The Barren Wife

On our eighth wedding anniversary, the scholarship student my husband was sponsoring sent me a taunting text.

In the photo, she was wearing my wedding ring and holding a positive pregnancy test.

Lana, Cyrus and I are truly in love. Why don't you just let him go? she wrote.

A barren woman like you doesn't deserve a man like him.

I didn't give her the satisfaction of a reply. Instead, I forwarded the entire conversation to my husband.

A few minutes later, Cyrus called. He didn't offer an explanation, only a harsh, verbal lashing.

"Maya was just joking! Why are you being so petty? Stop being so dramatic and making a scene. It's disgusting!"

In the background, I could hear the faint sound of a young woman sobbing.

I didn't say a single word back to him. I just hung up.

Before blocking his number, I sent one last message: "Let's get a divorce. I'm tired of being disgusted by you."

......

I spent two hours in the bathroom, vomiting until my throat burned.

I stared at the two red lines on the pregnancy test, trying to process the irony.

The woman who had just been mocked for being a barren hen was, in fact, pregnant.

I let out a cold, hollow laugh.

The salty taste of tears ran down my face and into my mouth.

"Baby, why did you have to show up now?" I whispered.

"Why now, when your father has already fallen for someone else?"

I collapsed onto the cold tile floor, feeling a wave of pure despair.

When I finally managed to walk out of the bathroom, I found Cyrus waiting for me on the sofa.

His face was dark with anger. Before I could even speak, he threw his phone onto the coffee table.

"Lana, is it fun for you to bully a young girl? Do you have any idea how pathetic you look right now? Apologize to her, now!"

Beads of cold sweat were still rolling down my forehead.

My husband of eight years didn't notice my pale face or my trembling hands.

All he cared about was getting justice for his little mistress.

I glanced at his phone. Of course, Maya had deleted all her taunting messages.

All that remained were her pathetic pleas for forgiveness, making her look like a helpless victim.

"Cyrus, we've been together for eight years. You should know me better than that."

"Do you really think I'd say those things if she hadn't provoked me first?"

"Are you actually that blind, or are you just pretending to be?"

Cyrus's expression shifted slightly. He seemed to notice my weakness for a split second, but his voice remained cold.

"It was just a prank, Lana. Why do you have to take everything so seriously?"

"You're acting like a paranoid, crazy woman. Why can't you be more like Maya? She's gentle and kind, not abrasive like you."

I looked at the man I had loved for over a decade. In that moment, he felt like a complete stranger.

"So, she tries to dismantle my family and shoves a pregnancy report in my face, and you want me to just take it?"

"You actually want me to apologize to the person who destroyed my marriage?!"

I started laughing, but the sharp pain in my abdomen turned my laughter into a sob.

I instinctively rubbed my stomach. Cyrus, frustrated by his inability to win the argument, turned to insults.

"Maya was right about one thing. You're not just a drama queen; you're a barren woman."

"What has been the point of being married to you all these years if you can't even give me a legacy?!"

Even though I had already decided I couldn't keep this child, hearing those heartless words from my husband felt like a knife to the chest.

I forced myself to hold back the tears, clinging to the last shred of my dignity.

"Since I'm so useless to you, then let's sign the papers. Let's get a divorce."

Cyrus froze.

I saw him run his hand through his hair, a habit he had whenever he was losing his patience.

A second later, his voice turned ice-cold.

"Fine, Lana. Let's see how long you last in this city without me paying your bills."

He slammed the door and walked out, acting as if this house had never been his home.

The silence in the room was suffocating. My heart felt just as heavy and dead as the air around me.

I finally lost my strength and collapsed onto the floor.

I used to think we would grow old together. Now, our life was nothing but a pile of trash.

Cyrus moved fast. By the time I took an Uber to the clinic, a divorce settlement was already in my inbox.

It came with a short, brutal note.

"I've been sick of you for a long time. Sign it and leave quietly if you want to keep any of your pride."

Meanwhile, I was about to lie down on a cold operating table to end the life of our unborn child.

"Ms. Sterling, we need your final decision now," the nurse said softly.

I turned off my phone screen and let the darkness take over.

The procedure felt like a blurry nightmare. When I woke up, my best friend, Tasha Miller, was holding the printed divorce papers.

Tasha was a high-powered attorney and had been my closest friend since our days at UChicago.

Looking at my pale state, she was fuming with rage.

"This agreement is a total joke. It's like he wrote it in a fit of rage."

"It's full of clauses that screw you over. After what he's put you through, you're telling me you just want to sign it?"

"Lana, have you lost your mind?"

