The doorbell rang late in the afternoon, a while before Eliza would be expecting her husband to arrive home. But what she didn't know was that it was not Alexander at the doorstep.

When she heard the doorbell, her oldest son Philip went to answer it. A little flustered and confused, he scratched his head. "Aunt Angelica? What are you doing here?"

Indeed it was his mother's sister on the doorstep, her face pale and features weak. She had something in her hands, that she was holding tightly. Philip could see that it clearly was from the paper.

Angelica cleared her throat and said, "Philip, mind if I come in?" He nodded, still confused and curious why she seemed to be in such distress and worry.

"Is everything alright?" Philip couldn't hold back from asking, his mind was too intrigued by why his aunt had stopped by so late.

She looked over at Philip, as if forgetting he had been standing there. Her heart sank deep in her chest, the words on the paper she held clear in mind. When she looked at Philip, all she could see was his father. The boy resembled his father in every way, and how it now made her heart break in the worst way.

Luckily at that moment Eliza came into the main entrance hall to find the two of them in conversation. She brushed her hands off on her dress and hurriedly rushed to her sister. "What is the matter?" She nodded to Philip to shut the door as she took her sister down the hall to the living room where they could talk in private.

"Is it something to do with father? I know he's been acting different lately." When Angelica didn't answer, Eliza sighed and said, "Please tell me what is going on."

Angelica bit the inside of her cheek, a few tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "I received this paper earlier today. I'm not sure if you have read it yet."

Eliza replied, with upmost energy, not knowing what that paper contained. "I haven't had the chance to. I have been so busy with the children and it's a lot harder to get around with another one on the way." She patted her rather large stomach, a sign that she would be due yet again in a short amount of time.

"Eliza, you should probably sit down."

A little taken aback and now worried, Eliza did as her sister said and took a seat on the sofa nearby. Angelica unfolded the paper and gave her sister a sorrowful look before beginning.

"I need to talk to you about Alexander."

Eliza's heart swelled up a little, the way it always did when someone mentioned her beloved husband. She smiled a bit to herself, thinking about him still made her dizzy with happiness like it and when she was a young woman.

Angelica noticed her sister smiling, and she quickly ended that. "I don't want to break your heart anymore than it is going to be by the time I have finished reading this, but I have to tell you what has to be told."

Before she could say anything, Eliza found her sister at her side, her face written with all kinds of emotions that she couldn't understand.

"You have married an Icarus, Eliza. I don't know how to save you now, for he has already gone too high and far to redeem your love. I never wanted you to be hurt, but this is going to hurt, and it's going to hurt in the worst way that you can imagine." In tears, Angelica placed the paper in front of her younger sister.

"Your husband has committed a crime. He has lied to you, Eliza, for so long. I don't know what else to say..." She watched intently as Eliza lifted up the paper, her hands shaking as she read the first line to herself.

Eliza read it. She read every line, every ink placed word. Her heart pounded faster and faster with each confession Alexander displayed for the world to see. Her mind wasn't working, she couldn't think straight, for the betrayal was too strong deep within her heart.

Her eyes skimmed over my real crime was an amorous connection with his wife, for a considerable time with his privity and connivance, and every bone in Eliza's body seemed to become weak.

Eliza shut her eyes, many tears spiraling down her cheeks. She could still clearly remember the night that he had whispered in her ear, in the most flirtatious but meaningful way possible, how he would devote himself to Eliza until he no longer alive.

And then the memories of her wedding night came flooding back, the way he held her as they danced, the vows, his smile, all just seemed fake now.

Reading it, she finally saw the truth. She understood why he had arrived home late so many nights and acted like it was work that was keeping him away. To know that in fact it was because he was with another woman, broke her into pieces even more.

Eliza had seemed to forgotten as time ticked by that her sister had been the one to deliver the news to her. Angelica had left her sister in the living room to read the news, and attended to the children. She didn't want to see her sister in pain while reading, for she knew the damage Alexander brought to her on that day would be too great to fix.

Hours ticked by, as Eliza tried to piece together all that he had written. Why? her brain questioned. Weeping loudly, Eliza threw herself across the sofa, covering her face.

Her body shook with every breath and cry she took. Never in her life had she ever felt more betrayed or in grief and pain. She knew that she couldn't forgive Alexander, for what he'd done was too great to redeem himself and her love.

The delicate printed paper fell to the ground at Eliza's feet and she shut her eyes again, trying to stop the tears upon tears that kept emerging.

The more and more she thought about it, and the more she read the lines again and again, she begged for an answer. And even more so, when she thought about Alexander with this woman, Maria Reynolds, her body ached and her cries became unable to describe.

After hours of weeping and being in hysterics, Eliza heard the front door open in the main hall. Clutching her head, she quickly picked up the scattered papers that she had been reading.

She heard the familiar footsteps of her husband, heading towards his study. She listened and waited, until she heard pounding feet running down the steps. Then the person spoke up, and when Eliza heard who it was, she sighed in relief.

