Husband and Secretary’s Baby Broke My Marriage,So I Took Everything

I was twenty-three when Antony Weiss knelt before me, ninety-nine roses cradled in his arms, and asked me to marry him.

That's when my phone rang. No caller ID.

Patsy Cox, it's youten years from now. Whatever you do, don't marry Antony Weiss. He's going to cheat on you. He's going to break you. You'll end up divorced!

My hand froze mid-reach, suspended over the bouquet. My mind went blank.

There was no way. Antony had nearly died saving me from that fire five years ago. He loved me more than life itself. How could the man kneeling before me now become someone who'd sign divorce papers in ten years?

I shook my head with a small, incredulous laugh and reached for the flowers. The voice on the phone rose to a shriek.

"Patsy! Listen to me! Don't marry himyou'll regret it!"

My fingers hesitated. My gaze drifted to the scar on his armthat ridge of ruined skin, branded there foreverthen lifted to meet his eyes. Eyes that held oceans of devotion.

My lips curved upward. "I won't regret it."

I took the roses. His arms wrapped around me, warm and solid and safe.

A soft kiss brushed the corner of my mouth. Antony's voice trembled against my ear. "Who was that on the phone? You looked so serious for a secondI thought you were going to say no. God, you scared me." He exhaled shakily. "Thank God you said yes."

I stiffened for just a heartbeat, then shrugged it off. "Nobody important. Why would you be scared? We love each other. Unless you've done something unforgivable, why would I ever turn you down?"

He pinched my cheek, tender and teasing, his eyes brimming with an almost violent adoration.

"That would never happen. You know you're my whole world. I'd die for you before I'd ever betray you."

Something in the certainty of his gaze loosened the knot in my chest. I felt suddenly ashamed for even entertaining the doubt. That ridiculous phone call had gotten into my head, that was all.

Antony really did love me more than life.

After the college entrance exams, I'd gone to a karaoke bar with friends to celebrate. Then the fire broke out.

By the time Antony arrived, the blaze was out of control. Firefighters tried to hold him back. He shoved past them anyway, plunging into the inferno to carry my smoke-dazed body out of the flames.

He'd wrapped his jacket around me to shield me. The fire took its price from his skin insteadthat jagged, angry scar seared into his arm.

The guilt had eaten at me for five years. I'd tried everything to fade that scar, to give him back the skin he'd sacrificed. Nothing worked.

But he'd only smiled and said, "Why would I want it gone? This is proof that I loved you enough to risk my life. I'm keeping it forever."

I used to wear his scar like a badge of honor.

I pressed my lips to that ridge of damaged flesh and smiled, content. "I believe you."

By the time I got home, I'd forgotten all about the strange call.

I sat at my vanity, reaching for makeup remover, when the phone rang again.

I frowned. Let it ring. Five times. Ten. Finally, reluctantly, I picked up.

An angry voice exploded through the speaker.

"Patsy! Why did you say yes? Why won't you believe me?"

"Why should I believe you?"

A pause. Then she recited our phone passcodesmine and Antony's. The ones only the two of us knew.

My thoughts scattered like shattered glass. This was impossible. This couldn't be real.

The voice on the other end softened, threaded with desperate hope.

"Do you believe me now?"

I was silent for a long moment. When I finally spoke, my voice was measured. "Even if you are who you say you arewhat makes you so sure Antony will betray me? We've been in love for five years. He's had plenty of women chasing him, women more accomplished and more beautiful than me. If he was going to stray, he would've done it already. He wouldn't wait a decade."

"That's because the woman who'll change everything hasn't appeared yet. When she does, he won't hesitate. He'll leave you. He'll destroy you"

"So did you change?" I cut her off. "If you'd stayed the way you were when he fell for you, would he have strayed?"

The thirty-three-year-old me went still. Her ragged breathing turned to tremors.

I changed. My looks faded. I became naggy, calculating, snapping at him for no reason. But my love for him never wavered.

He's the one who changed. Impatient. No longer indulgent. Forgetting our anniversary...

Patsy, we're just ordinary women. When you reach my age, you'll understandI can't be as carefree as you are now.

Take my advice. End it. The deeper you love him today, the worse he'll destroy you tomorrow. Antony Weiss isn't worth it...

