"Fine..." "She muttered, picking morosely at her food with a scowl on her face and an ache in her chest as she looked at the way Carel fawned over Rebecca... that should have been her.... and now he wasn't even going to let her have her turn to sleep in the same bed with him? The idea filled her with a bitter sense of hurt and betrayal."

<Fucking bitch... she's enjoying the fact that this hurts me...> "Mira thinks silently, her breaths coming a little faster with the slightest trembling of suppressed emotion."

"Rebecca still had 3 MONTHS until the baby would be born, she didn't constantly need Carel following her around like a servant and spoiling her... it wasn't fair... Mira loved her husband, and it wasn't her fault that she hadn't gotten pregnant yet! There was nothing wrong with her medically, it was just taking longer than Carel wanted to wait."

"Yeah.... fine, I get it...." "She huffs, pushing her plate away as her appetite completely fades from Rebecca's sappy, fake behavior, and quickly heading upstairs to her now cold and lonely bedroom, resigned to spending yet another long night alone in her bed."

"She's sitting with her back to the bedroom door, curled up with her knees drawn up into her chest and her arms wrapped around them as she hides her face with her hair and cries. Everything is falling apart around her, the life she once had, the love Carel gave her, the time they spent together... she feels like she is losing everything, and it's heartbreaking.... simply because she couldn't get pregnant fast enough for her husband's taste, he abandoned her in favor of another woman... he MARRIED someone else...."

"Hard for you... Do you really expect me to believe that....? What's hard about getting everything you could ever want, Carel? You have it all... a huge house, money, cars, a beautiful wife, a baby on the way... and me... and what am I now? Nothing but a glorified live-in mistress..."

"Mira hisses, pulling away from his touch sharply. Her anger and hurt are too strong right now."

"There's nothing wrong with my fertility... I could have given you children, but you wouldn't let me have more time! You married someone else... don't you get it? I love you and she's taking you away from me!"

"Yes, I understand that! I do too... I wanted to give you a family... I wanted to be the mother of your children more than anything..." "She sobs, tears streaming down her face as her body trembles harshly. The part she doesn't understand is why he wouldn't give her more time... she was perfectly healthy and fertile, she just hadn't gotten pregnant YET... so how could he betray her love and their marriage so easily, just to get what he wanted?"

"I never wanted to see another woman carrying your child!" "She sobs, her voice harsh and angry as a surge of pain tightens her chest."

"Mira doesn't resist the soft pressure of Carel's hand on her face, but her heart is absolutely shattered by the fact that he could marry another woman and get her pregnant, and expect Mira to just sit back and be fine as she watched him fall further and further out of love with her."

"She buries her face in his neck, trying desperately to get her tears under control as she shudders and sobs. A part of her, some small, deep, dark part, hates him, hates Rebecca fiercely for enjoying the pain this causes her, but worst of all, hates herself for not being good enough... for not being able to give Carel what they both wanted so desperately..."

"I-I-I'm s-sorry... I'm sorry... I'm not... not enough..." "Mira mumbles, curling her fingers into his shirt desperately."

"I-I love you too... but I hate her... I'm sorry, but I do... Rebecca... she enjoys seeing how badly this hurts me... I don't know why, but I can see it in her eyes..." "Mira breathes, her chest heaving as she pants, trying to stop crying. Her tears slowly taper off, she doesn't want to spend the entire short amount of time she has with her husband in tears."

"I have no choice but to accept that, it's a fact.... but it doesn't change how I feel about her, because it has nothing to do with the way her eyes light up when she sees me hurting."

"Mira replies slowly, wiping her years from her flushed face."

"The only thing I can say is that I won't stoop to any drama.... and I won't let it affect how I behave toward the baby when it's born..." "She doesn't know if that's enough for Carel, but it's the best she can offer... nothing will change her hatred for the woman trying to replace her in her husband's life..."

"Mira lifts her head and scowls at him with an icy, hardened expression." "Is that what you think of me? You should know me better than that, Carel... Your son or daughter is innocent. No matter what I feel about Rebecca, I will never do anything against your child."

"She doesn't trust herself to speak past the painful lump in her throat from how his unfair words made her feel, so she just nods slowly."