The lingering pain from the procedure radiated through my body. I took a deep breath, trying to look indifferent.

"Wasting time fighting a man like him will only drain what little life I have left."

Tasha looked at me with deep pity. She knew how much I had sacrificed.

I remembered the last time I was in the hospital for a stomach issue. Tasha was the only one there.

Back then, my husband was in Maui with his little assistant.

They were posting photos in sexy beachwear, flaunting their happy life on my feed every hour.

I had been suffering alone in a hospital bed, feeling like a fly watching them through a window.

I realized then that I had been an outsider in my own marriage for a long time.

My pillow was soaked with tears, but they weren't tears of sadness anymore. They were tears of finality.

Tasha finally sighed, her shoulders dropping.

"I get it, Lana. I'll handle the paperwork exactly how you want."

"But you have to promise me one thing. You have to take care of yourself first."

I gave her a weak, forced smile and nodded.

I was truly grateful for her. She reminded me that even a friend cared more for me than my so-called husband ever did.

I swiped open my phone one last time.

Maya had just posted a new update on her social media.

"Small, dusty diamond rings are so last season. Cyrus just bought me a much bigger one! So happy!"

The ring in the photo sparkled with a light that felt like a needle in my eye.

I fought back the urge to throw up and left a single comment.

"I hope the two of you have a long life together. You truly deserve each other."

Tasha worked fast.

She cleaned up the legal errors in the mess Cyrus had sent me and brought back a finalized version.

I didn't hesitate for a single second. I signed my name on the dotted line.

Then, I caught a cab straight to Cyrus's corporate office. I couldn't stand being tied to that man for another minute.

The security guard at the front desk looked at me with a mix of awkwardness and pity.

"Mrs. Adler, I'm sorry. Mr. Adler gave strict orders this week."

"He said if you showed up, we weren't allowed to let you upstairs."

I stood there, stunned for a moment, before a bitter laugh escaped my lips.

My husband had built this company using my family's investment money.

Now that he was a success, I was the first person he chose to throw away.

I swallowed my pride and kept my voice calm.

"Go tell him I'm not here to beg. I just need his signature on the divorce papers."

The guard didn't want to cause a scene and called up to the executive floor.

I stood in that lobby for two hours until my legs felt like they were going to give out.

Finally, an assistant came down and told me I could go up.

But when I walked into Cyrus's private office, he wasn't the one sitting in the leather CEO chair.

It was Maya.

I finally understood why the guard had looked at me with such pity.

Seeing the mistress sitting in my husband's chair was the ultimate insult.

"Where is Cyrus?"

Maya leaned back in the chair, a smug grin spreading across her face.

"What's the matter, Lana? Did you think you could just crawl back here and Cyrus would take you back?"

"You need to face reality. Cyrus only loves me now. If I asked for the moon, he'd buy me a rocket."

"If you have any dignity left, you'll crawl back to whatever hole you came from."

I looked at her, wondering how an Ivy League graduate like Cyrus could fall for someone so cheap and tacky.

I suppose his taste in women had rotted along with his character.

I ignored her petty taunts and pulled the divorce papers from my bag.

"Actually, I'm here to give you exactly what you want. I'm divorcing him."

"Congratulations on winning my hand-me-downs. I didn't realize you enjoyed wearing other people's trash."

I didn't care about being polite anymore. I didn't care if he took her side.

The moment I lost my baby, I lost any hope I had for this man.

But as soon as the words left my mouth, the office door slammed open with a deafening bang.

Cyrus stormed in, his face contorted with rage.

Maya immediately jumped up and threw herself into his arms, sobbing instantly.

"Cyrus! I don't know why Lana is being so mean! She just started attacking me for no reason!"

"Shut up!" Cyrus roared, surprising both of us.

He didn't even look at his crying mistress. He grabbed the divorce papers off the desk, his eyes wild.

"Lana, what the hell is this?! Are you actually serious about this divorce?!"

My lips were pale and my throat was dry from standing for so long, but I felt a strange sense of relief seeing him unravel.

"Isn't this what you wanted?" I asked, my voice devoid of emotion.

Cyrus suddenly looked panicked. The anger was replaced by something that looked like fear.

"Lana, you're joking, right? This is just a game."

"The papers are right there, Cyrus. I fixed the legal mess you sent me."

"I kept the terms you wanted. What else is there to talk about?"

"I didn't mean it! Stop acting out, Lana! We are not getting a divorce!"

For a moment, he looked genuinely desperate. It was almost convincing.

But I knew better now. I wouldn't be fooled by his performance again.

"Cyrus, stop the act. Let's just end this with a little bit of dignity left."