Chapter 4

When I got home, I found that the door code had been changed.

The condo was mine. Mom had left it to me, and it had been paid for in full before I got married.

Yet there I was, the owner, locked out of my own home. I could hear a woman laughing inside.

I rang the doorbell.

Claire opened the door wearing my nightgown. The second she saw me, she made a point of rubbing her stomach.

"Taylor, why didn't you say you were coming back?"

My eyes dropped to the silk nightgown she had on. I'd bought it for my birthday last year and had been saving it ever since. Apparently, Claire had decided to break it in for me.

"Take it off."

"What?"

"I said, take off my nightgown."

Adrian came out of the bedroom. "Taylor, don't give her a hard time. She's pregnant."

"This is my home."

"We're still married. It's my home too."

"What about her?"

"She's carrying my child. She needs someone to take care of her."

My mother-in-law, Maureen Manning, leaned out of the kitchen. "I'm the one who told Claire she could stay here. You can't have kids, so what? You expect Adrian to stay childless too?"

I checked the time. It was exactly 10:00 am. The timing was perfect.

I pulled out my phone and started a livestream, pointing the camera at all three of them.

"Hi, everyone. Today I'm going to show you how to deal with a particularly hardy parasitic plant."

Maureen reached for my phone. "What are you filming?"

I moved out of her reach.

"This kind doesn't pay rent or utilities. It even brings along its own little sprout and takes over someone else's home."

I was livestreaming from my flower shop's account. Within minutes, a few hundred viewers had joined, and the comments were coming in fast.

"So the other woman moved into the wife's home?"

"And she's wearing the wife's nightgown?"

"Why's the old lady here too?"

"Wow. You've got a whole collection of invasive species in there."

Claire immediately covered her face. "You're invading my privacy!"

I pointed to the security camera in the living room. "This is my home. You came in without the homeowner's permission. I'm well within my rights to document this as evidence."

Adrian gritted his teeth. "End the livestream."

I held out a hand. "Fine. Put my home back the way it was and move out. Right now."

Maureen planted herself on the couch. "Why should I? I'm not leaving."

Right on cue, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door.

Kyle stood outside with a locksmith, the property manager, and two lawyers behind him. He was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his lean, defined forearms.

The livestream chat immediately changed course.

"Who's the hot guy behind you?"

"Is he a parasite too? Can I have one?"

"Taylor, just divorce Adrian already. That guy at the door looks like he's got some serious stamina."

I quickly turned the camera away.

Kyle casually put an arm around my shoulders. "How are you still not done with this?"

Adrian stared at his hand. "What are you doing here again?"

"Helping my girlfriend move."

I looked up at him and lowered my voice. "Weren't you supposed to help me kick them out?"

"Same difference."

He handed Adrian a legal notice.

"This condo is Taylor's separate property from before the marriage. Your mother and Ms. Bailey have no legal right to live here. You have two hours to vacate the property. Otherwise, we'll call the police."

Maureen shouted, "This is my daughter-in-law's home! Why can't I live here?"

Kyle looked at her. "Where was that attitude when your son was cheating on your daughter-in-law?"

"And what gives a boy toy like you the right to butt in?"

Kyle looked down at me. "She does."

"When did I give you that right?"

"Just now."

The chat went wild again.

"This guy knows exactly what to say. Keep talking."

"Taylor, trade in the old model and order the new one already."

Adrian slammed his fist on the table. "Taylor, you found some student to put on an act just to get back at me? You think this is funny?"

I leaned into Kyle. "Very. He's young, hot, and emotionally stable. At least he won't last three minutes in bed and then ask me how he did."

The living room went dead silent.

The chat went quiet for two whole seconds before exploding with laughter.

The color drained from Adrian's face.

Claire glanced at him without thinking. That one look cut deeper than anything I could've said.

"What are you looking at?" Adrian barked.

Claire looked hurt. "I didn't even say anything."

"Then what was that look supposed to mean?"

"What look?"

They immediately started arguing.

Kyle leaned close to my ear. "Seriously? Three minutes?"

His breath was warm against my ear, and I felt my face heat up.

"What's it to you?"

"Market research."

"Shut up."

Two hours later, the property manager had the lock changed.

Maureen stood in the hallway with her luggage, yelling for ages. I played the recording of her admitting Claire was pregnant and telling me to make room for her on repeat through a Bluetooth speaker.

One by one, the neighbors opened their doors.

Maureen's voice gradually died down. In the end, she buried her face in her hands and stepped into the elevator.

Claire even tried to walk out wearing my nightgown.

I stopped her. "Take it off."

"With everyone watching?"

"Fine. Keep it on. That'll be 6,800 dollars."

"Why should I pay you?"

"Because that baby in your belly doesn't cover the cost of my silk nightgown."

She had no choice but to go back inside and change.

When she handed it back, I didn't even look at it. I tossed it straight into the trash.

The elevator doors closed.

I ended the livestream. The screen showed 100,000 viewers.

"Oh, crap."

Kyle frowned. "What?"

"I forgot to put up my flower shop link."

He doubled over laughing.

I kicked him.

He caught my ankle. "Quit it. You're going to fall."

His hand was warm.

I was wearing heels and couldn't balance on one foot, so I grabbed his shoulder. That brought us way too close.

He looked down at me. "Taylor."

"What?"

"You're blushing."

"I'm tired."

"Your ears are red too."

"I'm mad."

"Then why's your heart racing?"

I shoved him away. "You startled me."

Kyle straightened with a faint smile. "Right. Must've been terrifying."