Chapter 4

​POV: Evelyn

Later in the afternoon,

​The air in the lawyer’s office was thick with the smell of expensive leather and old paper, and I sat across from Arthur while he stared at the document in front of him as if it were a death warrant rather than the freedom he had been begging for since Samantha came back into his life. The lawyer cleared his throat and pushed a fountain pen toward me, and I noticed how Arthur’s eyes flickered to my hand, perhaps looking for the wedding ring that I had already tucked away into the bottom of my purse before I walked through the door.

​"If you are both satisfied with the terms of the settlement, including the three billion dollar transfer and the deed for the Santa Monica penthouse, then we just need your signatures on these final three pages to conclude the dissolution of the marriage," the lawyer said, his voice echoing in the quiet room.

​"I’ve already checked the bank transfer, and the funds are pending the finalization of these papers, so let's just get this over with because I have a lunch meeting to attend and I'm sure Evelyn has a lot of shopping to do with her new fortune," Arthur said, his voice dripping with a bitterness that made me wonder why he was acting like the victim when he was the one who had asked for this.

​"I’m not here to shop, Arthur, I’m here to finish what you started, so let's just sign and move on with our lives like you wanted," I replied, taking the pen and scrawling my name across the line without hesitating once, even though my heart was pounding against my ribs so hard I thought he might hear it.

​Arthur grabbed the pen the second I put it down and signed his own name with such force that I thought the tip might tear through the paper, and once he was done, he stood up and straightened his jacket without looking at me, saying, "The keys to the penthouse will be delivered to you by five o'clock today, and I expect you to have the rest of your things out of my house by tomorrow evening at the latest."

​"I'll be gone long before then, Arthur, so you don't have to worry about running into me in the hallways anymore, and you can tell Rebecca she can finally stop hiding the silver whenever I walk into a room," I said, standing up and nodding to the lawyer before walking out into the hallway.

​I felt a strange sense of weightlessness as I stepped out onto the sidewalk, but the hunger and the slight nausea from the pregnancy were starting to catch up with me, so I decided to stop at a small, quiet cafe a few blocks away just to sit down and process the fact that I was officially a single woman again. I had just started sipping on a glass of ginger ale when the bell above the door chimed, and I felt my stomach drop as I saw Rebecca and Samantha walking in, their arms loaded with shopping bags from the most expensive boutiques in the city.

​"Oh look, Samantha, it’s the billionaire ex-wife, I guess she’s already out spending the money she squeezed out of my brother like a common thief," Rebecca announced, her voice booming through the small cafe and causing several people at the nearby tables to turn and stare at us.

​"Rebecca, please don't be so loud, I'm sure Evelyn is just having a quiet moment to herself now that she’s no longer part of a family that never really wanted her around anyway," Samantha said, though her eyes were shining with a mean sort of triumph as she pulled out a chair at the table right next to mine.

​"I’m just trying to have a cup of coffe, so if you two could just find another place to celebrate your victory, I’d appreciate the peace and quiet," I said, trying to keep my voice low and calm despite the way my hands were starting to shake under the table.

I froze for a moment, letting the glass tremble in my hand. My heart pounded, not from the caffeine or the pregnancy, but from the weight of their presence, their deliberate timing, their smugness. 

The small café, once a refuge, now felt like a stage, and I was the unwilling performer. 

I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks, the nausea twisting sharper, and I forced myself to swallow hard, grounding myself in the hum of conversation around us.

 I would not give them the satisfaction of seeing me falter. I would stand, sip, and breathe through it.

​"Why should we leave when we’re the ones with something to celebrate, especially since Arthur told me he felt like he was finally breathing again the moment he saw your signature on those papers," Samantha said, leaning in closer so the people around us couldn't hear her next words as she whispered, "He told me that being with you for three years felt like a prison sentence, and he only stayed because he didn't want to hurt his father’s feelings while the old man was still alive."

​"It must be so embarrassing for you, Evelyn, to know that everyone in town is talking about how you were just a placeholder for the real lady of the house, and now you’re sitting here all alone with your money while my brother is finally happy for the first time in years," Rebecca added, laughing as she signaled for a waitress.

​"I don't care what people are saying, and I don't care what Arthur told you, because the marriage is over and I have nothing left to say to either of you," I said, standing up and reaching for my bag, but Rebecca reached out and blocked my path with her shopping bags.

​"Don't run away just because we’re telling you the truth, because we all know that a girl like you, with no family and no real status, only stayed with Arthur for the bank account, and I’m just glad he finally realized what a mistake it was to let you into our home," she sneered, looking me up and down with total disgust.

​"You can think whatever you want, Rebecca, but I’m the one who walked away with enough money to never have to see your face again, so I think I’m the one who won in the end," I replied, stepping around her bags and walking toward the door while my head started to swim with a sudden wave of dizziness.

​I could hear them laughing behind me, and Samantha’s voice carried over the sound of the cafe as she said something about how Arthur would never even remember my name by next month, but I didn't turn back to look at them as I pushed open the door and stepped out into the humid afternoon air. I leaned against a nearby lamp post for a second, trying to catch my breath as a sharp pain flared in my lower abdomen, and I looked down at my hand which was still resting protectively over my stomach.

​I needed to get back to the house and get the rest of my things before Arthur came home, but as I hailed a taxi, I noticed a black car parked across the street that looked exactly like the one Samantha had been using, and I saw a man in the driver's seat holding a camera toward me.

​Was I being followed, or was this just another one of Samantha’s games to make sure I was truly miserable before I left for good?

The driver held a camera, lens on me. My chest tightened, heart hammering. 

Samantha’s games had always been cruel and petty but this felt deliberate, and far more dangerous than before.

What does she want from me now ?