Todos os capítulos de His Perfect Marriage Cost Me Everything: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

I booked a refundable flight to Portland for the following Friday afternoon. Mom still lived there. I would stay with her while I found work and somewhere of my own.Before I left, I needed the doctor to clear me to fly and send my records to a specialist near her.When the hospital asked me to stay overnight, I looked at the estimate.The nurse pulled up a chair.“We can arrange payment later. Right now, we need to monitor you and the baby.”I called Mom and told her where I was. Then I put my phone away and stayed.The next morning, the doctor discharged me with instructions to rest, attend the follow-up appointment, and return immediately if the pain or bleeding worsened.I asked her to write everything down.Dante could argue with me. He could read the same instructions I had.By the time I reached the brownstone, my bandaged palms were damp with rain.Two of Dante’s soldiers stood at the entrance. One opened the door without meeting my eyes. Once, he would have called a driver bef

The total was twenty-seven thousand dollars.“Dante, you froze the account I use. You know I don’t have that.”Dante rubbed his forehead.“I’ve given you so much, Elena. Why is meeting me halfway such an insult?”My phone rang before I could answer. It was Mom.I put her on speaker because my hands hurt too much to keep holding it.“Sweetheart, I spoke to the specialist’s office, like you asked. The private care plan comes to eight thousand. I can send five. Can Dante cover the other three?”She meant the monitoring and follow-up care my doctor wanted arranged, the support Dante had canceled with a phone call.His head came up.“Has something changed with the baby?”For one second, I thought he would finally listen.Then Vivienne laughed.“Oh, Dante. First the fertility bills, now her mother calling with a crisis. This is exactly what we discussed.”Mom went quiet.“Mrs. Ward,” Vivienne said brightly, “we’re trying to help Elena become less dependent. Calling in reinforcements doesn’t

“Married to a multimillionaire and still looking for a richer man.”That was her caption.“First she fakes a pregnancy crisis. Then she goes hunting at a private club when her husband won’t hand over cash. Book a consultation to learn the warning signs before someone like this destroys your life.”The boutique posted its own clip.It began with my hand around Vivienne’s wrist. It cut straight to the shattered display.“This woman tried to sell us counterfeit designer goods. When her husband confronted her, she wrecked a five-thousand-dollar cabinet. We’re still waiting for payment.”My face was clear in every frame. My swollen belly was visible beneath my coat.Strangers called me a gold digger. A scammer. A disgrace to my husband.I sat outside the examination room and called Dante.“Vivienne posted a video saying I went to the club to find another man. I was collecting equipment for a job.”“I know you wouldn’t go looking for another man, Elena.”“Then have her take it down.”“I’ll s

The comments were moving too fast to read.Vivienne gripped Dante’s sleeve.“Please. Help me clear this up. Tell them the recording is fake. AI can make anything now.”He stared at her.“When we get back, I’ll talk to Elena. I can fix this. Just don’t let these people destroy me.” Her voice broke. “I’m scared.”“You’re scared.”He repeated it quietly.Then he took the phone she was using to stream and threw it into the sea.The broadcast ended.He left her on the beach and went back to the villa.The next attachment was the discharge summary. Then a photograph of the small hospital keepsake box. Inside were the footprints of a son he would never hold.Luca.They had chosen that name together.Dante remembered kneeling on the nursery floor with paint on his cuff. He remembered arguing that the crib should be moved because the morning sun might fall across the baby’s face.He had ordered things from three countries. He had told his men that nobody was to wake Elena, no matter what happen

The stories spread.“She finds wealthy men whose marriages are in trouble, calls herself a specialist, and tells them everything is their wife’s fault.”“She takes the fees. Then she starts asking for gifts.”“She left London because someone finally checked her credentials.”The comments beneath my post changed just as quickly.“His wife fed him when he had nothing.”“He believed a stranger’s spreadsheet over seven years with her.”“Not a stranger. Apparently that made it worse.”“She helped him build a life, and he punished her for living in it.”Vivienne lost her clients. Complaints became lawsuits. The jewelry she had taken was recovered through the attorneys, including my grandmother’s bracelet.Dante’s respectable businesses suffered too. Partners wanted reassurance. Directors wanted meetings. His men wanted instructions.For weeks, he barely answered them.Then one night, my phone lit up.We need to discuss the divorce. I won’t sign the settlement without seeing you.I had left e