Rejected by my Husband novel Chapter 12

Karline’s POV

My fork clinked softly against the porcelain as I pushed back my chair. My chest felt tight, the air in the room suffocating. “Excuse me,” I murmured, forcing calm into my tone. “I’m not feeling well. I’ll go and rest.”

I was halfway up when Natalie’s sweet voice cut through the hum of the dinner conversation.

“Not feeling well?” She tilted her head, a knowing smile tugging at her lips. “Oh… pregnancy hormones must be kicking in.”

The room fell into stunned silence.

Richard’s fork dropped against his plate. Lydia’s wineglass froze halfway to her mouth. Aunt Clara blinked in surprise, and even Uncle Henry sat straighter.

But it was Daniel’s voice that broke the silence, sharp with disbelief. “Pre… pregnant?” His eyes shot straight to me, then to Reid. “She’s pregnant?”

My heart thudded painfully. I looked at Reid, confused, my voice trembling. “Reid… you didn’t tell them?”

I was three and a half months along. How could he not have told his family?

A dozen voices erupted at once—Margaret gasping, Lydia frowning, Aunt Clara leaning forward with wide eyes.

“Pregnant?!” Lydia’s voice carried across the table. “Karline, you’re carrying a child?”

“With Reid’s child?” Margaret’s tone was sharp, suspicious, her eyes narrowing as if she were searching for cracks in my face.

Daniel pushed back his chair, his voice firm. “Answer them, Reid. What the hell is going on?”

The weight of their stares fell on Reid. He stayed still for a long moment, jaw tight, before finally speaking.

“I was about to announce it today,” he said quietly, his tone flat.

The room erupted again. Questions tumbled over one another. When did he find out? Why hadn’t he told them sooner? Was it true? Was the baby really his?

I gripped the edge of my chair, my chest burning, when Natalie’s honeyed tone slid into the chaos.

“Pregnant?” She smiled, her voice soft and poisonous at once. “Yes. With Reid’s child… maybe not.”

The words sliced through me.

“What?” My voice cracked, my heart dropping into my stomach. “What the hell are you saying, Natalie?”

All eyes swung to her.

She pressed a delicate hand to her lips as if she hadn’t meant to speak so loudly. “Oh… pardon me. I thought… well… since Reid never told anyone, perhaps he didn’t want the truth out yet. That Karline… cheated on him.”

A loud gasp rang from Aunt Clara. Lydia’s eyes widened, sparkling with something dangerously close to triumph. Even Daniel sat back in his chair, stunned into silence.

Tears stung my eyes as I stared at her, fury bubbling in my chest. “How dare you?!” My voice shook with rage. “You stand here, in my house, at my table, and accuse me of—”

“Enough!” Reid’s chair scraped back sharply, his voice booming across the room. His eyes blazed as they locked on Natalie. “Natalie!”

For the first time that night, anger flickered across his carefully guarded face.

“This is our personal issue. No one here needs to know.”

But it was too late. The damage was already done.

Murmurs spread across the table like wildfire. Uncle Henry muttered, “Cheated?” Lydia leaned into their mother, whispering behind her hand. Richard rubbed his temple with a pained sigh.

And every single question turned to me.

“Is it true?”

“Karline, did you…?”

“How do we know it’s Reid’s child?”

The walls seemed to close in on me. The chandelier’s light felt blinding, suffocating.

My voice broke as I shouted, “How can you even ask me that?!”

But no one listened. The room swirled with questions, doubts, and whispers.

His gaze didn’t waver. He was a fortress, unreadable, unmovable. The man I once knew—the man who held me as if I were his world—was gone. All that was left was doubt, suspicion, and distance.

“Answer me,” he demanded, his voice unyielding.

I shook my head furiously, choking on my sobs. “Yes! Yes, it’s yours, Reid! Yours!” My voice cracked, raw and desperate. “How could you think I would ever betray you like that? How could you think I would carry another man’s child?”

He stepped closer, his face inches from mine, his eyes searching, accusing. “Because I have seen you laugh with him, let him touch you. Because I have watched the way he looks at you. Because even tonight, when the whispers started, you couldn’t even defend yourself.”

My legs buckled, and I sank to the floor, clutching my belly. “I tried,” I sobbed. “I tried to speak but they wouldn’t listen. You didn’t listen.”

Silence stretched between us, heavy, suffocating.

“Reid,” I whispered, lifting my tear-soaked face to him. “Do you not see me? Do you not know me? I am your wife. I have loved no one but you. Every beat of this heart, every breath I take, has been for you.”

His jaw tightened, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. For a flicker of a moment, pain flashed in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

“You swore you’d trust me,” I whispered again, my voice barely audible. “On our wedding night… do you remember? You held me and said you would trust me, no matter what. Where is that Reid now?”

The silence was unbearable. My sobs filled the space, my hands trembling as I wiped my face in vain. I wanted him to hold me, to kneel and lift me into his arms, to kiss away the accusations tearing me apart.

But he just stood there.

Coldly.

And I realized with a crushing weight that I was the only one fighting for us.

I lifted my chin, forcing my voice to steady despite the storm inside me. “Yes, Reid. This child is yours. Nothing and no one will ever change that truth. But if you choose not to believe me… if you choose to believe them, then I cannot make you see. One day, you’ll regret doubting me. One day, you’ll regret doubting us.”

My words trembled with pain and defiance.

And then I pressed my hand over my stomach and whispered, “I will protect our baby, even if I have to do it alone.”

His eyes flickered, but he said nothing. Not a single word.

And in that silence, my heart broke all over again.