"Mira doesn't have the heart to say it, but she couldn't care less about being a part of the baby's life. She would never hurt a child, but the pain of watching her husband raise another woman's child is too much for her... so she simply nods again."

"I know, Carel....thank you... I love you." "She sighs, lifting her head to kiss him softly." "I... I should probably just let you go back to Rebecca... she'll throw a fit if you stay here much longer."

"I'm not pushing you away, I want you to stay... I just also don't want to stir up trouble with her...." "She sighs, looking at him with love in her pale green eyes, but also an underlying sad weariness."

"Mh... what I always want.... just you." "She murmurs, placing her hand over his on her cheek and holding it close as she nuzzles his palm and kisses the inside of his wrist while looking into his eyes."

"Moaning softly, she presses her lips back to his, parting them and sliding her tongue into Carel's mouth to tease and curl against his own. Mira turns toward her husband and pushes him back against he bed, straddling his lap and reaching down to palm the bulge in his pants." "I want to make you feel good...." "She purrs, her deft fingers pulling his fly open to start stroking his cock. Rebecca might be carrying a baby for Carel, but Mira knows the other woman can't satisfy his desires like she can... and maybe, just maybe, if she gives him this, she could end up pregnant....then he wouldn't need that bitch."

"I want you inside me... I want to try again... please, Carel, let me try to give you a baby, too." "Mira purrs, nuzzling against his neck and kissing and nibbling softly as she strokes his cock to full hardness."

"Mira whimpers softly, ducking her head down in disappointment and grief. She doesn't resist when Carel stops her, letting her hand go limp in his grasp..."

"I'm your wife too... I don't understand why I can't try..." "She murmurs, trying not to cry again. To hold back her tears, she chews on the inside of her cheek, using the sharp pain to distract herself."

"Fine... just go back to her, then... you said I was your priority right now, but as soon as I ask for something, you go back on your word..."

"She mutters in a tone of bitter disappointment and resentment. Mira pulls away from Carel and puts some distance between them as she sits back down on the bed."

"She only wanted the chance to TRY and carry a baby for him herself... she doesn't understand why Carel doesn't even want to give her a chance anymore. It's not like he can't afford it, he has more than enough money, more than enough space in the house... but now that he has Rebecca and his precious baby on the way, he won't even give Mira the chance to be a mother too...."

"None of this has ever been right for me, Carel. I accepted it because it was what you wanted and I had no choice, but this kills me inside.... there's nothing we can do to change it now... but I don't even feel like your wife anymore."

"Mira sighs with a tone of defeat and resignation. Carel is going to leave her alone again and she knows it, but she's too tired physically and emotionally to fight and be angry anymore."

"I only ever wanted to be enough to make you happy, but I just have to accept that I'm not, even though I could have given you a baby if you just waited... good night, Carel, I love you... I will see you in the morning."

"But loving her hadn't been enough to stop him from marrying Rebecca and getting her pregnant, then pushing Mira aside and treating her like she was no longer a priority.... saying that will just result in another pointless argument, though, so she stays quiet... she lets Carel hold her hand in silence, not having anymore words that would be constructive or make any difference anymore."

"She would NEVER understand his position, his selfishness and impatience had led him to betray Mira and her love for him in an irreparable way... but once again, no matter what she said to him now, it wouldn't change anything. If he had just given her more time SHE could have given him children..."

"Fine.... I'm tired now, please just go back to Rebecca, I can't handle this anymore..." "Mira feels like a complete idiot for saying she wanted another chance to get pregnant. If she had just kept her fucking mouth shut then maybe she would have had the chance, or at least gotten to be intimate with her husband and feel loved and valued for once, but now she lost even that."

"It's not... but I can't have what I want, Carel, so it doesn't matter." "She sighs softly, shaking her head and moving to lie down on the bed, feeling the weight of exhaustion and depression settling over her heavily."

"Mira responds to the kiss with longing, wanting nothing more than for things to be the way they used to be, but knowing it's impossible.... She rests her forehead against Carel's and strokes his cheek with her fingers before pulling away and curling up on her side with her back to him so he will leave..."

"The last thing Carel hears as he walks out and closes the bedroom door is Mira starting to sob softly again."

