(Isabella)
My husband chose another woman's life over mine—and that was the moment I stopped being his wife......….
The first thing I feel is Veronica's fingers wrapped around my wrist. The second is the void behind my heel. Then the third—the nauseating drop. For one suspended moment, the world stands still. The banister slips out of my grip. My heartbeat slams against my ribs. I hold my breath in my throat. And Veronica's face—beautiful, doll-like, angelic to anyone else twists into something sharp and venomous inches from mine.
"Stay away from Cristian," she hisses. Then she pushes, I fall. My body crashes onto the marble stairs- a crack at my shoulder, a burn against my palms, a scream lodged in my throat but unable to escape. When I finally land on the floor, pain explodes like fireworks behind my eyes. "Isabella!" Cristian's voice cuts through the ringing.
My husband runs down the stairs, the first time I've seen him move with actual urgency in months. His polished shoes skid on the steps as he kneels beside me. His brown eyes—usually unreadable—finally show something like shock. For one stupid second, I think- Finally, he cares. But then Veronica lets out a high, shaking sob. The sound cuts him off from me straightaway.
"Cristian!" she cries, rubbing her wrist dramatically, even though I'm the one sprawled on the floor. "She—she attacked me! I didn't mean— I was just trying to get away—" Lies. Every word sweet and poisonous.
Cristian Valasco my dearest cheater husband stands, helping her first, completely ignoring the blood on my forehead, my shaking hands, the fact that I can't even sit up.
"She slipped," Veronica insists breathlessly. "I swear, I didn't touch her. She was being aggressive with me—she wanted to fight—" I finally find my voice. It comes out hoarse, weak.
"You pushed me." Cristian's head whips toward me, and his eyes close. As if he can't stand the inconvenience of my pain.
"Isabella," he says in that disappointed tone he has reserved only for me. "Don't start again, V is older than u. Why u always get jealous of her and get into a fight."
My stomach twists. Again as if I'm a nuisance, a chore, a problem he could gladly do without. She presses herself against him, trembling like a fragile lamb. If I hadn't had blinding pain, I would have laughed. She's a wolf in masacara. "Cristian, please," she whispers. "Don't let her blame me. I'm already so shaken…"
And my heart— It doesn't break, it breaks, quietly, without a sound. Like it learned the pattern long ago.
"M-Miss, don't move!" a maid stammers, rushing toward me. "We should call emergency—" Then my so called bastard, fucking husband also came to me after consoling his mistress.
"Call Luna," I whisper to the maid, "Please." My best friend or can say my soul sister. The only one who doesn't take my so called step sister Veronica Castillo 's side. Veronica gives a hard, shaking sob behind my husband. So they were pretending the last two years that they broke up, didn't contact each other. Let me heal once, then I'll show them both who Isabella Castillo is.
----
Two Hours Later
The ceiling of the hospital is white and empty—just like my chest. Luna is beside me, furious tears in her eyes, her grip on my hand almost bruising. "I swear to God, Isabella," she mutters, "one day I'm going to shave that bitch bald." I almost smile. But my head throbs, and my wrist is wrapped tightly. My arm is in a sling. The doctor said I'm "lucky" nothing broke except some deep bruising. Lucky, I don't feel lucky. Out the window, the city is humming, alive, without mercy. Inside, everything smells like antiseptic and heartbreak.
"Why are you crying alone?" Luna whispers. "Why isn't your dick-headed husband here?" I say nothing. Because I already know Luna saw him— outside the hospital room, comforting Veronica. Wiping her tears off, holding her hand.
The door finally opens. Cristian steps inside, tall, composed, formal as always. Not a single crease in his suit. Veronica follows him, eyes puffy but makeup somehow perfect. Luna gets up right away, blocking her way.
"No. Absolutely not. She stays outside."
Cristian frowns. "Luna, don't be childish. Veronica is shaken—"
"She pushed me," I say softly. The room goes silent.
Veronica gasps, "Still blaming me?" Cristian shoots me with a cold look. "Isabella, stop. You slipped, I saw it."
"You saw what she wanted you to see," Luna snaps. And before another word can escalate, the door opens again. Two police officers enter.
"Mrs. Valasco?" One of them nods politely.
"We're here to take your statement about the fall." I open my mouth-end but Cristian comes forward. "It was an accident," he says calmly. "My wife slipped. No one pushed her." The officers turn to me. "Ma'am?" My throat closes. Cristian looks at me with a silent warning in his eyes. Cause no trouble. Don't shame the family. don't blame Veronica, she is ur older step sister. I swallow the truth. "I slipped," I whisper. Luna's jaw drops. "Isabella—" But Cristian nods in satisfaction. Veronica exhales in relief. And I realize— My last shred of hope dies right there. When the police leave, Cristian's expression softens the slightest amount, but not for me— for Veronica.
"Isabella," he says, "I know you're in pain, but Veronica didn't hurt you. Please… stop this jealousy. It's beneath you."
He thinks this is envy. Luna surges forward. "She almost died, you emotional-less—"
I squeeze her hand, stopping her, cz I wasn't letting the man settle with so low. "Luna," I whisper. "Leave it." Cristian nods minutely at me-manners, basically- The minimal type you'd give a stranger.
"Sleep tight, u need rest. U and Veronica are family. V never wanted to harm u, Isabella" he says. Then he exits the room, with Veronica. Not once…not once. He asked if I was okay.
Three Days Later
The hospital lights are never dimmed. Neither does the pain, not the physical one. The emotional one. For three days, Cristian comes only twice, always with Veronica. Standing always by her side, never by mine. Telling me to "be mature" and "avoid conflict" at all costs. The third day, he does not come at all. The nurse pulls my IV out, and only Luna is sitting beside me. "Isabella," she says softly, brushing my hair with tender strokes, "you need to leave him."
"I know." The words spill out of my mouth before I can catch them. Luna freezes. "You…you what??..... you do?"
I breathe in slowly, chest tight. "I am done pleading for bits of love that were never intended for me."
Tears scald my eyes but do not fall. "I'm done breaking myself to stand beside a man who only looks at me when I'm bleeding."
Luna's voice breaks. "Isabella… You're strong. But he's breaking you." I nod, because I finally feel it- bruises inside me are darker than the ones on my skin. And some bruises will never heal if you stay in the same cage.
When the final discharge papers are signed, Luna helps me walk out of the hospital. My head still aches, my arm is still wrapped. I move slowly, each step feeling like my life is dragging behind me. The air outside bites sharply, cruelly, into my lungs. Luna pulls out her phone.
"We're going to the lawyer."
(To be continued...)