"Nohe is worth it!"

The words tore out of me before I could stop them.

"He's the only person in this world who loves me as much as my parents do!"

"He learned to bake little cakes just for me! He stayed up night after night when I was sick, never leaving my bedside! He recorded his voice as my custom ringtone! He carried me on his back to the mountaintop to watch the sunrise! He ran into a fire to save me, risking his own life!"

"That love was real. You lived it yourself. How can you say he isn't worth it"

But he murdered your child.

I froze.

Something wrenched at my hearta slow, unraveling ache.

My voice came out shaking. "What did you say?"

Through the phone, I heard herthe thirty-three-year-old meher teeth chattering faintly.

Do you want to hear it, Patsy? Do you want to know what Antony Weiss becomes in ten years?

I said nothing.

I just listened as she began to speak, her voice growing eerily calm.

The thirty-three-year-old me told the twenty-three-year-old me everything.

Five years into our marriage, Antony and I sponsored a college student from a poor family. Penelope Cooley.

She was eighteen. Shy as a mimosa, blushing whenever she spoke to me, too timid to even glance at Antony.

Beyond the monthly living stipend, we barely kept in touch.

After she graduated and the sponsorship ended, we had even less contactjust the occasional holiday greeting, polite and perfunctory.

I thought she'd just be a passing figure in my life.

I never imagined that when I was discharged from the hospital after my miscarriage, I'd pass a room with its door half-open

And see Antony inside.

The woman in the bed was Penelope Cooley.

Their fingers were intertwined. He gazed at her swollen belly with a tenderness I hadn't seen in years.

I stood paralyzed, my mind unable to process the explosion of information. And then the next words sent me plummeting into the abyss.

"Eight months now. Our baby will be here soon." His voice was soft, reverent. "Penelope, I can't stop thinking about ita tiny, soft little thing, sweet and gentle like you. It makes my heart race."

A coy, blissful smile spread across Penelope's face. She guided his hand to her rounded belly.

"The baby's excited to meet Daddy too. It's just..." She paused, worry clouding her brow. "Our child won't have a legitimate name. Just a bastard..."

"No." Antony cut her off gently. "Patsy's surgery is done. I'll talk to her today. Before the baby comes, we'll be legally married."

Penelope's expression turned guilt-stricken. "Antony... if Patsy ever finds out her miscarriage wasn't an accident, will she hate me?"

He kissed her cheek, soothing. "I won't let her find out. And even if she doesit was my idea. I'll never let anyone hurt you..."

Slap.

The folder slipped from my fingers and hit the floor.

I stood rooted to the spot, unable to move.

All this time, I'd believed it was something I atefood poisoning that caused the miscarriage.

For days, I'd been drowning in self-blame and guilt.

I didn't even dare complain when Antony said he was too busy to pick me up from the hospital.

But the truthit sliced me apart like shards of glass.

What a joke.

Their child was eight months along. Almost ready to enter this world, to be adored and cherished by parents who loved it more than anything.

My child had been eight weeks. Murdered by its own father.

Reputation... divorce... not an accident...

The words exploded in my head like thunder.

My mind had rusted over. I stood there in a daze, and they didn't even notice me at first.

My body felt nailed to the floor. I couldn't run if I tried.

They sprang apart like they'd been electrocuted. Antony's eyes locked onto me, panic flickering across his face.

"Whatwhat are you doing here?"

What am I doing here?

I wanted to laugh. I couldn't.

Wasn't he the reason I was in this godforsaken place?

Penelope's face went white. Tears welled in her eyes as her arms tightened around Antony's waist.

I suddenly rememberedlast year, he'd gone out of his way to arrange an internship for her.

I'd found it odd. He never paid attention to the students he sponsored. Why the sudden generosity?

She's just a pitiful girl, he'd said. It was no trouble.

Right. No trouble at all to bring her into his bed.

I forced my voice steady, though it shook. "Antony, I'll give you the divorce. But why did you have to kill my child?"

He looked at me. Something flickered in his eyessomething that might have been regret.

"I'm sorry, Patsy. If you'd given birth, we'd still be tied together. Penelope is sensitive. She couldn't handle it. I needed to put her mind at ease."