"Mira lies in her bed for a long time, crying brokenly until she just can't anymore, feeling raw, numb, and hollow... there won't be any sleep for her tonight, and she knows it..."

"With her eyes burning from her tears, her face red and puffy, and her nose congested, she gets out of bed and puts on a comfortable, soft old hoodie of Carel's, then walks down the stairs and out the back door of the huge house into the garden. Surrounded by her favorite flowers, she just stares at the sky, lost in thought."

"What?" "Mira mutters, sitting on the bench with her knees pulled up to her chest and her chin resting on them. She lifts her head and looks up at Carel warily, not ready for yet another argument or conversation where they talk in circles and it ends with her crying and him leaving in anger."

"Hm.... I didn't sleep at all." "She replies dully." "Not that I sleep much anymore any way...." "Mira sighs, looking at the clouds rolling across the sky, not at Carel."

"I know that.... but it doesn't change anything. You wanted to have children so badly that nothing else mattered, Carel... I wanted them too. I wanted to be the one to have your children..."

"Her slim fingers intertwine with his gently as she speaks, still looking up at the sky with a desolate expression."

"The fact is... I am hurt. By you, by Rebecca, by her shitty attitude, and the way she enjoys making me feel bad.... and I don't know how much longer I can stand feeling this awful."

"Yes, well.... like you've told me a few hundred times over the last few months, this is reality and we have to accept it... and the reality is that you let your own desires become more important than anything else in your life, including me..."

"Mira murmurs in a resigned tone, glancing over at Carel with a look of devastating weariness. She looks so beaten down and broken, so hopeless... it's like she's not even the same woman anymore. Not the vibrant, happy, healthy 24 year old woman she is meant to be, but a hollow shell."

"You could have waited! I'm 24, we had 16 more years before trying for children would be dangerous... I'm healthy, I'm fertile, I can have babies! You could have given me a chance to try fertility treatments, IVF, surrogacy! Anything! Anything but marrying and fucking someone else!" "She cries softly, looking down at her lap in anguish as Carel gets angry again just like she knew he would."

"WHY NOT?! What the hell was the hurry to have children? Why was it so important that you could rip my heart out instead of waiting?!"

"Mira flinches back from the words like a physical blow, breaking down into heart-rending sobs again. Why couldn't he see that she wanted to be his one and only love, the one to bear his children and help him continue his family line? Why couldn't he have given her more time instead of breaking her heart and leaving her feeling completely worthless and unloved?!"

"She was perfectly healthy, capable, and willing to have a baby whenever he wanted, it wasn't her fault that she hadn't gotten pregnant!!! She hides her face in her hands, filled with shame and self-loathing at her failure as a woman, hating herself, Carel, and especially Rebecca...."

"Stop it! Just stop apologizing, it doesn't make anything better and I'm tired of hearing it...." "She answers flatly, refusing to lift her head and let him see the shattered expression on her face."

"I do deserve better... but I don't think that's ever going to happen because your need to have a family right now is more important to you than I'll ever be, or you wouldn't have done this to me."

"Too late, Carel.... you already have a child on the way, and now you won't even let me try to have one of my own with you..." "Mira sighs, unable to understand why he won't give her the chance..."

"I don't. I'm sorry, but I don't believe that anymore... you say I mean everything to you, but how can I believe that when you've done this? I know you still love me, and I love you, but I don't know if that's enough anymore..."

"Mira says with utter exhaustion in her voice."

"No, you won't, Carel... because the only thing that can make this right is to divorce Rebecca and give me the chance to be the mother of your children..."

"Mira murmurs, looking up at her husband with quiet resignation."

"You won't do it because she's already pregnant... even if I told you that I would help you raise the baby...."

"I know that.... I just want you to stop making empty promises to me when I know they aren't true. Don't tell me that you'll do anything to make it right if you're not going to actually follow through with it...."

"She breathes, dropping her shoulders in defeat as she turns her face away and stares at a patch of lilies in the garden."

"Maybe.... after the baby is born...." She muses, chewing on her lower lip almost hard enough to draw blood. "You'll already have your heir.... you won't need Rebecca as your wife...."

"What else is new?" "She huffs sarcastically, unable to keep the bite out of her words after hearing so many empty promises and declarations of love that are undermined by his hurtful actions."

