Chapter 39: Bless Your Heart
SOPHIA
I’m floating in the dark. Bubbles bounce around me. They’re filled with images. Memories.
I reach out and poke one. It pops and then...
"It’s been three years," said Mrs. Willowmarch. "Not a single sign of pregnancy. You’re a hen that can’t lay eggs."
Hot embarrassment crawled through me, lighting my skin on fire everywhere it touched. My eyes filled with tears. I looked at Jace, feeling helpless, but as usual, he was ignoring me.
He didn’t want to be at this Capital restaurant eating dinner with his parents, either. But every year, we came to the same place and ate an expensive meal. And every year, Jace’s mother harangued me about something I was doing wrong.
"Leave the girl alone, Adelaide," said Mr. Willowmarch. He cut a piece from his steak and ate it. When he was done chewing, he nodded toward Jace. "Talk to your son. Maybe the rooster’s not doing his job."
"Nonsense." Mrs. Willowmarch sipped her wine. "Jace has always been virile."
Jace spit out the water he just drank. "Mother!"
"What? Am I wrong? Isn’t that other girl of yours pregnant? What’s her name ... Penelope?"
Penelope was pregnant?
Bitterness clogged my throat. Jace had never laid a hand on me. Even though we’d spent our lives knowing we’d marry each other, he’d gone and fallen in love with another woman. A woman who’d spent the last few years making my life miserable.
Jace glanced at me, having enough shame to at least look uncomfortable about his mother’s announcement.
"Is she going to have your child?" I asked in a shaky whisper.
He grimaced. Then he looked at me. "Yes." He took my hand. "But you’ll always have the title of Mrs. Willowmarch."
Like that was some sort of an amazing prize, I thought morosely.
Mrs. Willowmarch’s icy gaze landed on me and she gave a small, mean smile. "You’re the legal wife, Sophia. But the mistress has you outmatched at every turn."
I pulled my hand out of Jace’s insincere grip. I clutched my trembling hands under the table, and looked down at the uneaten food on my plate. Mrs. Willowmarch was always like this. Cruel. Cold. Calculating.
"Adelaide," said Mr. Willowmarch with a sigh. "Didn’t we agree beforehand? Don’t mention that woman."
"If doing so motivates Sophia to do her job as the Willowmarch matriarch, I’ll mention it as much as I want." Mrs. Willowmarch placed her napkin next to her plate. "Not that we’ll let a maid having Jace’s child."
"What are you talking about?" Jace’s fierce gaze landed on his mother, but she acted like she’d been talking about the weather instead of my husband’s infidelity. "Why can’t Penelope have my baby?"
"There will be no illegitimate children. Naturally, she’ll have to get rid of it."
"Father," said Jace. "Talk some sense into her."
"No, no. She’s right. No illegitimate children. We certainly can’t have the child of a mistress be the firstborn." Mr. Willowmarch leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. "Sophia’s a good girl, Jace. You should stop messing around with that maid and start paying attention to your wife. You need a legitimate heir."
"Then I’ll divorce Sophia and marry Penelope."
Dead silence filled the private dining room. Fresh tears fell down my cheeks. How terrible this family was, how awful my husband. I wasted so many years loving Jace, and for what?
Mr. Willowmarch’s fist slammed against the table, rattling the dishes. "The hell you say. You need to grow up, boy. You’re a brigadier general in the Northern Realm’s military. You are not some horny schoolboy chasing the skirts of common women."
"Penelope’s my savior. I would’ve died if she hadn’t taken that arrow. I love her."
Every word Jace said stabbed me like a knife. My chest hurt so bad, I pressed my hand against it as though that could stifle the pain.
"Get rid of the child," said Mrs. Willowmarch, "and keep the woman, if you want. But if you insist on this ridiculous course of action, then I’ll make sure your savior disappears."
Jace glared at me, as if this situation were my fault. "Stop crying. You look ugly." He threw his napkin onto the table. "Fine. As long as you promise to leave Penelope alone, I’ll take her for an abortion."
"And sterilization," said Mrs. Willowmarch. "We don’t want this situation to arise again." She pointed at me. "And you better figure out a way to stay in your husband’s bed, even if you’ll never be in his heart. At least if you have a child, you’ll be secure in your position as his wife."
Like I cared about that. "Excuse me," I managed to say, "I need to go to the restroom."
In the bathroom, I washed my face. Then I leaned against the wall, and sucked in deep breaths. The idea of divorcing Jace circled in my mind. Would that be possible? Obviously, the Willowmarches were against it. And my parents wouldn’t support that option, either, even if they knew about Penelope.
Being a secondhand woman would probably mean living as spinster for the rest of my days. But was that a worse option than staying in a marriage with a husband who would never love me? Even if I didn’t have his love, I would settle for respect and kindness. He had shown me neither.
All he cared about was Penelope Shire.
Goddess above, I was so tired.
Feeling a headache forming behind my eyes, I made my way back to the private dining room.
"Why can’t I divorce Sophia?"
I paused at the door, which was opened just a crack. I, too, would like to know why his parents were against us divorcing. I understood they didn’t like Penelope’s background, but was that the only reason they didn’t approve of her?
"Because she’ll walk away with half of the Willowmarch fortune," said Mrs. Willowmarch. "It was a condition set forth in the contract signed by our families. If you two divorce, she gets Amaranth Manor and half of our businesses, land, and money. Half, Jace."
"That’s insane! What’s so great about the Pagemoores that grandfather agreed to such a ridiculous clause?"