The words hit me like lightning. My blood ran cold, then reversed course entirely.

I lunged forward, desperate to grab Penelope, to demand answers. Why did my child have to die for your peace of mind?

She shrank back, sobbing. "I'm sorry, Patsy! I just love him so muchI only wanted my baby to have all of its father's love"

I threw myself at her. Antony yanked her behind him and shoved me away.

"Patsy! Enough!"

"Look at yourself! You're not worth a tenth of her! What did I ever see in you?!"

I stared at Penelope. That facetwenty-something, radiant, blooming with youth. And mine at thirty-three: sallow, hollowed out, worn to the bone.

The fight drained out of me. All that remained was a bleak, endless wasteland where my heart used to be.

I sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the muffled sobs coming through the phone.

In the vanity mirror across the room, my young face wavered like a mirage.

But the expression it woregrief, fury, bitter regretbelonged to my thirty-three-year-old self.

I'd thought I couldn't empathize with her pain.

My cheeks were already wet with tears.

"Are you still going to marry him?"

I turned the question back on her. "Do you still love him?"

She didn't answer. She didn't need to.

I was her. I knew.

Our love for Antony had seeped into our marrow years ago.

After a long silence, I said honestly, "I can't stop loving him. And I can't give up the version of him who loves me so fiercely right now. Making a twenty-four-year-old Antony pay for what he'll do in ten years... that wouldn't be fair either."

"If we can't cut out the root, we avoid it."

"You mean... stay away from Penelope? But will that change anything?"

"If nothing could change, you wouldn't have called me. We have to try."

Her voice lifted, a spark of hope breaking through. "You're right. We're truly in lovewhy should I hide? Love is worth fighting for. Then let's do this..."

The day Antony and I registered our marriage, I made one request.

If either of us files for divorce due to infidelity, the cheating party leaves with nothing.

This had never happened before. Antony agreed without hesitation and signed the agreement.

"I'd never cheat on you," he said, brimming with confidence. "And if you ever did, it would only mean I hadn't been good enough to you. I'd never leave you with nothing."

We had a beautiful wedding, and our marriage was everything my thirty-three-year-old self had describeda love so tender it made others envious.

By our fifth anniversary, I deliberately avoided mentioning anything about sponsoring students. Antony didn't bring it up either.

Joy bubbled up inside me, impossible to contain.

Things can change. Everything can change.

As long as Penelope never appears, Antony won't stray.

Then one evening, he brought her homedisheveled and trembling.

"Patsy, I found her at a karaoke bar. Those old men were forcing drinks on her. Turns out she's a student from a low-income family." His eyes lit up. "Didn't you always want to sponsor a student in need? Let's sponsor her."

My mind exploded.

Before I could gather my thoughts, the phone began to ringover and over, relentless as a death knell.

I answered, and through the haze, I heard my thirty-three-year-old self screaming.

"Don't agree! If you refuse, they'll never cross paths again. Patsy, don't you dare go soft!"

Penelope's eyeswide and frightened as a fawn'slocked onto mine. Tears pooled in them, brimming with desperation and longing.

I opened my mouth to refuse.

But then I met Antony's gazeexpectant, searching.

I could already picture the disappointment that would cloud his face if I said no.

I hesitated.

Then I nodded.

Antony's face broke into a radiant smile. He pulled me into his arms. "I knew you'd say yes. But honestly, even if you hadn't, I would've helped her in secret. I didn't want you to regret it later."

Ice water flooded my veins. That crushing helplessness wrapped around me like a shroud.

Later, my thirty-three-year-old self called again. Her tone was softer this timealmost comforting.

"It's okay. Just keep a close watch. Don't let them get close. Don't give Antony the chance to waver."

I took full control of Penelope's sponsorship. Beyond the monthly transfers, I texted her constantlychecking on her studies, her life.

I bought her necessities and clothes. When she fell ill, I personally took her to the hospital.

She was gratefulmoved, even. Her respect for me only deepened.

That was exactly what I wanted. Let her be so touched she'd never dare make a move on Antony.

Under my vigilant watch, Penelope finally graduated.

I even found her a decent internship on my own.

