Chapter 3-The Mistress

       Savannah woke early. Her body was tired, but her mind refused to rest.  

The plane ticket still lay hidden under her pillow. She could not throw it away. She could not look at it without crying.  

She touched her stomach again. Her baby. Her only reason to breathe now.  

Nathaniel had already left the house, as always. No words, no glance, no care.  

The silence in the mansion was louder than any scream.  

Savannah forced herself to dress. She needed air. She needed to see something other than walls that reminded her of his hate.  

So she walked out and went to the city. She did not even know why she chose to go near his company building. Maybe her heart was still foolish. Maybe she still hoped he would look at her once, not with hate, but with something human.  

When she reached the tall glass tower that carried his name, she froze.  

Through the clear doors she saw him. Nathaniel.  

But he was not alone.  

A woman with long legs and red lips stood beside him, clinging to his arm like she belonged there. Cassandra. His mistress. She wore a tight red dress that caught every eye, her smile sharp and proud.  

Savannah’s chest tightened. She wanted to turn and run, but her feet would not move. Her heart cracked as she watched Cassandra lean close to him, whispering in his ear, her eyes shining with victory.  

People passed by, some looking at Savannah, some at Nathaniel and Cassandra. The gossip was already in the air.  

“Isn’t that the wife?” someone whispered.  

“She looks so weak.”  

“No wonder he chose another.”  

Savannah’s cheeks burned. Her eyes stung. But she stood there, frozen, staring at the man who once stood before the altar with her, now standing so easily with another woman in public.  

Then she heard Cassandra’s voice, loud enough to cut through the glass as the doors slid open.  

“Nathaniel, why do you still let her stay in your house?” Cassandra said, her voice full of poison sugar. “She is nothing. If she refuses to leave, drag her out. Throw her out with her things. I will move in and take care of you the way a real woman should.”  

Savannah’s breath caught. Her chest felt like it was being ripped open.  

Nathaniel’s face was cold as always. His deep voice answered, flat and sharp, “Don’t worry. She won’t last much longer.”  

Savannah staggered back, her eyes wide. The words hit harder than any slap. He was planning to throw her out. He had already chosen Cassandra. He was ready to erase her completely.  

She pressed her hand to her belly again, tears flooding her eyes. Her baby. Their baby. Did he really mean to throw them both away as if they were nothing?  

Cassandra laughed softly, holding his arm tighter. “Good. You deserve better than a weak little mouse. I’ll give you everything she couldn’t.”  

Savannah could not listen anymore. Her legs finally moved, carrying her away from the building. Her tears blurred the street lights as she walked, her body trembling.  

She found herself in a small park nearby. She sat on a bench, her body shaking, her mind spinning.  

She whispered to herself, “He really wants me gone… He really never loved me.”  

Her hand pressed harder on her stomach, as if she could shield the child from the cruel world waiting outside. “But I will not let him take you from me. I will not let them win.”  

For the first time, her heart burned not just with pain but with a spark of fire. If Nathaniel and Cassandra wanted her gone, if they thought she was weak, she would show them she was not.  

But still, the fear clung to her. Where would she go? How would she raise a child alone?  

Her phone buzzed. It was a message from Nathaniel.  

*Be ready. We need to talk tonight.*  

Her chest tightened. What did he mean? Was he going to force her out now?  

Her tears returned. She felt trapped, like a bird in a cage that was about to be thrown out into a storm.  

That night, she sat in the living room, waiting. The mansion was dark, only the sound of rain against the windows.  

When the front door opened, Nathaniel stepped in, tall, cold, untouchable. He looked at her once, his face unreadable.  

“Savannah,” he said slowly, “we can’t keep going like this.”  

Her lips trembled. “You want me to leave.”  

His eyes were sharp. “You already know the answer.”  

Her heart raced. She stood, her body shaking but her eyes wet with fire. “And what about the child inside me? Will you throw us both out?”  

The silence that followed was heavy, dangerous.  

Nathaniel’s eyes darkened. He stepped closer, his voice low and cold.  

“Don’t test me, Savannah. You know I never wanted you. Don’t make me prove how far I can go.”  

Her breath caught. Her tears fell.  

But deep inside, a voice whispered back at her: *Fight. For yourself. For your baby.*  

And as his cold eyes burned into hers, Savannah knew this was the moment.  

The choice was close. The pain was close.  

And the war for her child had just begun.