He Buried Me Alive, I Buried Him in Regret

Rachel's POV

I found my husband's vasectomy certificate while sorting medical bills. The procedure was done a year ago. But I was six months pregnant now.

I stared at the date on the paper and my hand just... stopped. I kept checking it again and again, but it was still the same. I was freaking out. I looked down at my bump showing through this baggy sweater, and my hands started shaking.

I got in my car and drove straight to my husband's private club. I needed answers about this, now. I knocked when I reached the door, nothing. But when I tried the handle, it just turned. There was this other door, half-open, that led to a private lounge. I figured I'd wait for him in there. But the second I sat down, I heard her voice.

...

"Austin, I really didn't expect this." Samantha's laugh was light and musical. "To think you'd actually make Rachel pregnant with someone else's child just to get me to come back."

I stopped breathing.

I pressed against the wall, staring through the narrow gap. Austin sat on the couch with Samantha beside him, close enough that their shoulders touched.

He smiled. "I'd do anything to bring you home."

The room spun and my legs locked in place. I couldn't move.

The outer door opened. More voices. Male voices.

"Austin! There you are!"

Wayne Cooper. I recognized his booming laugh, Austin's friend.

"Is Samantha here? Oh, beautiful as always!"

They filed into the suite, four of them.

"Austin, man, you really are devoted." Wayne's voice carried easily through the gap. "Having Rachel sleep with all of us just to punish her."

Someone laughed. "And getting a vasectomy! Making absolutely sure she wouldn't carry your kid. That's commitment."

"Can't risk your wife getting pregnant when you're trying to teach her a lesson, right?"

The laughter got louder and my nails dug into my palms. The pain kept me anchored, kept me silent.

"No choice, really." Austin's voice was cool. "I only married Rachel for her money. I'd promised to protect Samantha forever and marrying someone else broke that promise. And she forced Samantha out too."

I bit down hard on my lip and tasted blood.

Samantha had gone abroad three years ago and she'd told me it was her dream, studying in Europe. But according to Austin, I'd somehow forced her to leave?

"I can't stand looking at Rachel," Austin continued. "The thought of her carrying my child makes me sick."

Wayne laughed. "So those romantic dinner dates—"

"I drugged her drinks." Austin said. "She never remembered the next morning. Thought she'd been with me the whole time."

"She really didn't know?"

"She's stupid. It wasn't hard."

"Aren't you worried she'll figure it out?" Someone near the bar spoke up. "What if she leaves? Goes to the police?"

Austin laughed. "She won't figure it out. And even if she did, where would she go? Her father's never been around. Her mother's dead. She has no family here, no one at all."

"So you can do whatever you want."

"Exactly. She has nothing without me."

Now I understood everything. The nausea was overwhelming. The person I loved with all my heart had literally sold me to others men. Everything I thought was real, was happy, it was all just one sick joke. I was completely shattered. I pressed my hands hard against my mouth, desperate not to make a sound. If these devils found out I was here, I couldn't even imagine what they'd do to me.

"I have an idea." Wayne sounded excited. "Let's make this interesting. Let's bet on whose baby she's carrying."

Silence. Then scattered laughter.

"Bet what? Money's boring."

"Her next baby." Wayne sounded delighted. "Whoever guesses right gets Rachel to themselves until she's pregnant again."

"Now that's a real wager!"

The laughter grew louder and my legs threatened to give out. The phone almost slipped from my sweating palm.

Through the gap, I saw Austin's expression change. Something flickered across his face, annoyance, maybe anger.

"No." His voice turned sharp. "That's not happening."

"Come on—"

"Rachel is still my wife." He cut Wayne off. "This was about punishing her for how she treated Samantha, but she's not having other men's children forever."

"So you're divorcing her? Finally marrying Samantha?"

"Not yet." Austin's tone softened. "I've already had the vasectomy reversed. We can bet on something else."

More laughter. "You just can't let go of that money, can you?"

Austin smiled coldly. "Not yet. Rachel's a slut now, no one else would want her anyway. I'll squeeze every dollar out of her first, then I'll get rid of her."

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

Chairs scraped and footsteps moved toward the door.

"Let's head to the restaurant."

"Samantha, you coming?"

"Of course."

I stayed frozen as they left.

My legs were numb and I stumbled to the wall and slid down, landing hard. I was soaked in cold sweat. This was all so nightmarish, I felt like I'd been thrown into the depths of hell.

Calm down. I have to calm down.

I made it to my car somehow.

The parking garage was empty and I locked the doors and forced myself to think.

First, I needed to know whose baby this was.

I pulled out my phone and searched "amniocentesis" and "paternity test DNA sample."

I'd need to schedule the procedure, collect DNA from all of them somehow.

I started the engine.

My phone rang as I pulled into our driveway.

"Mrs. Collins?"

"Yes?"

"This is Dr. Harrison from Mercy General Hospital. I'm calling about your husband, Austin Collins."

My heart stopped. "Is something wrong?"

"I need to inform you that Mr. Collins's vasectomy reversal procedure was unsuccessful."

I gripped the phone tighter. "What do you mean? I don't understand."

"The reversal failed because the original vasectomy never worked in the first place. I tried calling Mr. Collins but couldn't reach him, so I'm contacting you instead."