And then I saw her at Antony's company.

When I asked what was going on, Antony raised his voice at me for the first time.

"Do you have any idea what kind of place you sent her to? She was being harassed! If I hadn't happened to visit that office, her life would've been ruined!"

Something inside me collapsed.

Of course things had changed. Penelopewho elsewhere would've fought tooth and nail for a permanent positionwas now Antony's secretary.

Two years until our divorce.

Both versions of me were consumed by an anxiety I'd never known.

I started showing up at Antony's office almost daily, always bringing three lunches so I could invite Penelope to eat with us.

At night, I put on flawless makeup and slipped into lingerie that left him breathless. I made him crave me down to his bones.

When he worked late, I brought midnight snacks. When he traveled for business, I booked a trip to the same city.

We were practically inseparable.

At first, Antony found it charming.

Then he grew suspicious.

"Patsy... are you watching me?"

Guilt seized my throat. I didn't dare cling to him after that.

So I switched targets.

I started inviting Penelope out constantlyshopping trips, coffee dates, anything to keep her close.

Weekends meant movies together, short getaways.

I cut off every chance they had to be alone.

On her twenty-second birthday, Antony and I threw her a little celebration.

She dressed simply, almost innocently, wearing a paper birthday hat as she clasped her hands and made her wish.

I teased her, asking what she'd wished for. I expected the usual deflectionif I tell you, it won't come trueor some generic hope for career success and happiness.

Instead, she blinked up at us with those big, dewy eyes, looking between me and Antony.

"I wished for you and Mr. Weiss to be happy together forever. Safe and sound, for the rest of your lives."

I froze. The words tumbled out before I could stop them: "Why would you wish for that?"

A bittersweet expression crossed her face.

"My parents divorced when I was little. No one wanted me. My grandmother raised me alone." She paused, her voice softening. "You and Mr. Weiss... besides her, you're the kindest people I've ever known. I think of you like... like my own parents."

She ducked her head immediately, flustered, words rushing out in a panic.

"I don't mean you're old or anything! I justI respect you both. Like elders. That's all I meant."

I felt like a demon stripped of its disguise, exposed for what I truly was.

My face burned.

I'd been guarding against her like she was a thief. And all this time, she'd seen us as family.

Shame crawled through me, hot and suffocating.

After that night, I stopped hovering. Stopped watching. And strangely, something in my chest loosened.

Less than six months until the divorce that had destroyed the other Patsy.

Antony hadn't cheated. Penelope wasn't pregnant.

The thirty-three-year-old me could finally breathe. I just had to waitquietly, carefullyfor that date to pass without incident.

Three months to go.

I came home early from a business trip.

The moment I stepped through the door, I saw clothes scattered across the floor.

A man's. A woman's.

A high-pitched ringing filled my skull. My hand trembled as I pushed open the bedroom door.

On the bed, two naked bodies tangled together, the room thick with the sound of ragged breathing.

I stared at Antonysweat dripping down his face, muscles tensedand at the woman beneath him.

That face.

I knew that face better than my own reflection.

They saw me. Froze. Scrambled for their clothes in a flurry of panic.

"Patsy, I" Antony's voice cracked with guilt.

"It's all my fault." Penelope dropped to her knees at my feet, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Patsy, pleaseI'm pregnant. I'm begging you... let us be together."

Antony's head whipped toward her. Shock flickered across his face before something else took oversomething bright and eager. He pulled her up, gathering her into his arms.

"Penelope, you're really pregnant?" His voice shook with barely contained joy. "This is wonderful. I'm finally going to be a father."

Then he turned to me.

"Patsy, you know how long I've wanted this. You could never" He stopped himself, wincing, but pushed on anyway. "My child won't be born illegitimate. Patsy... let's get divorced."

I felt nothing.

No rage. No anguish. No hysterical screaming like the other Patsy had described.

Just... relief.

The boulder I'd been carrying for ten years finally crashed to the ground.

A decade of walking on eggshells, dreading the inevitableand now that it was here, I accepted it with a calm that surprised even me.

I looked at him. This man I'd loved for over half my life.

Leaving didn't seem so hard after all.

I even managed a smile. Faint. Almost peaceful.

"Okay."