Dara lay awake in her bed and studied the ceiling.

She couldn't believe it had come to this.

Her nose began to tickle and ached as a new round of sobs threatened to emerge.

Eight weeks, she had been strong. Since the last night that Seunghyun had laid in this bed, she had not let one tear escape.

And yet now…

Her stomach cramped once again and the sobs burst out.

Dara ran her hand over her belly and pressed against it tightly.

She had never before felt so…disgusting. So unworthy of being a woman.

She didn't understand. She had been upfront with Seunghyun from the beginning.

All this time? Had he simply lied to her from day one? Why?

Dara hadn't waited to find out.

After hearing the damning words, she had ran away but not before Seunghyun could see how his words had stabbed her through the heart.

This was all the government’s fault. How was she to know that they would only grant a divorce if she and Seunghyun had been separated for six months?

If she had known, then she would have simply asked Seunghyun to wait two more months before he filed the damn papers.

At least then they wouldn't have been ordered to attend the stupid marriage counseling classes.

At least then she could go on believing that Seunghyun had simply fallen out of love with her…and that he wasn't divorcing her because of this.

Turning on her side, Dara curled up into a ball and dug her knees into to stifle the sobs.

Her eyes stung from the tears and her eyelashes matted together.

In the end, she simply closed them.

Only the loss of studying her ceiling allowed her mind to wander back to that afternoon and that fateful last meeting with the marriage counselor.

At first, Dara had dreaded the weekly meetings. But they allowed her hourly glimpses of Seunghyun where she could remember the good times in their relationship.

That had all changed in the last three weeks when the marriage counselor had begun asking probing questions into why their marriage had broken down.

It was then that Dara had begun dreading the meetings.

And today's…

A wash of despair settled over her as she remembered…

"You've both been married for just over three years. Did you ever discuss having children?"

Dara stiffened, her hands curling into fists in her lap. From the corner of her eye, she saw Seunghyun's entire body become rigid.

She glanced over at him and waited in silence for him to explain their situation.

When he didn't, she turned her head to face him.

He had been looking at her, but when she caught his eye, he quickly looked away.

And then she knew.

Tears immediately sprang to her eyes as she gasped in a little breath.

She saw the marriage counselor looking between them silently.

Dara broke it.

"Is- is that why?" she whispered hoarsely.

Seunghyun still didn't turn to her.

"Is that why?" Dara cried out.

"Dara…" he finally spoke.

"I t-told you…from the beginning…you p-promised me that it didn't matter to you!"

"Dara…"

An echoing sob escaped .

"You told me that it would never matter. You said that there were other ways…"

Seunghyun finally turned to face her. He had tears in his eyes.

"You promised me…Oh my God, I have to go—" Dara said as she quickly scrambled up from her seat.

Seunghyun stood too. "Dara please—"

"No!" Dara cried out loudly as she swirled to face him. "You lied to me."

And then she had ran away.

Dara scrubbed the corner of the quilt over her wet cheeks. The rough material stung the soft skin.

This was it…her life was over.

What man would ever want a useless woman like her?

A woman who couldn't even give her husband a child.

word count: 649