Chapter 3

I moved into a tiny, eight-hundred-dollar studio near the university campus.

The window faced a busy burger joint downstairs, and the smell of grease constantly seeped through the cracks.

I sat on the hard mattress, staring at the pregnancy test for a long time. The two pink lines were blindingly clear.

My phone rang. It was Ethan.

"Iris, you haven't canceled the corporate credit card yet."

"I'll handle it tomorrow when we go to the courthouse."

"Fine."

Just as I was about to hang up, I heard Chloe’s voice in the background: "Ethan, ask her about the office keycard. I saw it in her bag last time."

Ethan hesitated for a second. "Bring the keycard with you tomorrow too."

"Anything else?" I asked.

"That's all for now."

He hung up.

My screen was still lit, displaying our three years of chat history.

The very first message he had ever sent me was: *Miss Miller, thank you so much for saving my skin today.*

That day, he was negotiating with a difficult client who suddenly hiked up the price, leaving Ethan sweating in panic.

I happened to be there. Quietly, I rewrote the contract terms for him, and the client signed on the spot.

Ethan had no idea that the client was actually a close business associate of my family. He only knew me as a grocery store cashier who made fifteen dollars an hour.

For three years of marriage, I had played that role perfectly.

The next morning, Ethan's mother called.

"Iris, have you finished packing your junk?"

"Almost."

"Leave those cheap clothes of yours behind. They’re trash anyway. Also, Chloe said she really liked that secret marinara sauce you used to make. Leave the recipe on the counter."

I had made that marinara sauce for three years. Ethan ate it every single morning, and his mother had never once complimented me.

"No," I replied flatly.

"Excuse me?" Helen's voice instantly turned sharp. "You're already divorced, and you're still being this petty? Do you have any idea who Chloe is? Her family asking for your recipe is a compliment!"

"Oh? And who is she?"

"Chloe’s family runs a major import-export business in the capital! Do you honestly think everyone is a low-life cashier like you?" Helen sneered over the phone.

"Iris, let me be honest with you. I was never happy when Ethan married you. Sure, you were obedient these past three years, but a man needs to climb. Ethan's company is taking off now, and you're just dead weight."

"Chloe and Ethan were college sweethearts. They belong together. Now that she's back, stop blocking their way."

Last year, when Ethan’s company was about to go bankrupt due to a massive bad debt, and he couldn't even pay his employees' salaries, I was the one who secretly cleared the debt through my family’s channels.

Ethan thought the debtor had suddenly found their conscience and paid him back.

He had come home ecstatic that night, hugging me and saying, *Babe, we have the best luck in the world.*

"Mrs. Vance, I am not giving you the recipe. Is there anything else?"

Helen slammed the phone down in fury.

Half an hour later, a text from Ethan popped up on my Snapchat: *My mom said you were rude to her. We’re already divorced, Iris. Don't make this uglier than it needs to be.*

I didn't reply.

I flipped my phone face down on the bed and gently stroked my stomach.

In three months, I would start showing. By then, I would return to the Sterling family as the sole heir who successfully secured the next generation, taking over everything.

Ethan’s hard-earned company was worth maybe three million dollars. To the Sterling family, that wasn't even pocket change.

That afternoon, I went to the hospital to set up my prenatal files. While waiting in line, my phone rang again.

It was Chloe, calling from Ethan's phone.

"Hi Iris, sorry to bother you. But I found a bottle of prenatal folic acid in our bedroom. I wanted to ask if it's yours, or if it was left by the previous owner?"

Folic acid. I had been taking it while trying to conceive.

My grip tightened on the phone.

"Throw it away. It’s expired."

"Great. Oh, and Ethan wanted me to double-check—are you definitely canceling that credit card tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Awesome. Bye, Iris!"

After hanging up, my hands were shaking. Not out of anger, but out of fear.

Chloe had found the prenatal vitamins.

"Will she figure it out?" I stared at the phone, whispering to myself. No one answered.

0