Chapter 3: A Useless Woman
Anna placed Robert's wedding ring in the open palm of her left hand, staring at it blankly. The thin gold band, once a symbol of their vows, now felt impossibly large and unbearably heavy.
Seven years of marriage. Seven years of sacrifice—of putting Robert's needs above her own, of enduring, compromising, giving. And yet, in a single moment, it all came down, crushing. Every effort, every silent concession, every piece of herself she had given to the Hyde family had been reduced to nothing.
A child.
The word itself made her stomach twist. He was right—she couldn't get pregnant, no matter how many treatments she endured, no matter how many doctors reassured her, no matter how desperately she tried.
But it wasn't entirely her fault. No—it wasn't her fault at all. Yet Robert would never admit that.
Once upon a time, before life had hardened them, before greed and ambition had tainted their relationship, Robert had told her he didn't care about things like that. They had been young, naive, lost in the warmth of an untainted friendship, making promises they thought were unbreakable.
But promises were fragile things, and every one Robert had ever made to her had crumbled, one after another.
And then, as if fate sought to twist the knife deeper, she saw her.
Marienne Rochester.