For weeks I had noticed something strange. Every time it was time for lunch, the maid would run out to the bathroom to vomit. Suspicions grew inside me, but I didn’t dare to say anything. The strangest thing was that, on each occasion, my husband and also my brother-in-law got nervous, came and went in a hurry, as if they wanted to hide something.

At first I naively thought, “Could it be that she is pregnant? But how could that be possible?”

That night, unable to sleep, I went down silently to the kitchen. A dim light was already filtering in from afar. I held my breath and approached slowly.

The scene in front of my eyes left me frozen: the maid was crouched down, her hands trembling holding a bowl of medicine, muttering something, with a look of terror on her face.

But what really chilled my blood was seeing who was standing next to her, leaning over to hold her by the shoulders—my own husband!

His eyes were worried, and he whispered,
“Hold on for a few more months… everything will pass. Don’t let anyone find out…”

I covered my mouth so I wouldn’t scream, my heart pounding in my chest. A thousand questions crowded my mind: was she really pregnant? Whose child was that? And why did my brother-in-law seem so involved, too?

I returned to my room with my soul in pieces. I didn’t sleep all night. The next day I feigned calm, I did my usual chores, but deep down I decided: I had to clear everything up.

I secretly took the bowl with the medicine to a nearby pharmacy. The result left me breathless: it was medicine to protect a pregnancy.

There was no longer any doubt. The maid was pregnant. And the father of the child… there was no need to ask.

That night, at the family dinner, I put the medicine wrapper and the pharmacy report on the table. I looked directly at my husband and brother-in-law. They both turned pale, dumb with terror.

I smiled coldly:
“Very well. One calls himself a husband, the other a brother-in-law. Did you think I was so naïve? Last night I saw it all.

My husband trembled, tried to kneel, stammering:
“I… I was wrong. Give me a chance…

My brother-in-law lowered his head, unable to utter a word.

I looked him in the eye and said, marking each word:
“Opportunity? Did you think of giving me one when you humiliated me like that? That child is yours, you know it well. But from today I release you and her. I do not intend to continue with a traitor.

Then I placed the already signed divorce petition on the table.

The maid burst into tears, my husband buried his head, and my brother-in-law covered his face. The three of them looked down, unable to confront me.

I rose, my head held high, carrying with me the dignity I still had, and left the house I once called home.

Outside, the cold wind caressed my face, but inside I felt an unexpected peace. I understood that the greatest loss was not losing a husband, but losing the illusion of a false love.

And I thought: Better alone and proud, than living with a traitor.