed in pain, staggering back as he nursed his bruised manhood.

"I will kill you, Kelsey!" he roared, lunging towards me.

I scrambled for an empty wine bottle, hurling it at his head.

Glass shattered and blood seeped through his hair to his forehead.

He collapsed to the ground, groaning, but still reached for me, dragging me to the floor.

Despite my struggle, he still managed to get untop of me and began hitting me until my body became numb to the pain.

My vision blurred and my hope faltered.

Nobody was coming to save me.

I was going to die and nobody would know what happened to me.

My eyes caught, the shiny blade of a knife Marcus had knocked over when he pushed me.

With a trembling hand, I grasped the handle and plunged it deep into his abdomen.

He gasped, eyes widening in shock as blood gushed over his hands from the gash in his abdomen.

For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes and it was beyond terrifying.

What had I done?

Terror seized me, my chest risings and falling as I tried to catch my breath.

I watched as Marcus twitched violently, blood spewing out of the wound as he pressed his palm against his abdomen.

After a few seconds, he went still and I screamed in horror as his hands dropped to his sides.

He was dead.

I had killed my husband..

Without a second thought, I did the one thing my mind could think of at the moment..

I ran....