“I just have to sort things out with Diego,” she mumbled to herself as she sniffed heavily, her eyes still focused on the divorce papers.

She hopped into a taxi and drove back home. “This can’t be happening. Oh Lord, not now. I have invested my time, my energy, my life in this marriage and he chose to treat me this way. This can’ be happening not now I am pregnant for him,” she sobbed yet again as the taxi drove back home.

Her hands trembled each time she held the papers. She swallowed hard and tossed her head in utter disdain.

“Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!” she could still hear a few voices echo outside as she drove back home.

“I never planned my Christmas to go this way. Why did he choose to ridicule me like this? Why Diego? Why?” her lips trembled, recalling moments Diego had nagged about the responsibility of the family eating deep into his finance.

“But I promised to get a job as soon as I can. Didn’t I?” she whispered and tossed her head in shame, “It hasn’t been easy for me. The hospitals in New York are flooded with doctors, making it impossible to hire more.”

She could recall how many times she frequented tons of hospitals for a job opening only for her to be disappointed and a few more times she was only left with promises. Diego had nagged about directing her attention to another career or a business, but she declined the idea.

“I am a trained medical doctor and I am good in it, Diego. I am not good in businesses. One must do what he or she has passion for,” she had told him several times.

But the Spanish husband of hers stood his ground and insisted she must contribute to the bills of the family or risk facing his harsh decision. Right now she could see the harsh decision in her hands in papers, staring deep into her eyes.

Her hands came on her belly at once and she rubbed it, feeling a bit nauseated but trying to control it. She had to face Diego for one last time and announce the pregnancy to him, perhaps he may change his mind and accept her.

“And he mentioned pregnancy,” she said in her mind, “Haven’t we been trying? Am I the cause of it? Whenever couples are childless the woman is always blamed for it.” she sighed and tossed her head. “Oh Diego, please don’t do this. I am finally carrying your baby in my womb.”

She wiped her cheeks and once the taxi halted, she gave the driver some bills and alighted. One thing that struck her imagination was the vagueness of the garage. Diego had often parked two of his cars in there, and now she couldn’t even find either of the cars. Also the door to the garage was open.

She dimmed her gaze at the garage and stepped closer. “How can two of his cars be out at the same time?” she asked, and cast a striking glance around the compound only to be welcomed by the ear-ringing silence.

Gently, she approached the door and pressed the bell. “Diego!” she called and pressed the bell again but no one answered the door. She tried a little more and noticed that the door was slightly shut.

She wound down the handle only to see the door was open. When she got in, and moved around, she noticed Diego had parked all his personal belongings and left.

And on the table was a paper with a written note that said;

“Hi, Angela Winfred, I guess by now you must have realized your mistake by being a living-in barren wife. That is not what I want for a wife. Well, I gave you the divorce papers to sign. As soon as you are done, you can keep it. That is your copy. Don’t even think of fighting for alimony and equal share of my property. All my property is in my mother’s name. You came into my life empty so you will leave empty. I have moved out and moved on. Goodbye, Diego Pablo, your ex-husband.

“God!” she sniffed heavily, her blood running cold. “How can Diego be so cruel? It is obvious he planned this divorce a long time ago. So this is it,” her voice cracked with ruin. She fell on her knees and covered her teary face. “I will be strong. I will survive,” she told herself and took out the test result paper for her pregnancy and tore it.

“You will never know about this pregnancy. You will never, Diego,” she fumed. And grinned, fighting back those tears from trickling again.

She shot a striking glance at the wedding ring on her finger, and her heart shivered. It wasn’t easy but she had to move on and add meaning to her life.

She clutched the ring, and gently slid it out. She couldn’t say the last time the ring left her finger but finally it had to, even though the scar remained.

She gnashed her teeth and her lips curved in fury.

For five years, she had been with Diego. She endured with him when the storm of poverty hovered around him. She held it down for him. She suffered the thick and thin with him. She had told him their future would be great and he should just try and carry the responsibility of the family for now. She had plans of getting a lucrative job to support him.

She wouldn’t be so foolish and wicked to leave everything on his shoulders.

But Diego chose to treat her like a piece of rotten pizza on a Christmas day.

“Where do I go from here? How do I start? He has moved on. How do I move on? He has planned it early enough and moved on leaving me with the shock of my life. This is the worst December of my life,” she whispered, and her gaze fell on her wedding picture which hung on the wall.

And she grabbed it with a clenched jaw and smashed it on the floor. “I hate you Diego! You will pay for this! You must surely pay,” she cursed.

Her voice wailed leaving echoes through the house.