"It's not like I fell out of love with you. I still love you as much as I did before. But-"
On our wedding day, he said "I only love you and will continue to love you my whole life." At that time there were no "Buts"
"I never planned to cheat on you. It was one of my weakest moments"
He once said, " With your love, I'm the strongest person"
"It was a one-time thing"
He took vows, "I will never look at another woman other than you"
"I wanted to tell you the truth before but I just couldn't "
He once promised, "I will never hide anything from you"
" When I found out Jenny was pregnant, I lost it. You know how much I wanted to become a father"
Every time we made love, he said, "I wish to be the father of your children. I love you, Inaya"
"I want to give my child a home"
I really wanted to say, "I'm pregnant too"
"I'm going to marry Jenny before she gives birth"
He once declared, "In this lifetime, I'm only yours"
"I don't want you to forgive me, I know I'm not worth it. But -"
But he wants me to agree to the divorce and leave.
'Abraham, you were my first love, my only love. In our two years of marriage, you never gave me a reason to complain. You showered me with love as if there was no tomorrow, filled my life with unimaginable happiness, and showed me heaven. But you also cast me into hell. You loved me enough to heal my wounds, but then you tore them open so deep I can hardly breathe.
If it had been anything else, I might have forgiven you. But this time, I chose to be the bad one. You wanted a child so badly, didn't you? Let's not give you that.'- my mind spoke in silence.
Before I came here today, I was certain of one thing: I won't grant him the privilege of fatherhood to our child. Our unborn baby will be mine alone. Though my child will bear his name as the biological father, I will never allow him to be more than that. All paternal rights will be stripped from him legally. Once he signs the blank papers I've prepared, he can erase any thought of our child from his mind.
And as for Jenny and his offspring, it's uncertain who's even the true father. He's destroyed our family for something that may not even be his. It's a twisted irony that he's lost everything for a potential lie.
I'm not merely leaving him; I'm erasing him from our lives completely. He will be nothing more than a faded memory. Signing those papers signifies the end of his existence in our world.
The weight of this decision crushes my heart, but it's a necessary act of self-preservation. The love that once bound us has turned into a bottomless pit of betrayal and resentment, and there's no turning back.
"If you sign this blank paper. I'll sign the divorce papers then," I spoke in a voice that surprised even me. This cold, detached tone never belonged to me.
Abraham was taken aback, the color draining from his face. "Why do you want me to sign this blank paper? What do you want?"
"Rest assured, I don't want any of your material possessions. You gave me Mehr on our wedding day."
"Then what is this about?"
"Think of it as punishment for cheating. Sign it, and I'll not only forgive you but also finalize our divorce."
Abraham looked puzzled, hesitant to sign the blank paper. His hand trembled, his eyes searching mine for a hint of the woman he once knew. But his hesitation vanished when his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and froze. It was a photograph of an ultrasound, a tiny fetus, similar to the one I kept in my bedside drawer.
Without a word, Abraham signed the blank paper. I kept my promise and signed the divorce papers. As I handed them back, I steeled my heart against the flood of emotions threatening to break free. His eyes were filled with regret, sorrow, and something I couldn't quite place.
His body trembled, voice quivered,
"Talaq"
I once said, "I take you as my husband."
"Talaq"
He once said, " I take you as my wife."
"Talaq"
Our lips once uttered "Qabul"
With that, our precious marriage came to an end. The perfect family picture I had envisioned, with our baby and us, shattered into countless pieces. Our promises were broken, our vows were burned, and our love was squashed. His one bad decision of cheating ended it all. That single mistake drained all the colors from our lives. A solitary teardrop slid down my cheek; he was no different from me. I knew he regretted it, I knew he repented. Yet at that moment, nothing was reversible—not his mistake, not our divorce, nor my love. I gathered my bag and papers and left the room.
I didn't look back. I couldn't bear to see Abraham's teary eyes. The sight of his tears might have shattered the fragile wall I had built around my heart, leaving me vulnerable to the love I was determined to escape. I couldn't allow myself to be a slave to love any longer, not when it had caused so much pain.
Outside the courtroom, William, Aria, Lucas, and Joon waited for me. Their anxious faces mirrored the turmoil within me. The moment I stepped out, Aria rushed forward and enveloped me in a hug. Her embrace was so warm, so comforting, that I couldn't resist it. All the strength I had mustered to hold myself together dissolved in that moment.
I broke down for the first time in front of them. My sobs came in uncontrollable waves, each one echoing the regret and sorrow that had been building up inside me. Aria's comforting words seemed distant, like a scene from a foggy dream. The rawness of my emotions left everything that followed a blur, a haze of tears and heartache.
The world around me seemed to fade away as I was consumed by the weight of my feelings. Each tear that fell felt like a fragment of my broken heart.