Inseparable

Chapter 2

Clover's POV

The lobby of Hale Tower felt too loud with few workers lurking nearby. They glanced my way, then quickly away. I must have looked like a ghost.

My mascara destroyed, my eyes swollen, but my back straight as if someone had shoved steel into my spine.

I didn't stop walking until I was outside, the cold April wind slapping my face. My fingers shook as I pulled out my phone. The screen–God, I could read every tiny icon.

I tapped the one contact I knew would answer anytime I needed her. My best friend.

Mia picked up on the second. “Baby? You're supposed to be at the clinic. Did the drops work? Can you…”

“Mia,” I cut her off, my voice broken. “I can see everything.”

A beat of silence, then her laugh exploded through the receiver. “Holy shit, Clover! That's amazing! I'm leaving the studio right now. We're celebrating. I'm bringing champagne and those disgusting cheese puffs you pretend to hate.”

“I saw him, Mia.” I muttered, tearily. “Damian with Sophia. She's pregnant. I saw him touching her stomach and he confirmed it was his baby.”

The line went dead silent. Then Mia's voice dropped, low and dangerous. “W

Hold on, where are you?”

“Outside Hale Tower. I just came out.”

“Stay there. I'm ten minutes away. Do not move and do not go back inside.”

I hugged my arms around myself, staring at the blank pale blue sky.

Mia’s white Jeep screeched up to the curb six minutes later. She didn't even park properly before she jumped out, her wild dark curls flying, and yanked me into a hug so tight my ribs protested. Her vanilla wrapped around me, comforting.

“Get in,” she ordered, already steering me toward the passenger seat. “We’re going to my place first. Then we're burning his credit cards in effigy or something.”

Inside the Jeep, the heater blasted. I stared at the dashboard while Mia drove through traffic like she was racing the devil.

“I walked in on them,” I sniffed, my voice flat. “Ultrasound photos of Sophia's baby were scattered on his desk.”

“That cheating, spineless bastard.”

Mia reached over and squeezed my knee. “He played the hero while keeping a side piece on standby. Classical bullshit. You're done, Clover. Done.”

We pulled into her building's underground garage. She killed the engine and turned to me. “File for a divorce, he isn't worth you. You're more than this, Clo. And I know a lawyer who owes me favors.”

I simply nodded, but the word divorce felt like swallowing a whole poison.

Upstairs in her sunlit loft, Mia shoved a glass of water into my hand and raided her fridge for wine. “Hydrate first, then we celebrate.”

As I drank, she poured two glasses of red and we sat on her couch.

“I need to send the papers,” I said after the first sip burned my throat. “Before he tries to talk me out of it.”

Mia already had her laptop open. “I already texted the lawyer. He's meeting at his office in twenty. No waiting period in this state if you file for irreconcilable differences and you've got proof. And babe, you've got proof.”

I hummed in response, forcing down another burn of red through my throat. In the next twenty minutes, Mia drove us to Mr Reynold's office.

Mr Reynold was short, bald and terrifyingly efficient. He slid the papers across the desk. “Sign here, here and initial there. Assets split are fifty-fifty unless you want to fight. Given the circumstances, I'd advise you to take the prenup loophole and walk away rich.”

Slowly, I picked up the pen, staring blankly at the papers in front of me. Three years of being married. Three years of having Damian by my side for support and his kisses.

I pressed the tip to the paper and signed my name in one furious stroke. Clover Voss-Hale became just Clover Voss again.

Mia whooped softly beside me. “There she is.”

Reynolds scanned the signatures. “I’ll have them sent to his office within the hour.”

I stood up so fast, my heart pounding. “Good.”

Mia came up to my side and followed me out of the lawyer's office. We trudged out of the place to where her car was parked and got in. The car screeched away.

Halfway, my phone buzzed and I glanced low as Damian's name appeared. I silenced it without thinking. Then again, and again. I turned the damn thing off.

“You need to eat something before you do what I think you're about to do.” Mia glanced over.

I sighed. “I need to forget about him, Mia. I need to forget about what I saw.”

“And I know the right place for that.”