Chapter 4

He always told me he didn't care about having kids. He said he'd shield me from every nasty word people said.

But no one else's cruelty could ever match his.

*You're being selfish. You want me to die without children.*

While we were still arguing, a phone rang. A soft, sweet voice carried through the speaker.

"Babe, where'd you go? The baby and I miss you."

Ethan's expression shifted instantly. "Rachel, just listen to me. The only reason I got involved with Yvonne is because I felt sorry for her — her family is poor. I only love you."

He dropped that line and rushed out the door.

Before, if I even hinted at a breakup, he would cling to me for days.

Now I'd said divorce, and he walked out without a second glance.

He said he chose Yvonne because she was poor. So what was his excuse for betraying me? Was it because I had no parents left, no one to run to — only him?

Before I could process any of it, a figure appeared in front of me. A hard slap cracked across my face.

Yvonne's expression was pure venom. "You shameless bitch! You're old news!"

I held my cheek, staring at her in shock. It took me a moment to realize she'd distracted Ethan on purpose — to get me alone.

I looked at her with pure contempt. "Yvonne, I am Ethan's legal wife. If anyone here is the other woman, it's you. Don't talk to me about shameless."

My feelings for Ethan were dead. I was done fighting for him.

But this woman had torn apart my marriage. There was no reason in the world I should be polite to her.

I raised my hand and slapped her back. Yvonne let out a sharp, furious shriek.

"I'm carrying Ethan's son! His heir! How dare you hit me!"

She spat out her next line like she'd just won something. "You can't even have children. What kind of woman does that make you?"

His heir?

I laughed coldly. "If I refuse to sign the divorce papers, your baby will always be illegitimate. And half of Ethan's company belongs to me."

Yvonne stroked her stomach, smiling. "Rachel, you're so naive. A while back, Ethan had you sign some documents — he told you it was paperwork for a vacation property he was gifting you. But the last page was a stock transfer agreement."

She looked me up and down with contempt.

"Your thirty percent of shares are in my name now. So is Ethan's twenty. Even if you divorce and go after assets, there won't be much left for you."

The blood drained from my body.

That day was the anniversary of my parents' deaths. Ethan had surprised me with the gift of a vacation island to cheer me up.

He'd been unusually tender and attentive that day — all because he'd needed me distracted enough to sign those documents.

Everything I thought was love had been a calculated move.

My eyes went red. My voice cracked.

"Get out."

Yvonne tilted her chin up. Her gaze drifted down to the box I was holding.

"You actually think that's your stupid duck in there?"

I went completely still.

She smiled. "I knew you two had a Call duck. So I asked Ethan to bring her over to me for some fun. But she kept making noise at night, and Ethan didn't want her disturbing my sleep or stressing the baby — so he tied her beak shut. We didn't think she'd be so fragile. By morning, she looked like she was already half dead."

Yvonne pulled out her phone without a care in the world, and hit play on a video.

Dada's cries tore through the air — raw, desperate sounds that left me shaking, unable to speak.

"I know you both treated that duck like your child. But she was just a duck. She can't possibly compare to the baby I'm carrying. Honestly? Ethan always thought it was embarrassing and ridiculous that you treated a duck like a person."

A sharp pain tore through my chest.

She smiled like someone savoring a victory.

"You think I actually wanted roast duck? I just wanted to test Ethan. I wanted to see exactly how much he loved me." She paused. "I didn't expect him to say yes so fast."