His Betrayal: Choosing Her Over Me

Still no sound from behind the door. Julian Shaw’s nerves were fraying, terrified Leia might do something irreversible. His legs turned to jelly as he sprinted downstairs to yank a heavy sledgehammer off the garage rack. Bursting back up to the door, he barked, "Open up now, or I’m breaking this down."

Silence answered him…

The thunder of the blows made Piper Cooper next door jump straight out of her skin.

Every heavy slam of the sledgehammer against the wood sent Leia Shaw’s panic spiking. Her vacant, glassy eyes suddenly snapped sharp with alertness. She pushed herself up slowly and wrenched the door open.

The door flew open out of nowhere. The sledgehammer was already arcing through the air.

Julian’s heart dropped straight into his stomach, panic blazing in his eyes.

Leia just stared coldly at the metal head that had swept inches from her skull, her gaze blank, unreadable.

Julian wrenched the sledgehammer back at the last second. It hit the floor with a heavy, deafening thud. A sharp, tearing pain twisted through his chest — it felt like something irreplaceable was slipping right through his fingers. If he’d been half a second slower, that hammer would have hit her.

Outside that door, he was a wreck of agony. Inside, she was still ice-cold calm.

He rushed in and crushed her to his chest.

His fear was still screaming through him, his heart hammering so hard he could feel it in his throat. One more inch. He’d almost lost her.

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry — I almost hurt you, I’m so sorry…"

His repeated apologies pulled Leia slowly back to the surface. He held her so tight she could barely draw a breath.

Three words she hated more than anything in this world: I’m sorry. If you don’t want to be sorry, don’t do the things that hurt people. Don’t say the words that cut deep.

Her hands clenched so hard her knuckles whitened at her sides, her voice colder than ice, "Let me go."

He didn’t let go. He held her even tighter, confused by how far gone she was.

In that split second where he’d almost lost her, his heart had felt like it was being squeezed to dust — pain, panic, terror, all tangled together. All he could think was he never wanted to let go of her for the rest of his life.

When he didn’t release her, Leia shoved him away with every bit of strength she had left, "Didn’t you hear me? Let go."

"I’m not a damn puppet you can yank out whenever you want and toss aside when you’re done."

Her hysterical scream left Julian standing there, completely stunned, defeated.

Across from him, the woman’s eyes were bloodshot, her pale face almost see-through. She burned with fury like a wild tigress cornered.

Julian had had enough. He turned and slammed the bedroom door shut, his jaw tight, "How long are you gonna drag this out? I’m so tired of this."

She glanced at him once, ice in her glare, then turned away. Her voice was just as cold, "I’m tired too. So just leave. I need to rest."

"Leia, do you really have to cut me off like this?"

He stepped closer and grabbed her wrist. He knew her — a few soft words, a hug, and she’d always soften, relent.

But this time was nothing like before…

She ripped her hand out of his grip, screaming, "Don’t you touch me. You’re disgusting."

Disgusting.

That one word set Julian off.

He could put up with every mood swing, every outburst, every crazy thing she did — but he couldn’t stand being called disgusting.

"Are you done yet? You’re blowing this way out of proportion. This has to end."

Leia spun around, her eyes ice when they locked onto his, "If you can’t stand me, then leave. Give me some damn peace."

"I…" He didn’t get another word out.

"I know exactly what you’re gonna say."

"And I know what you’re worried about."

"But let me make this clear: Piper is out of this house by tomorrow morning."

Hearing her ultimatum, seeing that flat, unfeeling look on her face, Julian’s temper snapped, "She’s not leaving."

Leia’s hands clenched so hard her joints cracked, fighting the urge to scream and hit something. She spoke through gritted teeth, cold as death, "Fine. If she doesn’t leave by tomorrow morning, I will. Now get out."

With a deafening bang, the door slammed shut in his face.

Leia couldn’t hold it together any longer. She crumpled onto the bed, tears pouring down her cheeks, but she didn’t make a single sound.

