Chapter 2: The Woman They Thought Was Broken
Chapter 2: The Woman They Thought Was Broken
Three weeks later, Ryan served me divorce papers.
In my hospital room.
While I was still recovering.
His mistress stood beside him.
Smiling.
Beautiful.
Cruel.
Her name was Emily.
And she wasn't ashamed.
Not even a little.
Ryan tossed the papers onto my bed.
"You should sign."
I stared at him.
"You used my kidney."
Ryan shrugged.
"Our daughter needed it."
Emily laughed.
"You should actually be proud."
My hands shook.
"Proud?"
Ryan leaned against the wall.
"If you hadn't donated, Lily might have died."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"You lied to me."
"You would've said no."
The casual way he said it made me sick.
Emily crossed her arms.
"You were useful."
Useful.
That was what twelve years of marriage had become.
Ryan smiled.
"Ava, let's be realistic."
He looked around the room.
"You can't even walk properly right now."
Emily smirked.
"And after the complications..."
Her eyes traveled down toward my medical chart.
"The doctors said another pregnancy could kill you."
Ryan nodded.
"You've got nothing left to offer me."
The room went silent.
I felt something inside me snap.
Not my heart.
That had already broken.
Something else.
Something stronger.
Ryan pushed the papers closer.
"Take the settlement."
"What settlement?"
"The house stays with me."
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
Ryan frowned.
"What?"
I looked directly at him.
For the first time since surgery.
For the first time since the betrayal.
And I smiled.
A real smile.
Because neither of them knew what had happened the day before.
The visit.
The lawyer.
The will.
The secret Ryan's father had hidden for years.
A secret worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
I signed the divorce papers.
Ryan grinned.
Emily grinned.
May you like
Both convinced they had won.
Neither realizing they had just destroyed themselves.
