All Chapters of Side Chick Tax: Everything: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Irene crouched and reached for Wesley's hand. He yanked it away.She forced a smile. "Wesley, don't do this. I'm carrying your child too.""You don't get it!" Wesley snapped, his voice blowing up out of nowhere. "Leighton Corp holds forty percent of the shares. Every loan I got was backed by Lyra's assets."Irene went pale. "Wh-What are you saying?""Without Lyra, I'm nothing," he shouted, the sound of his own voice catching him off guard.Wesley remembered the year Leighton Corp first invested, the celebration banquet where he'd gotten wasted without meaning to.When Lyra stepped in and took a drink for him, a business partner laughed it off. "Mr. Cheswick, you married well. Ms. Leighton really gave you a head start."He remembered Lyra's face turning cold, the way she shut it down in front of everyone, saying he earned the investment on his own.Later that night, he'd been bent over the toilet, throwing up. She wiped his tear-soaked face with a warm towel, steady and quiet.

Rain streamed down Wesley's forehead, burning his eyes. Standing on the sidewalk, Lyra's words from that day slammed back into him, the moment the bodyguards'd pinned her shoulders and forced her down."Wesley, why have you never once been willing to believe me?"The words cut straight through his chest.Why had that boy pointed at Lyra so easily?Why had she kept insisting she wasn't the one who pushed Irene?By nature, if she'd really done something wrong, she would've owned it.She was always that kind of person. Upright. Honest.He spun around and took off toward the hospital, heart slamming hard against his ribs.He needed to confront Irene.He needed the truth.***The hospital corridor was empty. As Wesley reached Irene's room, he slowed. Her voice drifted out through the door."Mom, relax. He just can't accept it yet." Irene sounded smug. "Give it time. He'll get over it. He's already wrapped around my finger."Wesley's hand locked on the door handle."You didn't

Wesley dragged himself toward the study. His steps felt heavy. Blue light from the computer screen sliced through the dark room.He opened the email. A surveillance video.He hit play—and locked up.Onscreen, Irene sat there swinging her legs, playful. "Wesley, paint mine too?"He watched himself smile, watched his own hands fumble with the nail polish as he painted her toes.Then came the part that crushed him.He leaned down and kissed the top of her freshly painted foot.Snap.Wesley slammed the laptop shut. His chest heaved.He couldn't stop picturing Lyra watching that video. Every second of it.His fingers shook as he opened the email details. Sent a week ago.He dialed the nail salon, panic edging his voice. "Why... Why did Lyra ask for the security footage?""Mr. Cheswick?" The employee recognized him right away. "Ms. Leighton noticed a discrepancy in her store credit balance. Per policy, we provided the purchase history. There was a charge for twenty-eight hundred

Lyra stood at the gates of the Leighton estate. Victor hurried out, long strides, and pulled her into a hug."How'd you get so thin?" His voice caught. He patted her back, the same way he had when she was a kid.Her dad's familiar scent hit her all at once. Her eyes burned. The tears came anyway. "Dad, I was so blind.""Don't say that." Victor held her face, wiped her tears with his thumb. "Wesley was never good enough for you. Bennard's son flies back to Carmoria tomorrow. Didn't that kid chase you nonstop when you were younger?"Lyra let out a shaky laugh. "Dad, I just got divorced.""Then treat it like seeing an old friend." Victor slipped an arm around her shoulders and guided her inside. He called over his shoulder, "Martha! Bring up the bone broth that's been simmering. And tell the kitchen—no sugar in anything this month!"The bedroom hadn't changed.Lilac sheets. The vanity by the window. Even the small nightlight by the bed.Her mind drifted to the house she'd shared w

Lyra stood in the walk-in closet, fingers grazing the lilac dress.She took a breath and slipped it on, then gave a quick spin in the mirror.Good. Still fit at the waist."Well, don't you look fancy?" Victor leaned on the doorframe with his coffee, smiling. "Didn't you say you were done with dating for at least a month?""It's a class reunion!" Lyra's ears burned as she snatched her bag and bolted. "Where's the white jacket Martha pressed last night?"She yanked open the front door and almost ran straight into a solid chest.Theo stood at the bottom of the steps in a white shirt and a lilac knit sweater, warm almond milk in hand.They both froze when their eyes met."You..." Lyra pointed at his outfit, then down at her dress.Theo's ears went red. "Coincidence. Total coincidence."He held out the almond milk, a little awkward. "From your favorite place. I asked for less sugar."She took it, heat soaking through the lid into her palm.College hit her all at once. Theo sneak