After crying until her lungs ached, her phone buzzed on the nightstand.

Seeing "Mom" light up the screen made her heart skip. She swiped at her tears fast, forcing her voice steady before she answered.

She kept her tone even, "Mom, you’re still up?"

"Leia, I couldn’t sleep a wink tonight. I just have this bad feeling. Are you and Julian okay?"

"We’re fine, really. He’s just in the shower right now."

Zoe, her mother-in-law, laughed soft and warm, "That’s good. You two get some rest, and while you’re young, get busy so I can be a grandma soon, okay?"

The mention of a grandchild shattered what little composure she’d scraped together. The tears she’d just choked down came rushing back, hotter than before.

After a long, shaky pause, she said, "Okay, I’ll work on that. You and Dad take care of yourselves, don’t stay up too late."

"Alright, I won’t bug you two any longer. There’s a big surprise waiting for you tomorrow!"

Before Leia could even ask what it was, Zoe hung up.

The ache in her chest just kept getting worse…

That night she lay awake until the sky turned pink, her heart hurting so bad she twisted and turned on the sheets, unable to get comfortable.

And Julian never came back to their room. He spent the whole night in the study.

…

The next day, at first crack of dawn, Zoe showed up grinning, arms loaded with groceries.

Mrs. Thomas, the housekeeper, opened the door for her. She’d gone home early the night before, so she had no idea what had gone down.

The whole Shaw house was dead quiet. None of the three had come downstairs yet.

"Good morning, ma’am! What’s got you in such a wonderful mood today?" Mrs. Thomas said, taking the grocery bags from her hands.

Zoe was practically glowing, "Of course I’m happy! I went to see that top specialist yesterday, he prescribed new medication. Said after three rounds, Leia’s guaranteed to get pregnant. I’m gonna be a grandma soon, haha!"

"That’s such wonderful news, ma’am! Mrs. Shaw is gonna be over the moon."

Zoe smiled as she walked in, then glanced around and frowned in surprise, "Mrs. Thomas, it’s already ten o’clock. Where is everyone?"

Mrs. Thomas glanced upstairs, then leaned in close to Zoe, lowering her voice, "Looks like Mr. and Mrs. Shaw had a fight. Mr. Shaw brought another woman home with him, and they haven’t come down yet."

"What?" Zoe gasped. Her cheerful face hardened instantly into rage. She demanded, "How dare Julian do this? Who is this woman?"

Mrs. Thomas whispered again, "Not sure, but they look real close."

"Unbelievable. Mrs. Thomas, you get started on lunch, I’m going up there to sort this out."

With that, Zoe headed straight for the stairs.

In the master suite, Piper was curled up on the sofa while Julian fussed over her injured foot. One face was dark and quiet, the other glowing with a bright smile.

Zoe was about to head straight to Julian and Leia’s room, but just as she reached the top of the stairs, she heard a door click open.

Leia stepped out. Her eyes were swollen from crying, her face deathly pale. The once bright, lively woman looked completely worn out. She was shocked to see her mother-in-law standing in the hall.

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

Leia said, as she slipped her arm affectionately through Zoe’s.

Having lost her own parents when she was little, Leia grew up in an orphanage and had always craved a mother’s love. She loved Zoe like she was her own mom.

Zoe adored Leia right back. When Zoe was sick, Julian was swamped with work, and Leia took care of everything around the house and all of Zoe’s medical needs without a single complaint. She loved Zoe like family.

Leia was pure, kind, obedient — everything Zoe ever wanted in a daughter-in-law. The only flaw, if you could call it that, was she’d never been very good at small talk with strangers.

Zoe patted her hand, her voice soft, "I came to check on my girl. Look how thin you’ve gotten lately."

"You’re always so thoughtful, Mom. C’mon, let’s go downstairs."

"Wait," Zoe suddenly remembered, and nodded toward the empty guest room down the hall, "You slept here last night?"