When A Quiet Woman Snaps

I was shaking, eyes blurring with tears.

Lina smirked. "You'll never have kids, right, Bella? Always so sick and frail... Remember all those surgeries? The doctors warned you—you'd never carry."

She leaned in, fake-sweet. "You really think Jackson would waste his future on your broken body? He's a mafia boss, heir to a billion-dollar empire. He needs a legacy, not some orphaned charity case."

They all thought I couldn't get pregnant. That's why it was open season.

My fingers went numb with rage. Lina, with her usual fake innocence, reached out and took my hand.

"Don't stress," she purred. "When I give him his first baby, you'll be the first to know. You'll make such a cute aunt."

That was it.

"Lina!"

Tears blurred my vision as I ripped my hand away and slapped her.

She hit the floor, her scream echoing down the hall.

"Isabella! You hit me!"

Before I could even breathe, I heard his footsteps.

Jackson burst in. "What the hell's wrong with you?!"

He scooped her up.

Lina clung to him, sobbing like some tragic heroine.

"It's okay," she sniffled. "Bella's just... emotional."

"I'm talking to you, Isabella!" he snapped. "Why'd you hurt her?!"

"I didn't... I didn't push her..." My voice barely held.

Their friends began showing up, and I felt the weight of their judgmental stares.

I was shaking. Jackson gave the room one cold sweep, then made the move that crushed me—carried her to the master bedroom.

Lina looked up, all soft and pathetic. "I'm fine... but Bella, could you grab the first aid kit?"

"You're seriously babying her after she trashed the whole party?!"

I turned to leave.

"You heard her, Isabella!" Jackson snapped, eyes blazing.

Even after everything, my body still moved like it was wired to his commands.

When I came back, she was curled in his arms, crying like some damsel.

The second Jackson saw me, he dropped her like nothing and turned on me.

"Massage Lina's feet. Now."

"No." Tears were already streaming. "I'd rather die."

"What?!" he exploded.

"I said no!" My voice cracked.

He lost it—shoved me straight down in front of her.

My knees slammed the floor. Pain shot up my legs as I clutched my stomach.

"Lina's the one I actually love! You can't even do the bare minimum. Always playing the victim, always comparing yourself to your sister."

"Jackson!" I gasped, my whole body caving in. "Do you even care that I'm—"

"Enough," Lina cut in, all fake concern and sparkly eyes like she was the one being attacked.

She reached for his hand, angelic. "Don't blame Bella... she's just stuck in the past."

Then she turned to me, voice soft, eyes dripping superiority. "We're twins, born the same day, but our lives? Total opposites. I was healthy, raised by Mom and Dad, sent to private schools, loved, spoiled.

"And you? Because of your little 'condition,' you got dumped in an orphanage. You've always been the family's dirty secret.

"You know Mom never even says your name? She's terrified someone'll ask, 'How could you abandon your own kid?'

"You're the stain she can't scrub off. Me? I'm her pride."

"Shut up!" I screamed.

Smack.

Jackson's hand cracked across my face.

"Enough!" he yelled.

Lina gasped, all fake panic. "Bella, don't take it the wrong way. Jackson's just emotional..."

My head spun. Blood slipped from the corner of my mouth.

Then pain—hot and stabbing—ripped through my stomach.

I looked down.

Bright red was soaking through my dress.

"Blood..." I whispered.

Nobody cared I was bleeding. Lina kept up the waterworks while Jackson wrapped her in his arms.

"You... are you okay, Isabella?" he asked eventually, voice as fake as a soap opera.

I backed away, terrified, instinctively shielding my stomach.

"Isabella... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

Lina's sniffles filled the room. She took a few slow, dramatic steps, sucking all the air out of the space.

Jackson's voice turned cold. "Apologize to Lina, and we'll pretend this never happened."

Not a request. A verdict.

Tears blurred my vision as I stared at him.

This man... was this really who I promised forever to?

Lina ducked behind him.

"I didn't mean to make you guys fight," she whispered, like I was the psycho ruining the peace.

Then she took off like she was the one who'd been broken. Jackson watched her go—then followed.

Right before walking out, he looked back. "You really let me down. Don't wait up. I'm not coming home."

His eyes were ice.

I stepped outside, only to realize—I'd left my phone. Awesome.

My knees felt like they were on fire as I limped back to Lina's room. Just as I raised my hand to knock, I froze.

"Oh, Jackson... you should really take off your wedding ring..." Her voice was breathy, soaked in lust.

"Leave it on," he growled. "The taboo's the turn-on."

Clothes rustled. Moans followed.

I couldn't breathe. My chest caved in.

"She still thinks you'll stay with her," Lina giggled. "But you only want me, right?"

"Don't mention her."

The headboard slammed into the wall.

He took her like he'd lost control. "Only with you do I feel alive."

"What do you like about me, huh?"

"Everything," he panted. "You're softer. Sweeter. You listen. You're the one I want."

Lina moaned, dragging it out, bed creaking beneath them.

"I'll give you a child," she gasped. "A real heir. Not like her—can't even get pregnant."

Their moans filled the room, each one stabbing me like a knife.

Three years ago, he almost died. I signed the donor papers. Gave him a kidney.

When he needed blood, I gave until I passed out.

Told myself—if he makes it, I've still got a shot at life.

I was wrong.

After he recovered, the whole underworld was under heat. His accounts froze during the probe.

Too proud to beg the family for help—said he had to rebuild "his own empire" alone.

So I stepped in.

Waited tables at shady casinos. Scrubbed blood off gym floors. Mixed drinks for gangsters in sketchy backrooms.

No sleep. Barely ate. Just kept hustling for the "clean money" he needed to bounce back.

He never knew how bad it got. I never wanted him to.

All I ever wanted... was for him to look at me one day and just say, 'Thanks, Bella.'

But now, he was kissing someone else.

I slipped off my wedding ring—the one with our initials carved inside.

Set it down on Lina's stupid white wicker table.

I couldn't love him anymore. Couldn't believe in him.

I was leaving.

And I was taking my babies with me.