"Alexander!" She heard Angelica's tired but determined voice echo out. Alexander replied, "I'm not in the mood to talk right now, Angelica. I'll be in for dinner shortly."

However, he didn't receive any words back from Angelica. Eliza heard Angelica reach her husband and then she assumed she had made a hit for his face. Alexander from outside shouted, "Whoa!" "Let go of me!"

"What is with you? Why are you going to slap all of a sudden?" There was some noises of disapproval coming from Angelica who said back in his face, "Oh, don't play stupid with me, Alexander."

There was a pause before he said, "I'm not playing games with you. I-" "She knows."

Eliza leaned her back against the wall for support. Alexander didn't reply at first to Angelica, and since Eliza wasn't in the hall, she didn't know how he reacted.

"She knows?"

"I brought her the papers a few hours ago. God, you've really done it this time, Alexander. You have caused more damage to that girl's heart than you even realize."

There was another pause, then a long sigh, and Alexander finally said, "I need to speak with her, where is she?" Eliza decided that it was the moment for her to make an appearance instead of hiding behind a door.

She opened the door, and met eyes with Alexander and Angelica who were a little bit up the hall in front of the study. Alexander had his hand tightly wrapped around Angelica's wrist, probably to restrain her from slapping him.

Alexander's eyes widened and his face turned pale. "Eliza." He looked like he wanted to run up to her and say something, but by the look Angelica was giving him, it was an ideal choice that he made to stay back.

Angelica looked over at her sister, who's tears still were falling down her face. Her hand was over her pregnant stomach, and in her other hand there were the papers.

The corridor was filled with uncertain quiet, a feeling that no one was comfortable in. Eliza finally broke the dead air by saying, "I should check on the children."

She marched straight down past Alexander and Angelica, neither of whom said a word. A part of Eliza wanted her to stop and say something to Alexander, but her feet kept moving forward.

Trudging up the stairs, Eliza was stopped by her son, Philip. When he saw her face, he gripped her shoulders for support. "Mother, are you alright? Aunt Angelica said that the letter had something to do with father, but she wouldn't elaborate anymore."

Eliza looked up into her son's eyes. They were just like Alexander's eyes. "If I told you, it would only make things worse, Philip. I don't want to damage anything more than your father has already ruined." She cleared her throat, looking down and away from her son.

Philip gulped and nodded. Not knowing what to say or how to comfort his weak mother, he wrapped his arms around her. Eliza gasped at the embrace, moved by her son's actions. She hugged him back tightly, softly running her fingers through his light brown hair. When they pulled apart, Eliza ushered him to go and get his other siblings ready for supper.

She went to go up the stairwell and follow him, but she was stopped by a voice. "Eliza."

Shutting her eyes for a brief moment to hold back any tears, she shifted her attention to Alexander, who stood below, looking up at his wife. "Eliza," he repeated.

The more she looked at him, the more her heart ached and burned. "What more do you want from me?," she practically spat. "You've already lost my trust and forgiveness. I can't even believe you would do that." Shaking her head, as well as keeping a steady gaze, she said, "I don't even know what to say, Alexander. Is everything you told me a lie?"

Alexander pleadingly shook his head, his eyes also filled with tears. "No, I still love you, Eliza. I have always loved you." Eliza replied, "Well then why did you go and sleep with another woman if you love me?"

She waited for a response, her body shaking the more she stood pleading silently for some answer. Alexander sighed before saying, "Look, it was just-"

"Just what? Just an affair? Just a complete lie to your wife, family, and your friends?" Eliza shook her head, unsettled by the conversation.

Alexander desperately said, "I made a mistake, Eliza. I'm sorry! I don't know what else I can do to convince you that I love you and that it was a mistake."

Eliza felt her throat go dry. "Mistake? You think taking off another woman's clothing as well as your own is a mistake? Breaking someone's heart is a mistake?" Tired of his pleading, Eliza said, "Saying your sorry isn't going to redeem yourself or convince me to change my mind."

And with that, she stormed up the stairwell in tears. Feeling so upset and distraught, she climbed to the top and curled up at the highest step. She saw Alexander turn the corner to his study and then vanish from sight.

Eliza shut her eyes and just hoped that it was all a dream. There was a pounding in her head, reminding her of everything in that paper, including the thing that stuck out most, which was the details of his affair.

She burst into tears again, rocking back and forth on her heels. By the pain that she felt within in her heart, Eliza felt nothing more than emptiness and the terrible heartbreak that resided from the letters her own husband published. And it seemed in that moment that all those memories and feelings she ever had with Alexander seemed to be slowly burning away at the edges of her heart, ripping it into pieces until there was nothing more.

. . . . . . . . . .
A/N: I honestly have no words for what I just created, sorry if you started sobbing through this. This was really touching and difficult to find the right words to write, because it's just really a heartbreaking moment in Eliza's life, finding out her husband had an affair from a newspaper. I promise that'll I write some more positive and cheerier one shots soon!