Chapter 4

I turned my head toward her.

"The baby?"

Her hand instinctively moved to protect her lower abdomen.

Before she could say another word, Austin exploded.

"Chloe! Shut up!"

"Austin, we can't hide it anymore," she cried, looking up with tear-filled eyes. "The doctor confirmed it last month. I’m six weeks along."

I leaned back against the sofa cushions, staring at the back of Austin’s rigid neck.

His shoulders were wound tight like coiled springs.

Six weeks ago, Austin had gone to New York on a business trip.

He had been gone for a full week.

When he got back, he brought me a box of fancy bagels, claiming a local coworker had recommended the bakery.

Looking back now, it wasn't a coworker's recommendation. It was Chloe's.

"So," I asked calmly, "what’s the plan?"

Chloe stayed quiet, looking desperately at Austin.

Austin stood up, walked to the window, and stared out with his back turned to both of us.

"Clara, listen to me," his voice dropped to a muffled murmur. "I can explain..."

"Explain what? Explain why you got another woman pregnant while married to me?"

"Keep your damn voice down!" He whipped around. "Fine! I admit it! Chloe and I are together!"

He took a slow, jagged breath.

"But divorce isn't something you can just dictate on a whim. You expect to walk away with the house *and* the car?"

"You committed adultery. You're lucky I'm leaving you with a single penny."

"Clara, don't push your luck!"

"Me? Pushing my luck?"

I rose from the couch, staring him down.

"Austin, I nearly suffocated to death in our bed last night. You shoved me away because I was too loud, and then you rushed to the ER to pamper your mistress over a paper cut."

"I gave you nine years of my life! I changed jobs three times just to relocate for your promotions! When your mother was hospitalized, I took unpaid leave to wipe her down and feed her! When you had internal stomach bleeding, I slept on a hospital chair beside you for seven straight days and nights!"

"And you have the nerve to tell me I’m pushing my luck?"

He had no words.

Chloe’s sniffling broke the silence. "Clara... please don't back him into a corner like this..."

"Shut your mouth," I said without even sparing her a glance. "You haven't even walked down the aisle, and you're already scheming over another woman's marital assets?"

Chloe’s lips trembled, and she shrank back into the cushions.

Austin glared at me, his eyes bloodshot.

"Fine. I agree."

"Austin!" Chloe gasped, shooting up from the couch. "If you agree to this, what about our future? What about the baby?"

Austin walked over, rested a hand heavily on her shoulder, and dropped his voice to a whisper.

"My mother is sitting on that massive commercial buyout check from the family estate. You know that."

Chloe’s sobbing hitched.

"If she finds out I cheated, she won't give me a single dime. But if Clara and I part ways amicably, Mom will still pass the inheritance to me. I’ll take care of you."

He turned back to face me. "I accept your terms."

"Good. The agreement is in your inbox. Print it and sign it."

"I have one condition."

"Name it."

"You delete every single file from that old phone. No backups."

"I've already backed them up to the cloud."

His face darkened again.

"Sign the papers quietly, and nobody ever sees them," I said evenly. "Try to pull any tricks, and every photo goes straight to your mother's phone."