Chapter 3

I felt sick to my stomach and shoved Hudson away hard.

Hudson froze, his expression darkening. "Honey, what's wrong? It's been half a month since we…"

"I'm exhausted today. I don't feel well." I turned away coldly so he could not see the disgust in my eyes. "Plus, I have to get up early tomorrow to meet a client. I'm not in the mood."

A flash of anger crossed Hudson's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. "Fine. Your work is the most important thing. You've become such a career woman, you don't even care about your husband anymore."

With that, he grabbed his pillow. "I'll sleep in the guest room, so I don't disturb you."

After he left, I peeked through the door crack and saw he did not go to the empty guest room at all. Instead, he went straight into Mia's room.

I laughed bitterly to myself, then locked the bedroom door.

…

Watching Mia's belly grow bigger day by day, and seeing Hudson fuss over her constantly, the hatred inside me snowballed. But on the surface, I became calmer and calmer.

Soon came our seventh wedding anniversary. We had a tradition we never broke: no matter how busy we were, we would go see a movie together on this day every year, reliving our first date.

Hudson had even booked the tickets a week in advance. The screen showed a touching romance. I held the popcorn Hudson had bought, but I felt nothing.

Hudson sat beside me, physically present but his mind already elsewhere. His phone screen lit up every few minutes.

The movie had barely been playing for half an hour when Hudson's phone started buzzing. He glanced at the screen, and his expression changed drastically.

"Hello? Mia? What's wrong? Your stomach hurts?"

My grip on the popcorn tightened.

"What? Okay, don't panic. I'm coming home right now!"

Hudson hung up and turned to me, looking apologetic. "Honey, I'm sorry. Mia's having severe stomach pain. I need to go check on her. It would be bad if something happened."

I looked at his face in the dim glow of the big screen. "Hudson, it's our seventh anniversary. The movie isn't even over yet."

"Come on, honey, we can watch a movie anytime. Why are you being so unreasonable!" Hudson frowned impatiently. Without even waiting for my response, he grabbed his jacket and rushed out of the theater.

I sat there alone in the darkness, watching the couple on screen kiss, and it all felt painfully ironic.

When I got home, Mia was lounging on the couch, playing with a rose in her hand. She did not look like she suffered any stomach pain at all. She was even wearing my pajamas.

When she saw me come in, she stroked her belly and lazily sat up. "Charlotte, you're back! Your pajama set is really nice, so I borrowed it to wear. You don't mind, do you?"

I frowned. In the past, Mia and I had been close enough to share clothes without a second thought. But now, her wearing my pajamas felt like she was saying she wanted my pajamas and my husband too.

I looked at Mia's bulging belly and thought she probably only had about a month left before giving birth.

I forced down my anger and smiled. "If you like them that much, they're yours."

Without waiting for her reaction, I walked straight into the study and locked the door behind me. Then I called my lawyer, Robert Williams.

"The timing's about right. I'm sending you all the evidence I've collected now. Please put together divorce papers as soon as possible. I want Hudson to leave with nothing."