My Savior Became My Betrayal Chapter 06
The second the door clicked shut, Kennith turned back to me.
“Melly, I’m so sorry. I had no idea my mom would say those things. I won’t let them bother you ever again. Let’s just start over. I’ll do whatever you want from now on, okay?”
He sounded like he was begging.
I kept my eyes down, my face completely blank. I refused to look at him.
“Kennith, just sign the divorce papers.”
I could hear his breathing — heavy and ragged.
“I’m not signing,” he said, his voice trembling.
“I won’t agree to a divorce. I wronged you by causing your miscarriage, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Your health is terrible right now. You need someone to take care of you.”
“I don’t need you.”
I pulled my phone from under my pillow, called a nursing agency right then and there, and hired a full-time caregiver to look after me.
Kennith just stood there, watching me in silence. He waited until I hung up before he spoke, his voice hoarse. “Okay. I won’t do anything to upset you. I’ll be right outside the door. Call me if you need anything.”
He backed out of the room.
During the week I spent in the hospital, Kennith never left the building.
Every day, he’d borrow pots from the cafeteria kitchen to make me different soups and meals.
But he never dared to step foot inside my room; he always had my caregiver, Nadia, bring the food in.
I didn’t eat a single bite. I made Nadia throw it all in the trash.
When the doctor came in for his morning rounds, Kennith hovered close behind him.
The doctor looked over my chart and let out a heavy sigh.
“The patient already had a fragile constitution from previous exposure to the cold. This time, she not only suffered a severe hemorrhage, but was also submerged in freezing water for an extended period. This has caused severe damage to her uterus. Moving forward… it will likely be very difficult for her to conceive again.”
A dead silence fell over the room.
I listened to him, processing the words, and gave a simple nod.
“I understand. Thank you, Doctor.”
I’d been emotionally checked out for a while, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly when I stopped expecting anything from Kennith.
After the doctor left the room, I heard the heavy scrape of someone sliding down the wall out in the hallway.
Nadia felt sorry for him. “Ms. Haworth,” she urged in a hushed voice, “your husband is out there crying his heart out. He’s barely eaten these past few days, and it’s obvious he’s lost weight. You’re married — there’s no problem you two can’t work through.”
I stared out at the leaves framing the window and answered flatly. “Nadia, if it were just a normal problem, sure, we could fix it. But when the love is gone, even a minor disagreement is enough to end things.”
Nadia fell silent.
It was overcast the day I was discharged.
I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving; I just had Nadia help me pack a few of my things and took a cab straight to a hotel.
Once I got settled in, I called my lawyer and sent over the revised divorce papers.
They mailed the papers to Kennith, but he dragged his feet on signing them.
Instead, he started searching for me everywhere.
I had blocked his number, so he resorted to calling from other people’s phones.
His texts shifted from frantic to downright desperate.
“Melly, I sold the house. I wired all the money to your account.”
“I cut ties with my mom. I won’t be taking care of her or the rest of them anymore.”
“Please, can we just meet? Just once.”
Reading those messages, I just found the whole thing ridiculous.
Why hadn’t he done all of this sooner?
What good was this kind of compensation now, other than to prove what a failure of a husband he’d been?
I went through a realtor and rented a one-bedroom apartment close to my office.
On moving day, I stopped dead in my tracks right at the building’s entrance.
Kennith was leaning against the wall by the front door.
I hadn’t seen him in only two weeks, but he had lost a shocking amount of weight.
His usually perfect posture was gone; he was totally slumped over. Heavy stubble covered his jaw, and his eyes were red and bloodshot.
A handful of cigarette butts littered the concrete at his feet.
The second he saw me, his face lit up with sheer relief.
“Melly… I’ve been waiting out here for a long time.”