Chapter 4
Less than thirty minutes after I sent the text, the doorbell rang.
Nate pushed through the door, looking disheveled. “Sienna, don’t make any rash decisions.”
I didn’t turn around, just placed my phone back on the coffee table. “It’s not rash. It’s long overdue clarity.”
He walked over and sat down in the armchair across from me, silent for what felt like ages.
“She just needs some time to recover,” he finally said. “We have an agreement. In a month, I’ll give her enough money to start over abroad. The baby stays with us, and she won’t come back. Ever.”
I couldn’t help but laugh–a hollow, broken sound that barely masked my pain.
“Nate, do you honestly believe you’ve done nothing wrong here?”
He froze.
I met his eyes, each word delivered with trembling precision. “You knew she wanted to destroy our marriage. You knew she stole your genetic material to get pregnant. Yet you still gave her hope. You not only allowed her to keep fantasizing about you, but you stood by her through the entire pregnancy. And now you expect me to believe you’re willing to send her away?”
“I’m sorry. This is all my fault. But Sienna, the baby is here now. It’s a human life. We can’t just ignore that.”
“WHAT ABOUT ME?”
My voice shattered the quiet of the room, raw with rage and heartbreak. I was on my feet now, tears streaming down my face. “Have you thought about me AT ALL? You know EXACTLY why I can’t have children! I took a KNIFE for you, Nate! I LOST our chance at a family FOR YOU! Don’t I deserve some fucking loyalty too? Some goddamn protection?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed, but he said nothing.
I stared at him, my voice dropping to a whisper as tears continued to fall. “You say she’s too weak and needs proper care. Fine. We could pay for her to stay in the hospital or a high–end postpartum center. Hell, we could book her a suite at the Four Seasons and hire a team of nurses. But you won’t
00:52
His Perfect Mistress? A Fro
Chapter 4
consider that. The minute she says she only trusts you, you surrender completely–giving her our home and throwing me out.”
I wiped angrily at my tears. “Be honest with yourself. Is it really about the baby, or is it about taking care of them both?”
He stared at me, his silence almost cruel.
Just then, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen, hesitated, but answered anyway.
“Nate?” Paige’s voice came through, fragile and wounded. “I’m feeling really dizzy, and I think my stitches are bleeding. Could you please come over?”
Nate was quiet for a few seconds. He looked at me, my face still wet with tears, then back at his phone, like he was making an impossible choice.
“Sienna, I need to check on her. She just had major surgery.”
I said nothing, just watched him rise and hurry toward the door.
When it closed behind him, I smiled bitterly, sinking back onto the couch as something inside me finally broke completely.
It turned out… All my tears and pleas couldn’t compete with a single phone call from Paige.
00:52
