His Three Minutes Cost Him His Wife Chapter 04
A cold silent war settled between us after that ER visit.
My planned Boston work trip spanned six days total, but I wrapped all client projects early and booked the earliest Acela train back to New York on day five.
When I pushed open our townhouse front door, a pair of Serena’s high heels sat abandoned on the entry floor.
Her fashion magazines littered the coffee table, a delicate lace night slip tossed across the sofa cushions.
A pot of soup simmered on the kitchen range, thin steam curling out from under the lid.
I marched straight to the master bedroom without pause.
He’d swapped the bed linens once again.
Every skincare bottle I’d placed back on the vanity had been dumped into a clear plastic bin tossed onto the floor, jumbled chaotically.
Serena’s toiletries lined the entire countertop, each container labeled neatly with handwritten stickers.
The closet door hung half open.
All my dresses and coats had been shuffled to the far edge of the rack, the empty space filled with her wardrobe.
Her delicate lace lingerie laid across the top underwear drawer.
A white prescription sleep sedative bottle rested on the nightstand, its label printed with Serena’s name: [One tablet before bed.]
Beneath the bottle sat an old faded photograph.
Serena leaned into Nico’s shoulder, grinning wide.
A handwritten note covered the back: [Nico and Serena. Never apart. Summer 2011.]
Fifteen years prior. I hadn’t even met Nico back then.
We crossed paths at a university orientation event in 2012.
He’d knelt to retrieve a pen I’d dropped, lifting his head to flash me a soft smile as I thanked him.
I’d always believed that smile marked the start of our love story.
Turns out his lifelong bond with Serena had existed long before I stepped into his life.
I’d spent years thinking I was his first love, only to realize I was nothing more than an afterthought.
The bathroom door creaked open mid-stare.
Nico stepped out wrapped in a bath towel, water dripping down his neck and chest.
He froze the instant he spotted me.
“You weren’t supposed to be home for another full day.”
“I finished all my assignments early and caught the first train back.”
Before Nico could get another word out, Serena’s voice drifted out from behind the bathroom door.
“Nico, where’d you put my house robe?”
She poked her head out wrapped in a white bathrobe, her hair still damp from the shower.
Her smile faltered for a split second, then morphed into a helpless, innocent expression.
“Clara? I had no idea you’d fly back today. Nico told me you’d be out of town for the full week.”
Nico cut her off immediately. “Go wait in the bathroom for a minute.”
Serena bit her lower lip but retreated, shutting the door behind her. Soft sniffles filtered through thin wood.
“Clara, let me explain everything—”
“Make her leave right this second. If she walks out the door, I’ll stay in this house.”
Nico’s forehead creased instantly, any flicker of guilt vanishing from his face.
“Don’t act like this. She’s in fragile health, and it’s the middle of the night. Where exactly am I supposed to send her?”
“This is our house. Our master bedroom. Why does she get to stay instead of leaving?”
“She’s only crashing here for a couple nights. Is this really worth blowing up our whole marriage over?”
“It absolutely is.”
His expression turned cold and heavy.
“Stop throwing a fit, can you? You know how unstable her mental state is. Do you really want to push her over the edge?”
Dense, throbbing sorrow swelled through my chest. I stared at him numb.
“Am I the one pushing her? She shares your shower, claims my vanity counter, hangs her clothes in my closet, and sleeps in our marital bed—and I’m the unreasonable one?”
Nico drew a deep breath, impatience thick in his tone.
“Can you try to act reasonable for once? She’s a trauma patient. If something terrible happens to her after you kick her out, will you take full responsibility?”
“She took that car crash impact for you once, so she gets free rein over our bed, full access to our home, and my designated clan seat. What place does that leave for me? I’m your legal wife, the official lady of the Valenti clan.”
“Clara Valenti,” he said sharply. “Do you honestly think the entire world owes you something? Serena’s mood swings can turn dangerous at any moment. Could you just find some mercy for her?”
A thin gap split the bathroom door open, Serena’s tearful voice spilling out into the room.
“Nico, maybe I should head to a hotel instead. I don’t want to cause any friction between you and Clara.”
“Ignore her,” Nico told her instantly, his voice softening completely. “I’ll book separate lodging for her tomorrow morning, just hold on—”
I gritted my teeth and swept every one of Serena’s vanity bottles crashing onto the hardwood floor.
“She leaves right now, no exceptions.”
Quiet sobs echoed from the bathroom.
“Don’t fight over me, I’ll go by myself.”
The bathroom door swung wide open. Serena stepped out wrapped in the white bathrobe.
“Enough of this,” Nico snapped, grabbing her wrist and shoving me hard to the side to shield her body with his own.
I stumbled backward, my lower spine slamming hard against the vanity’s sharp wooden edge. A wave of white-hot pain drained all color from my face.
“Nico.”
He didn’t spare me a single glance, only fixed a furious glare my way while standing between Serena and me.
“Did you have to escalate this to this level? Why are you dead-set on tormenting her? Can you see how irrational you’re being? She’s a vulnerable patient.”
He paid zero mind to how hurt I’d gotten, tugging Serena along out of the master suite without a backward glance.
I stood frozen for a long time, straightening once the pain dulled enough to move. I began packing every last one of my belongings.
As I passed the study doorway on my way out, I heard Nico murmuring quiet comfort to Serena inside.
“Don’t be scared. I’m right here with you.”
A taxi pulled up to the townhouse front gate to pick me up.
I glanced back through the rear window at the master bedroom’s pink curtains fluttering in the night breeze.
I rested a gentle palm flat over my stomach.
I’d gotten a positive pregnancy test the day before my Boston trip, planning to surprise him with the news that very night.
There was no point in telling him anymore.
Nico spent hours calming Serena long after midnight.
It wasn’t until the house fell dead silent that he realized I’d vanished entirely.
A sharp unease twisted in his gut.
He pushed open our master bedroom door minutes later, freezing dead in his tracks. His pupils blew wide with shock.
