Chapter 1 - The Cold Awakening
"Divorce me when the baby is born?" I repeated, my voice dropping to a terrifyingly calm whisper.
Marcus took a step toward my hospital bed, his good arm reaching out. "Sarah, please. Chloe is just emotional right now. She didn't mean it like that. We can fix this."
I didn't scream. I didn't cry. The absolute absurdity of the situation acted like a shot of ice water straight to my veins. My husband of four years had been sleeping with my younger sister for fourteen months. They had conceived a child while I was pregnant with his son. And he had bought her off with my dead grandmother's emerald necklace.
"Get out," I said quietly.
"Sarah—"
"I said, get out!" I pressed the call button next to my bed repeatedly. "If you and my sister are not out of this room in five seconds, I will scream until hospital security drags you out by your broken collarbone."
Chloe sobbed louder, burying her face in her hands, playing the victim even now. Marcus glared at me, his mask of the loving husband completely sliding off, revealing the cold, calculating coward underneath.
"Fine," Marcus snapped. "But we are not done talking about this."
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He grabbed Chloe by the arm and guided her out of the room. As the door clicked shut, the silence of the maternity ward rushed back in. The baby kicked hard against my ribs, a sudden, sharp reminder of what I had to protect. I wasn't just a betrayed wife anymore. I was a mother. And Marcus Sterling was going to pay for every single tear he had forced me to shed.
I picked up my phone and dialed the one person I knew could help me. My best friend, Jessica, who happened to be a paralegal at the most ruthless family law firm in the city.
