CHAPTER 004

LAUREN’S POV

Ethan looked up, his smile dropping fast. He frowned, like he was annoyed. Like I was the one doing something wrong.

“What are you doing here, Lauren?” he asked, standing up slowly. He didn’t even look surprised to see me. No smile, no warmth, just those cold, annoyed brown eyes.

I held up the USB, my hands trembling. “You left this,” I said, forcing the words out of my mouth.

“I told Rosa to bring it,” he said sharply. “Not you. You shouldn't have bothered coming."

That was the first thing he said. Not thank you. Not are you okay? Not even a quick lie to pretend he cared about my feelings. No, he was mad that I came instead of the maid.

I blinked, staring at him. “That’s what you’re upset about?”

He said nothing. Just stood there, his jaw tight.

Before I could say another word, the lady sitting beside him spoke.

“Ethan… who is she?”

Her voice was smooth, soft, almost mocking. I turned to look at her. She crossed her legs slowly, like she was in no rush. Her nails were painted a pale pink, and the way she looked at me made my skin crawl.

Ethan didn’t answer right away. I turned to him, heart pounding in my chest, waiting for him to speak. But he just opened his mouth, then closed it again.

So I answered for him.

“I’m his wife,” I said quietly. I held up my left hand and showed her the ring.

But then I looked down at Ethan’s hand. It was bare. No ring. No sign he’d ever worn one to work.

My chest felt like it cracked open. That moment hit me so hard, I almost forgot to breathe.

“Oh,” the woman said, blinking at me. “You didn’t mention a wife last night when I asked you.”

Last night.

Those two words echoed in my head. Then it clicked, she was the same woman from the photo. The lipstick. The lie. The intern at the company he said not to worry about. It was her. He was with her.

My throat burned.

Ethan must’ve seen it in my face, the way I finally put it all together. That’s when he quickly stepped in.

“Yes, I’m married,” he said, like it was suddenly important now. “This is Lauren. My wife. Lauren, this is Sofia...an old friend from college.”

Sofia.

I already knew. But hearing the name out loud still made my stomach twist.

Sofia turned back to me, and for a few seconds, she just looked. Up and down. Her eyes sharp. Her mouth curled into the smallest smirk as her eyes dragged over my outfit, my hair, my body. She wasn't even subtle about it.

Then she laughed. Just a little.

“Wow! I honestly can’t believe it,” she said, almost like she was talking to herself. “Ethan… really? This is who you ended up with?”

I felt the burn in my face. "Excuse me?” I said, my voice tight.

She kept smiling like I wasn’t even worth being mad at.

“I mean, no offense,” she said with a shrug, even though offense was clearly the point. " She's not what I expected. Did you stop caring about appearances completely? She's... so plain. And you’ve gained a lot of weight, haven’t you? You could’ve at least dressed up properly before coming here.”

I froze.

I turned to Ethan. Waiting. Begging silently for him to say something. To tell her to shut her mouth. To defend me, just once.

But he didn’t.

No "Don't talk to her like that."

Instead, his face… his face said everything. He was embarrassed of me.

The same man who used to kiss my stretch marks and say they were proof I brought our daughter into the world… now looked like he didn’t even want to be seen beside me.

I looked down at my outfit.

Jeans, blouse, nothing fancy but clean, neat, decent. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I came here to drop off his stupid USB, not walk a red carpet.

And no...I wasn’t skinny like I used to be in college. I had a child. I had a life. And I was tired. But I wasn’t ugly. I wasn’t nothing.

I looked up at Ethan again. “You’re really going to let her talk to me like that?”

He didn’t answer.

I felt my knees go weak, but I stayed standing. I wouldn’t cry in front of her. I wouldn’t give her that.

My mind started spinning, pulling me back to college. Back to when it all started.

I was just the quiet transfer student on scholarship. Ethan and Sofia were the golden couple back then. Everyone knew them. They were rich, good-looking, and popular.

Until his family lost their money. And she dropped him like he was trash. I still remember how bad he took it. The whispers in the hallway. The pity. The gossip.

I had liked Ethan then quietly from afar. I never expected him to notice me but one day, he did. He asked me out. Took me for coffee. Talked to me like I mattered. I thought… maybe he was different.

Now here we were.

Full circle.

Sofia was back, sitting in his office like she never left. Like I never existed.

And yeah, maybe I had gained a little weight. But I had also grown a life inside me. Carried our daughter, stayed up through fevers and nightmares, and ran a home while he “worked late.”

Ethan used to say he liked me this way. He used to tell me I didn’t need to lose a pound. “You’re perfect the way you are,” he’d say. “Don’t stress yourself.”

So why was he quiet now?

Why did he look like he agreed with everything Sophia just said?

I held onto my pride and tried to keep my voice from shaking.

“Why are you even here?” I asked, my voice steady. “Why are you sitting this close to my husband? Acting like you belong here?”

She smiled again, but this time, it wasn’t playful. It was cold.

“I have every right to be close to Ethan,” she said simply.

Then she leaned back against the couch like she was on a talk show.

“And,” she added, dragging the word out slowly, “I’m pregnant.”

The room spun.

My legs felt like jelly.

I blinked at her. “What?”

“I’m expecting Lauren,” she said, placing a hand on her flat stomach. The smirk on her face turned smug. "Ethan’s baby.”