Chapter 3

I closed my eyes. Whatever feelings I had left for him died in that moment.

I gritted my teeth against the pain and called a lawyer to draw up the divorce papers.

Just before I put my phone down, a post popped up on my feed.

Vivian had posted a photo.

She was kissing the side of Spencer's face, and behind them lay a dazzling spread of gifts.

The caption read:

He said he wanted to give me the best of everything in the world.

I hit Like without a second thought.

Twenty minutes later, Spencer's assistant walked into my hospital room.

Looking awkward, he handed me a scarf that wasn't even wrapped. It was wrinkled, with some mysterious stain on it.

I'd just seen this scarf on Vivian's feed.

It had been tossed across the rumpled bed in the background of her photo.

Spencer's message came through at the same time.

"Stop being jealous of the girl. See, you got a gift too."

I told the assistant to set it down calmly. I couldn't even be bothered to feel disappointed anymore.

The next day, a nurse wheeled me down for a follow-up scan, and I ran into Spencer at the hospital.

I thought he'd come to see me. I had just pulled out the divorce papers when a sweet, coaxing voice stopped me cold.

"Spencer, the baby just kicked me."

I turned my head stiffly and saw Vivian, her belly even bigger than mine.

The sheer absurdity of it left me speechless. It took me a long moment to find my voice.

"She's pregnant?"

Spencer said nothing.

He helped Vivian into the car with a tenderness I'd never seen him show me before, then came back to face me.

Apparently, there was no point pretending otherwise anymore.

"Eight months along."

"She couldn't sleep with me while she was pregnant, so I came home and slept with you instead."

"Chloe, honestly, you should be grateful to Vivian. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten pregnant so fast and become Mrs. Prescott."

"It's good that you found out. Now I can give Vivian the wedding she deserves and finally have her by my side in public."

For a second, I felt like the biggest fool in the world.

I fought down the sting in my nose and asked him.

"Spencer, we've been together since high school. Twelve years, Spencer. What was I to you this whole time?"

He was quiet, then finally answered.

"What other reason is there to cheat? Things cooled, I got tired, I got bored, I wanted something new and exciting."

"Chloe, it was the same thing for more than twelve years. Day in, day out. I got so bored I couldn't even bring myself to touch you anymore."

I stared at him blankly, then suddenly started to laugh, until tears gathered in the corners of my eyes.

So this was how a relationship of more than a decade could end up.

A joke.

"Spencer, let's get a divorce. I'm serious this time. I'll get out of your way."

After those words, Spencer stared at me for a long time.

For a moment, I thought he was going to refuse. Then he finally answered.

"Fine."

"After Vivian has the baby and finishes recovering, I'll sign the divorce papers."

With that, he gave me one last look and walked away.

I tried to take a deep breath, but the pressure in my chest was so intense I felt like throwing up.

Back in the ward, my fever wouldn't break. I was barely conscious when my phone suddenly started blowing up with notifications.

I lit up the screen with trembling hands, and froze instantly.

My name was trending online—

[News anchor Chloe Hayes Exposed as the Mistress: Used Her Pregnancy to Force My Boyfriend to Marry Her.]

Vivian had posted a forty-minute video naming me outright and accusing me of being a mistress, trying to destroy the happy life of her and Spencer.

She even claimed I had multiple abortions, seduced a married teacher, and engaged in sexual acts right in the classroom

She'd backed up her accusations with a mountain of so-called evidence, even a photo of me in a school uniform being escorted to an OB-GYN's office by a male teacher.

My phone rang then. It was Mr. Monroe from the TV station.

"Chloe, you know how it is—there are lines we can't afford to cross in this business. With this blowing up the way it has, we have to be careful. Take some time to sort out your personal affairs, and stay off the schedule for now."