Yvonne’s POV
The night couldn’t have been better. I had just been discharged after two days of giving birth to the most precious thing and she's beyond adorable. I get teary eyed each time I look at her , my own angel . We should name her that perhaps but I dismiss the thought. Christian should be able to have a say in what name we give our baby girl.
My husband Christian would have been here to pick me up himself but I know how demanding work is so I tell him to rest up, that my driver will get us home. He's the CEO of RIS-X, a luxury watch brand and as CEO, he works at his company from morning to late in the evening. Now I'd made him a father, everything in my life was finally coming together. I believe he will be taking some break to spend more time with our baby.
I was filled with so much excitement. I stood outside our home, holding a bottle of champagne, excited for us to celebrate. I wasn't fully cleared to take alcohol but I wasn't having too much tonight, just a bit to celebrate.
I had planned every detail of the night in my head. We would toast to our future, laugh about the struggles of the past few years, and maybe even talk about taking the new house we were planning to take for a while now. I had been dreaming of this moment for weeks, and now that it was finally here, I felt like nothing could ruin it.
But as I reached for the door, with my baby in her carrier, my excitement shifted. The door was unlocked.
Christian was always so careful about security. He’d warned me so many times about locking up and double–checking the door whenever I went out of the house. It was one of the things I teased him about, calling him “paranoid.” So why was the door wide open now?
“Christian?” I called out, stepping inside.
Silence.
Something felt wrong. The living room was tidy, as usual, but the air felt heavy, like the calm before a storm. My heart began to beat faster, but I told myself I was overreacting. Maybe he’d just forgotten to lock up in his rush to get ready for our celebration.
Still holding the champagne and my baby's carrier, I made my way down the hallway toward his bedroom. My studded sneakers clicked softly against the hardwood floor, the only sound in the quiet apartment. That’s when I heard it.
A woman’s soft moans.
At first, I thought I was imagining things, but then Christian’s voice followed. It was low and rough, almost unrecognizable.
“Do you like that, baby?”
I froze, my entire body going cold.
This couldn’t be happening.
For a moment, I just stood there, my mind racing to make sense of what I was hearing. Maybe it wasn’t what it sounded like. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions. I wanted to believe that more than anything.
But I had to know.
With shaky hands, I pushed the door open.
What I saw knocked the breath out of me.
Christian was on top of a woman, his body moving against hers in a way that left no doubt about what they were doing. Her bright red nails dug into his back as she moaned his name, her fiery red hair spread across the pillow. I couldn’t see her face, but it didn’t matter. The truth was right in front of me.
The bottle of champagne slipped from my hands, crashing to the floor. The sound was deafening in the silence that followed.
Christian’s head snapped up. “Yvonne!”
He scrambled off the bed, grabbing for something to cover himself, but I couldn’t bear to look at him. My chest felt like it was caving in, and my legs felt weak.
I ran. Yes I ran with my baby, I picked her up and ran leaving the carrier
I couldn’t stay there. I couldn’t face him or the woman he was with. Without saying a word, I turned and
“Yvonne, wait!” Christian’s voice was desperate, but I didn’t stop.
Tears blurred my vision as I stumbled down the stairs clutching my baby in my arms, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. I didn’t know where I was going. I just knew I had to get out.
When I finally stopped running, I found myself standing at my mom's door. My hands were shaking as I knocked, my breath coming in ragged gasps.
The door opened, and my mom’s face immediately filled with concern. “Yvonne? What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t hold it in anymore. The tears I had been holding back came flooding out as I stepped inside and tried to throw my arms around her but my baby wouldn't let me so she got my baby from me and gave me a hug from the side.
“Christian…” My voice cracked. “I caught him with someone else.”
My mom stiffened, her arms tightening around me. “What? That bastard!”
“He was in bed with another woman,” I sobbed. “I saw him… with her.”
She guided me to the couch and sat me down, holding me close as I cried. “I’m so sorry, my darling Yvonne,” she said softly, her voice full of anger and sadness. “You didn’t deserve this.”
“I thought he loved me,” I whispered. “I thought we were happy.”
My mom pulled back to look at me, her expression fierce. “Listen to me. This isn’t your fault. Christian is an idiot who doesn’t know what he’s losing. You’ve always been too good for him . And to think you just both had a baby?.”
“But I don’t know what to do now,” I said, my voice breaking again.
She wiped a tear from my cheek. “What you’re not going to do is sit here crying over him. He doesn’t deserve your tears.”
“I can’t help it,” I said. “I loved him. I built my whole world around him, hell I even have his baby.”
“Shh, your baby and now it’s time to build a new world–one without him,” she said firmly. “You’ve spent too much time putting him first, Yvonne. It’s time to put yourself first.”
Her words stirred something inside me. I didn’t want to feel this way–weak, broken, powerless. I wanted to feel strong again.
My mom stood up , placed the baby on the cushion in the sitting room and propped throw pillows by her so she wouldn't fall off and grabbed my hands, pulling me to my feet. “We’re going to take care of our baby . No regrets. But tonight we're attending a gala. Just you and me, having fun and forgetting about him.”
“I don’t know if I can, besides my baby should be my concern right now,” I admitted.
"Of course,” my mom reassured. “But you're not in the best state to look after her tonight,” she said with a determined look. “And you will. Trust me, Yvonne. This is what you need.”
I hesitated but then nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
My mom's face lit up with a grin. “That’s my girl. And I know just the place–the private billionaire’s gala . Strictly on invitation only, It’s perfect. And as for that husband of yours? I have the right divorce lawyer for him."
Divorce? She could as well have read my mind, I do want a divorce and I'll get it.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “I really don't want to leave my baby alone mom.”
"It'll be okay sweetheart, I'll just call Maria right away. She took good care of you in those early years. I was busy with the company and you turned out right,” she said, laughing. “You need to attend this gala with me, Yvonne. Show the world–and Christian–that you’re not the kind of woman who stays down.”
I didn’t have the energy to argue. Within minutes, my mom had transformed me into someone I barely recognized. Yes my mom's always been the life of the party and she plays the part just well. A little too well for my liking..
The dress she picked was tight and black, with red velvet laces on the sides that clung to my body. It was shorter than most things I’d worn, stopping just above my thighs. My makeup was bold, with smoky eyes and bright red lips, and my hair hung in soft waves around my face.
When I looked in the mirror, I barely recognized the woman staring back at me. She looked confident, daring, and fearless–everything I didn’t feel but wanted to be.
The old me was gone. And for the first time, I wasn’t sure I wanted her back.