Chapter 3

I didn't want to return to a so-called home that only made my stomach churn, so I took Daisy to the break room at my gym. She'd cried herself to sleep, but her body was still shaking with involuntary sobs.

My chest ached as I looked at her. My resolve to divorce Ava only hardened. I immediately contacted a lawyer, had a divorce agreement drafted, and sent it to Ava.

To my surprise, I only saw one gray tick after the message was sent, when there usually were two. It seemed she'd blocked me. With no other options, I printed the divorce papers, signed them, and hired a courier to deliver them to her.

One minute after the delivery was marked complete, I got a text message full of insults from Ava.

"I can't believe you're serious about this nonsense, Jordan. Are you really abandoning me and Daisy for that homewrecker? Fine. Just you wait!"

I ignored her. No matter how she slandered me, this marriage was over for me.

…

I was still asleep when a frantic pounding on the door jolted me awake. Thinking that a gym member had come early to work out, I rushed to open the door.

Unexpectedly, the person standing outside was my mother-in-law, Yvette Moore. She glared at me furiously.

I called out in confusion, "Mom?"

She spat on the floor and shot back, "Don't you dare call me that! You cheat on my daughter and then have the nerve to cause trouble for her? You want a divorce? Fine, but you walk away with nothing, and Daisy stays with Ava!"

I rejected her without hesitation, "No way."

I could accept leaving with nothing, but I would never give up custody of Daisy.

Yvette shot me a vicious glare and barked, "What do you mean, no way? You'll turn into a horrible father once you get a new wife. Do you want Daisy to grow up suffering with you?"

I frowned and tried to reassure her. "I won't ever get married again."

She rolled her eyes. "Talk is cheap. You think your mistress will just agree to that?"

By now, several gym members had already gathered at the entrance, but Yvette stood in their way, blocking them from coming in.

"Jordan Statham cheated on my daughter, but he's using her yoga classes as an excuse to divorce her. Are you sure you have the guts to work out in a place with such a heartless owner? Who knows when he'll just take the money and run?" she announced loudly. "Or is one of you his little side piece?"

Her accusing gaze swept over the crowd, as if she were determined to drag some imaginary mistress into the light.

The members' expressions shifted. The woman, especially, looked disgusted.

"I didn't do anything! Give me a refund right now. I'm not supporting some cheating jerk's business!" one woman cried.

That set off a tidal wave. Everyone started chiming in, demanding refunds.

Yvette fanned the flames. "Exactly. Get your money back. Let's see how he buys luxury goods for his mistress when he's broke!"

I stared at her incredulously. I hadn't even cheated, so how was I buying another woman luxury goods?

But the gym members only got more worked up when they heard that.

"Oh, my God! So, he's been using my money to keep his mistress? That's disgusting."

"Hurry up and give me my money back, or I'm hauling your equipment out!"

Once someone said that, everyone suddenly seemed eager to act. Yvette seized the moment and egged them on. "Do it. Take it all! Move everything out!"

With her backing them up, they ignored me completely, brushing past my attempts to stop them as they carried my gym equipment away piece by piece.

Yvette watched my confusion and helplessness with obvious satisfaction, a smug smile tugging at her lips. "Serves you right. This is what you get for breaking my daughter's heart!"

I glared at her, vision going red at the edges. My voice trembled as I demanded, "You keep saying I betrayed Ava. What proof do you have?"

She refused to answer me, turning instead to every passerby she saw, repeating the story that I'd cheated. Only after the gym had been stripped almost bare did she finally look pleased enough to leave.