INICIAR SESIÓNCassie turned to him so quickly that she almost hit her head against the window. “What?”“Your husband.” Hank’s eyes stayed on the road. His voice was calm, but there was something cold underneath it. “I’m going to kill him.”“Hank.”“I’m serious.”Cassie stared at him, trying to figure out if he was joking. He wasn’t.Hank tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “I met that man two days ago. I sat across from him at dinner, shook his hand, and signed a merger agreement worth a hundred million dollars with his company. And now I find out that the same man put his hands on you.”Cassie didn’t know what to say.Hank glanced at her briefly before returning his eyes to the road. “I don’t like him anymore.”Despite everything, Cassie almost laughed. “You didn’t exactly like him before.”“No.” Hank’s jaw tightened. “But now I have a reason.”“Hank, you can’t just destroy someone’s company because he slapped me.”“I can.”His answer came so quickly that Cassie fell silent.Hank continued d
Hank was on the phone before Cassie could even take a proper breath. “You’re homeless?”Cassie closed her eyes, feeling embarrassed. Her cheeks burned as she stood there with the phone pressed against her ear. Even saying the words out loud made her feel pathetic. For six years, she had been Mrs. Briar Welson. She had lived in a huge mansion, worn expensive designer clothes, attended charity events and business dinners, and lived a life most people would have considered perfect. Now she was standing alone on the pavement with nothing but the clothes on her body and a phone in her hand.“Unfortunately,” she admitted quietly.There was no laughter on the other end of the phone. Hank didn’t make a joke, ask why she had allowed things to get this bad, or bombard her with unnecessary questions. His voice remained calm as he simply asked, “Where are you?”“I’m outside the Welson mansion,” Cassie replied, glancing up at the huge building behind her. “I just left.”Hank was silent for a mom
Cassie gave him a cold smile, her cheek still burning from the slap. “ Over my dead body will I be yours? You had the audacity to lay your hands on me. I’m adding that to the list of things I’ll be fighting you over in court because I don’t want you anymore. And don’t worry about your precious belongings. Keep everything. Keep the house. Keep the furniture. Keep the jewelry. Keep every gift you ever bought me. You can keep all of it as a reminder of the wife you were so confident would never have the courage to leave you.”“Cassie, enough,” Briar snapped.“No. I think six years was enough.” Her voice was calm, but there was no hesitation in it anymore. She had spent six years begging for love, respect, and a place in a marriage that had never truly been hers. She was done begging.Cassie reached for the door, but before stepping out, she stopped and looked back at him. “You threw me out because I asked for a divorce and hurt your pride. That’s the truth, Briar. Don’t pretend this was
The room went silent. Briar stared at her as though he had never expected those words to come from her mouth. Even Fiona looked surprised.But Erica's face twisted with disbelief. Then her expression shifted into something colder. Something crueler. "A divorce?" Erica stepped forward. Her heels clicked against the marble floor. "You want a divorce?"Cassie turned to face her. "Yes. I do."Erica laughed. It was a sharp, mocking sound. "You? The barren wife who couldn't give my son a child? You want a divorce?"Cassie's jaw tightened. "That's right."Erica stepped closer. Her eyes were cold and sharp. "Let me tell you something, Cassie. You are nothing without this family. Nothing. You have no money. No connections. No future. You are a nobody who married into a somebody."Cassie didn't flinch. "I'm aware of how you see me.""Good. Then let me make it clearer." Erica's voice was ice. "You have no right to demand anything from this family. Not a divorce. Not money. Not respect. You are l
Erica immediately stepped forward. “We’re waiting.”Sierra let out a humorless laugh and looked directly at her. “It’s my boyfriend. He’s the father.”The entire room fell silent. Briar stared at her in disbelief. “Your boyfriend?”“Yes, my boyfriend.” Sierra’s voice was steadier now. “He’s the man I’ve been dating for two years. He’s the man I love.”Erica's face was red with anger. "You lied to us.""I didn't lie. I just didn't tell you the truth.""That's the same thing!"Sierra laughed again. "Is it? Because from where I'm standing, you lied to yourselves. You wanted a surrogate. You wanted an heir. You wanted someone to carry your precious Welson baby. And you didn't care who it was or what she wanted.""We paid you!" Erica's voice rose. "We paid you to carry our grandchild!""You paid me to be a vessel. A womb. Nothing more." Sierra's voice was sharp. "You didn't care about me. You didn't care about my life. You just wanted a baby.""That's what surrogacy is!""No. Surrogacy is
Sierra’s face went pale. She stared at the pregnancy test as if she could somehow make the result disappear. “There is no father because I…” Her voice shook as she looked at the technician. “I’m not pregnant. The test must be wrong. Maybe something happened with the machine. The result could be fake.”The technician immediately shook her head. “It’s not fake. We ran the test properly, and we checked the result twice. You are three months pregnant.”“No.” Sierra shook her head quickly. “That’s impossible. I’m not—”“It is possible,” the technician interrupted firmly. “The result is clear. You are three months pregnant.”Briar stared at Sierra in disbelief. The excitement that had been on his face only moments earlier was completely gone. “You lied to me.”Sierra’s lips trembled. “Briar, I can explain.”“Explain what?” Briar’s voice suddenly rose. “You were already pregnant before you came here!”Sierra flinched and took a small step back.Briar ran a hand through his hair, his face tur







