Rejected by my Husband novel Chapter 18

(Karline’s Point of View)

Ethan’s little chest rose and fell as he slept in my arms. His lips parted, a tiny sigh leaving him, and my heart melted just like it always did.

I bent down and pressed a kiss on his forehead. “You’re my whole world, Ethan,” I whispered. “And you'll be your father's world too baby. I promise.”

The sound of footsteps made me look up. The door pushed open.

Reid.

But not alone.

Natalie trailed behind him, her expression calm, almost smug, like she already knew something I didn’t.

Reid’s face was stone. Cold, unreadable, yet so sharp it cut me in half. He didn’t even glance at Ethan, straight at me.

“Karline,” his voice was low, clipped, full of ice, “we’re meeting at the court.”

I blinked, confused, shifting Ethan gently into his crib. “Co–court? What are you talking about? Reid, what’s going on?”

He tossed a white envelope onto the table near me. It slid across the wood, stopping right at my fingertips. My stomach dropped.

Another report. Another test.

My hands trembled as I picked it up, already knowing what it was before my eyes confirmed it. The letters blurred through my tears.

Not the biological father.

The paper slipped from my hand. I froze, my breath shallow. “No… no, Reid, this...this isn’t true. It can’t be.”

Reid’s eyes darkened, his jaw tightening as he folded his arms across his chest. “It’s the second time, Karline. Two different hospitals. Same result.” His voice hardened with each word. “The child is not mine.”

Tears spilled down my cheeks. I shook my head violently. “No! Reid, you have to believe me. Ethan is yours. I’ve never been with anyone else. Never!”

Natalie’s voice cut through like poison silk. “Then how do you explain the results, Karline? Science doesn’t lie.”

I turned to her, my throat burning. “Stay out of this, Natalie. This is between me and my husband.”

She raised her brows, smirking faintly. “If you can even still call yourself that.”

“We’ll let the court decide. I already have a lawyer in this case. He’s been prepared for months.” Reid’s voice cracked like thunder, silencing us both. His eyes snapped back to me, colder than I’d ever seen.

My knees buckled slightly at his words. “Months…?” I whispered, almost choking on the realization. He had doubted me this long, this deeply.

“You… you’ve been planning this?” My voice broke. “Even while I carried our child? While I prayed every night you’d come back to me?”

Reid’s eyes flickered, something passed through them, regret or pain maybe, but it was gone in a second, hidden beneath steel. “I gave you every chance to tell me the truth, Karline. Instead, I got lies. I got betrayal, pain. For all the years, the years of love I gave you.”

Natalie stepped closer, almost too close, her voice dripping with false pity. “It’s better this way, Karline. For everyone. Especially for Ethan. He deserves to know who his real father is, don’t you think?”

Her words twisted the knife already lodged in my chest. My tears fell faster as I clutched my stomach, feeling the ache travel into my very bones.

“I swear to God, Reid,” I said, my voice raw, broken but fierce, “I never betrayed you. Ethan is your son. No matter what those papers say, no matter what anyone says… I know the truth.”

Reid’s lips pressed into a thin line. He looked at me for a long moment, eyes unreadable, before turning away. “The lawyer will contact you tomorrow. Be ready.”

And just like that, he walked out, Natalie following at his side.

The room fell silent again, except for the soft breathing of Ethan in his crib.

I sank onto the bed, my hands trembling as I reached for him. My tears dripped onto his blanket, my chest heaving with silent sobs.

I kissed his tiny fingers and whispered through my tears, “Baby you know right? Mumma's not lying you know right?" As I said more tears started to flow from my eyes.

***

The courtroom smelled faintly of polished wood and paper, but to me it felt suffocating, like the air itself had turned heavy with judgment. I sat quietly on the bench, my palms damp, Ethan’s face flashing in my mind again and again. His little smile. His innocent eyes.

Across from me, Reid sat like stone. A dark suit. Broad shoulders. Cold eyes that refused to meet mine. His presence still made my heart twist, but now the twist came with pain sharp enough to bleed me dry.

The judge cleared his throat. “We are here today for the divorce proceedings between Mr. Reid Carter and Mrs. Karline Carter. Let’s begin.”

The lawyer Reid had hired stood tall, flipping through papers with precision. His voice rang across the silence.

“Your Honor, we have already presented the DNA test reports from two different hospitals. Both state that the child in question, Ethan Carter, is not biologically Mr. Carter’s. Based on these results, my client wishes to finalize the divorce.”

Reid’s eyes widened. His lips parted slightly. For the first time, he looked shaken. “What…?” His voice came low, rough, disbelieving. “Karline, what the hell are you saying?”

I gripped the edge of the table, my knuckles white. My tears blurred everything, but I forced myself to meet his stare.

“You don’t believe Ethan is yours. You’ve already judged me guilty. So let’s end this charade. Sign it, Reid. Sign away your rights to him. He doesn’t deserve this doubt hanging over him every single day.”

His fists clenched on the table, the veins in his hand bulging. “You think I’m just going to erase myself from his life like that?” His voice cracked with fury. “You think it’s that simple?”

“You already erased yourself,” I whispered. My voice trembled, but I spoke the truth. “The moment you doubted me. The moment you doubted him.”

The judge’s voice came cautious. “Mr. Carter, this is an unusual request, but if you agree...”

“Shut up!” Reid barked, his voice breaking through the courtroom like thunder. His glare shot back to me. “Karline, look at me.”

I lifted my head, tears streaking my face.

His chest rose and fell heavily, his voice lowering but full of venom. “You really want me to sign away my rights to that child?”

I swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes. Sign it. At least then, Ethan won’t grow up with a father who looks at him with doubt in his eyes.”

Reid’s breathing grew uneven. He looked at the paper the lawyer slid across the table. His hand hovered over it, his eyes full of a storm I couldn’t read, rage, pain, disbelief, everything at once.

Seconds dragged like hours. Then, with one heavy breath, he grabbed the pen.

The scratch of ink on paper echoed louder than thunder in my ears. My heart cracked with every stroke of his signature.

When he dropped the pen, the sound of it hitting the table felt like a gunshot.

It was done.

I bit down on my trembling lip, tears flowing freely as my chest hollowed out.

Reid sat back, staring at the signed paper like it had drained the last of his soul. His voice came low, rough, broken.

“Fine. I will sign.”

And in that moment, despite all my pain, I saw it, Reid Carter looked dead inside.