Page 5 of Medical Malpractice

My entire being was already breaking without the extra ammunition he was about to unload on me.

“Babe, what’s wrong? Come here. I need to make sure you’re okay.”

Instead of replying, I pushed the destructive piece of paper across the counter for him to read.

A resounding quiet coated the atmosphere as he skimmed the offering.

That’s when I raised my eyes, opening my senses completely, to catalogue his genuine reaction.

I wanted him to refute the words. To claim it was a misunderstanding. To curse and say he would sue the company for mixing up clients.

Anything.

But as soon as I saw his features, his body language, the unrelenting fear creeping over his face…

I knew it was true.

My husband, my best friend, was not who he claimed to be.

Then, when his guilty eyes swept up to mine, my hand whipped out to slap him hard across the face.

My palm stung. My chest ached. Everything hurt.

Chapter 2

GABRIELLA

“I hate you.”

I had never said those words to anyone in my life. But for the first time ever, I meant them, wholeheartedly.

Nico was shellshocked, his fingertips tracing his injured cheek as he processed what I had said and done.

He came for me then, hands outstretched as if he could fix the unfixable.

My husband took a step forward. I took one back.

We moved in a coordinated dance until he got impatient, ready to tackle me into his embrace.

Whack.

My opposite hand whipped out to slap him hard across the other side of his face. Hmm, now your cheeks match.

“Don’t fucking touch me, or next time, it won’t be a slap.”

I didn’t know what I was threatening, but I would find something. The fury inside me was ready to be unleashed, and the room was full of endless possibilities.

Pots. Pans. Knives.

“Gabs, it’s not what it looks like—”

“Really? ’Cause to me, it looks like you fucked me over, Nico!”

He winced. I wasn’t someone partial to foul language, and never did I resort to physical violence. However, these were extenuating circumstances.

“Please, just let me explain.”

“What’s there to explain?! Is that letter true or not?” I screamed.