"Well, at least you can admit it... now if only there was a solution that you'd actually accept." "She huffs, knowing that he's not going to do anything to make this better."

"I have nothing else to say right now, I'm going inside to eat something and try and get rid of this splitting headache...."

"I already told you how to make it right and you said no."

"She answers with her mouth twisted into a pained grimace before taking a deep breath and letting it out sharply."

"Please just stop, Carel... you aren't willing to change this situation, and I can't handle talking about it anymore."

"No, he doesn't.... she thinks to herself, because he's already proven that his need for a family, no matter the cost, or how badly it hurts her, is more important than she will ever be.... because how could he betray her and break her heart so badly if it wasn't?"

"She doesn't say any of that though, just nods and murmurs a quiet 'I love you, too.' and falls silent, standing in the kitchen and eating her meager breakfast with a hollow feeling in her chest, and her head throbbing."

Several days pass, and nothing changes... Rebecca continues acting like she and her unborn baby are the center of the universe, and everything is all sunshine and rainbows while she rubs her happiness in Mira's face...

"Mira does her best to ignore the other woman's petty behavior in spite of how badly it hurts..."

"One afternoon, she is sitting in the living room with a pillow hugged to her chest, staring blankly at the TV. From the corner of her eye, she notices a phone on the table lighting up and buzzing. It's Rebecca's, and normally, Mira would dismiss it, but it's face up on the table, and the text on screen makes her blood boil... she snatches it off the table and darts toward Carel's office." "Carel! I need to talk to you right now!"

"Rebecca has been lying to both of us." "Mira answers, her voice trembling with emotion as she hands the phone over with shaking hands."

"She had known there was something off when Rebecca got pregnant SO FAST, but she had no way of proving it until now. She opens the text she had seen, and on the screen is a conversation between Rebecca and a man named Darren..."

R: Yeah babe, everything is going really well. Carel gives me whatever I want as long as I simper at him and show off my baby belly... I've gotten some seriously expensive stuff out of him that we can sell later.

D: Oh hell yeah, you're a genius, doll. Can't believe that desperate idiot really thinks the baby is his... I mean, does he think he's got super spunk or something? Like you'd just get pregnant at the drop of a fuckin hat... real convenient timing... that baby is mine.

"Mira sets the phone with all it's damning evidence aside on Carel's desk and reaches her shaking hands out to touch him gently. Despite her own feelings of triumph and relief that this nightmare may be over, she knows this is devastating for her husband...."

"I'm sorry Carel, I know how badly you wanted this baby... just... take a moment to get your bearings. You can confront her once you can breathe."

"I can't say anything for sure, but.... for the money, definitely... for the fact that she knew you'd spoil the hell out of her the whole time she was here, and probably to take as much as she could in a divorce later if she hadn't gotten caught..."

"Mira says in a contemplative tone, and also privately thinks that Rebecca probably enjoyed being so cruel and petty to her, too... but this isn't about Mira right now, it's about helping Carel deal with this betrayal."

"Mira follows on his heels, staying quiet and out of the way for the moment, but prepared to step in if things get too intense. This incredibly charged conflict deeply involves her anyway, there's no way she won't be a part of it."

"No proof, huh? Then what about this?" "Mira pipes up quietly and holds Rebecca's phone up in one hand." "You talk to Darren a lot, and he seems to think the baby is his... that's more than enough reason to get a paternity test when the baby is born..."

"I never intended to snoop through your phone, Rebecca. You left it on the living room table and I saw the last message from Darren pop up on the screen. You've been lying from the start and I couldn't let you use or hurt Carel anymore." "Mira answers calmly, shaking her head and refusing to rise to the other woman's bait. She won't get into a fight with a pregnant woman... especially since Rebecca is probably trying to goad her so she can file assault charges if Mira so much as slaps her."

"Mira reaches out and gently brushes her fingers over his knuckles as a silent reminder to be careful of his actions here. If he doesn't watch himself and does something to hurt Rebecca while she's pregnant, regardless of whose baby she's carrying, then the conniving woman can sue him for assault..."

"Carel, you can make her leave and contact your lawyer to order a paternity test... you don't even have to wait until after the baby is born, there's a test they can do now."