Chapter two

The music in the background was loud as Jake Campbell stared at his phone.

Natalie..Again.

His jaw tightened slightly as he looked at the screen.

Why was she calling him?

She had not called him in a long time. Not like before. Back then, whenever he did not come home, she would blow up his phone endlessly until he snapped and turned it off. She had cried, pleaded, accused. She had made it unbearable.

He had put a stop to that.

He had warned her..clearly and firmly..that she was never to call him unless it had something to do with their daughter.

So this had to be about Skylar.

Maybe Natalie needed him to attend another parents-teacher meeting on Skylar’s behalf again. She was always asking him to show up, always acting like it mattered.

Jake leaned back against the leather seat of the VIP lounge, ignoring the call.

The club was packed. The lights were dim and expensive-looking, casting flashes of gold and red across the room. The table in front of them was cluttered with bottles and glasses. One of the bottles alone cost almost a hundred thousand, and Jake had ordered it without blinking.

Tonight was Selena’s birthday. He wanted it to be perfect.

“Jakie.”

Selena nudged his arm gently, leaning into him. Her perfume mixed with the sharp scent of alcohol and smoke. She smiled up at him, eyes bright, lips already curved like she knew she was exactly where she belonged.

Jake looked down at her and returned the smile.

She had suggested this place herself. One of the best clubs in the city. Fancy. Exclusive. The kind of place Natalie would never feel comfortable in.

His phone vibrated again.

This time, he frowned when he saw the name.

Parker.

He answered, irritation already brewing beneath the surface.

“Where are you?” Parker asked where he was.

Jake did not bother lowering his voice. He told him plainly that he was at Échelon, celebrating Selena’s birthday.

There was a brief silence on the line. Then the call ended.

Jake pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it for a second before dropping it onto the table.

Selena watched him closely. “Who was that?”

“Parker,” Jake said dismissively, reaching for his drink.

Her lips pressed together for a brief moment before she leaned closer.

“When are you going to divorce her?” she asked.

Jake stiffened slightly.

“And marry me,” Selena continued calmly. “And take me and my son in.”

Her voice was smooth, confident. Like the question was overdue.

Jake exhaled slowly. “Soon.”

She laughed quietly. “You always say that.”

He did not respond.

Selena tilted her head, studying him. “Is it that you do not want to divorce that wretched Natalie?” she asked lightly. Then her smile sharpened. “Or is it that you are in love with her?”

Jake turned to her sharply. “Do not ever say that.”

Her brows lifted viciously but Jake did not see that.

“I only married her because she gave my mother one of her kidneys,” he said coldly. “That is it. I would have divorced her a long time ago if it was not for Skylar.”

The words had barely settled when the door to the VIP lounge burst open.

The sound cut through the music sharply, it made Jake look up.

Natalie stood at the entrance.

Her hair was messy, her eyes swollen and red, her face streaked with dried tears. She looked nothing like the woman he was used to seeing at home. There was something raw and unstable about her presence, something that made the air feel heavier.

Parker stood behind her, tense and breathing hard.

Everything in the room seemed to pause.

Jake stood slowly. “What are you doing here?”

Natalie walked further inside, her gaze fixed on him. “I came to ask for a divorce.”

The words were flat, there was no emotion in them.

Jake stared at her, genuinely stunned.

This was the same Natalie who had spent years trying to please him. The same woman who watched her tone carefully around him, who avoided confrontation, who apologized too easily.

“Is this some kind of joke?” he asked.

“No,” Natalie said. “I am done.”

He let out a short laugh. “And where exactly do you think you are going to go?”

She did not answer immediately.

“What are you going to do without me?” Jake continued. “You cannot even stand on your own.”

Natalie looked around the lounge briefly, taking in the expensive surroundings, the bottles on the table, Selena standing beside him like she belonged there.

Then she laughed…It was not hysterical. It was tired laugh.

“Why do you care?” she asked. “You do not love me. You never did.”

Jake folded his arms. “Do not start this here.”

“I am not starting anything, Jake” Natalie said. “I am ending it.”

“You are being dramatic,” he said. “You always do this when you want attention.”

Her eyes hardened. “I stopped wanting your attention a long time ago.”

Jake scoffed. “You expect me to believe that?”

“Yes,” she said. “Because I am tired. I am tired of pretending this marriage means something. I am tired of pretending you are a husband.”

“You knew what this was when you married me,” he shot back.

“I did not know you would disappear,” Natalie replied. “I did not know you would choose another woman over your own family again and again.”

Jake’s jaw clenched. “Watch your mouth.”

“Why?” she asked. “Because the truth embarrasses you?”

“You have no idea what you are talking about,” he said.

“I know you are never home,” Natalie said. “I know you miss birthdays. I know Skylar stopped asking where you are because she already knows you will not come.”

That landed hard like a slap to wake him to reality.

Jake took a step closer. “Do not use my daughter against me.”

“She is our daughter,” Natalie said firmly. “But you act like she is an inconvenience.”

“That is enough,” he snapped.

“No,” she replied. “It is not. You stay out all night. You spend money on clubs and bottles that cost more than you have ever spent on your own child. And you still come home and look at me like I am the problem.”

Jake’s eyes darkened. “You should be grateful.”

“For what?” she asked. “For being tolerated?”

“You live under my roof,” he said. “You have a name because of me.”

“And I gave your mother a kidney,” Natalie said quietly. “But that never earned me respect.”

Jake said nothing.

“You keep me around because I am convenient,” she continued. “Not because I matter.”

Selena shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Why was this bitch causing a scene here? When did she stop being the fearful obedient Natalie they all knew

“That is not how this works,” Jake said. “You cannot just walk in here and demand a divorce.”

“I am not demanding,” Natalie said. “I am informing you.”

Selena stepped forward then, placing a gentle hand on Natalie’s arm.

“Please, let us all calm down,” she said softly. “You are clearly upset.”

Natalie reacted instantly…she shoved Selena away.

Selena cried out and fell backward onto the floor and Jake lost it.

He moved fast, crossing the distance between them and striking Natalie hard across the face.

The sound echoed across the room followed by gasps.

Natalie fell, her head hitting the edge of the table as she collapsed.

Parker shouted her name and rushed to her side as blood began to seep from her temple.

Jake did not look at her. He turned to Selena instead, lifting her into his arms.

As he headed toward the door, he glared back at Natalie.

“You better pray nothing happens to her,” he said. “Or I will make you pay.”

Then he was gone.

Parker knelt beside Natalie, panic flooding his chest. She was barely conscious as blood pooled beneath her head.

He lifted her carefully and carried her out of the club.

Outside, the cold night air hit them…Natalie stirred weakly.

“Do not…do not let me lose my baby,” she whispered. “Please, Parker…”

Then she went limp in his arms