He Didn’t Know She Was The Heiress Chapter 03
Aiden had been taking karate classes for years. He was still a child, but he was strong, and I hadn’t braced myself.
The impact drove my lower back into the corner of the cabinet. A sharp cramp seized my lower belly.
He kept coming at me, his fists striking my sides, his face twisted with anger.
I slapped him.
He stopped. I pushed him back, one hand pressed to my stomach. “Aiden Hayes. Who taught you it was okay to hit your own mother?”
He stared at me. I had never spoken to him like that before. Then his face crumpled and he began to wail.
Mia pulled him into her arms. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Don’t cry. This is all my fault.”
Her own tears came easily. She looked at me over his head. “Chloe, I know you hate me, but he’s your son. How could you hit him like that?”
“You’re so mean, Aunt Chloe,” Lily said. “No wonder Daddy and Aiden don’t like you.”
I looked at her. I had bought the clothes she was wearing. I had chosen the little clip in her hair.
I’d doted on her, sometimes even more than on my own son. She used to cling to me and tell me I was her favorite.
Had any of it been real?
Then again, my own child had just hit me for her mother. Why was I expecting kindness from Lily?
Julian slapped me across the face.
I lifted my eyes to his. He glanced at his hand, startled by what he’d done. For a moment, his expression faltered. Then Aiden cried louder, and Julian’s hesitation disappeared.
“I thought you were finally being reasonable,” he snapped. “I was going to make this up to you. And now you pull this?”
“I’m the one who fell in love with Mia. Stop taking it out on her.”
He gestured toward her. “She’s the reason I can keep writing. Without her, you wouldn’t get to sit at home and live off my work.”
I had thought he couldn’t hurt me anymore. My throat tightened anyway.
When he had nothing, I paid the bills. When his manuscripts came back rejected, I told him to try again. I believed in his career long before it earned enough to support us.
I’d had a career too. I gave it up for him and Aiden, and now they spoke as though I had never done a day’s work in my life.
I curled my hands into fists. “Have your lawyer handle the divorce. I want it done as soon as possible.”
Then I made myself walk upstairs.
Inside my room, I locked the door and slid to the floor. My cheek burned. I could still hear my son crying for the woman who’d taken my place.
I sat there until I could breathe evenly again. Then I reached for my phone.
I told my parents what had happened. I expected anger, perhaps an “I told you so.”
Instead, Dad said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m coming to get you. Our lawyers will find you a good divorce attorney.”
“Sweetheart,” Mom said, her voice trembling, “one bad decision doesn’t have to ruin your life. You have us. You can start over.”
“He’s just a man. You can leave him.”
For years, I had acted as though losing Julian would mean losing everything. My parents had just reminded me that it wouldn’t.
After the call, I packed. Most of my time and money had gone toward Aiden; I barely had any new clothes. There wasn’t much to take.
I had just closed my suitcase when someone knocked.
Dad would be here by that evening. Until then, I had nothing to say to anyone outside that door.
The knocking turned to pounding.
“Chloe!” Julian shouted. “Open this door, or I’m kicking it in!”
I set my suitcase aside and lay down. He could break his own door if he wanted. I wouldn’t be here to deal with it.
Mia’s muffled sobs carried through the wood. “She’s never going to forgive me. Maybe we shouldn’t take Lily to meet your family after all.”
“Mia wanted you to come with us,” Julian called. “She thought getting away would do you good. But if this is how you’re going to act, you can stay here by yourself.”
They left soon after.
Mia sent me a photo from the passenger seat. Julian sat behind the wheel in sunglasses, one arm around her. She was beaming.
“Babe, we’re out celebrating. We leave for Julian’s hometown in the morning. Try to get yourself together before we come back. You can still take care of the house.”
A second message followed.
“What else are you going to do? At least here, you can make yourself useful.”
I almost laughed. Of course they thought I had no other choice. Neither of them knew who my parents were.
When Julian and I first started dating, I told him they worked in a factory. I didn’t want him to feel inadequate next to my family.
I met Mia after I moved to Rockford, Illinois, with him. She and I worked at the same company. One day, Julian came to pick me up and recognized her; they were from the same hometown. Mia and I grew close after that.
I had felt too guilty about the rift with my parents to talk about them much. Now I was grateful I’d kept their money out of it.
If Julian had known, he might have stayed married to me just to get his hands on it.
My phone rang. I let it ring until Julian gave up and sent a text instead.
“Move your things out of the master bedroom. Mia wants it. I’ve hired cleaners. There’s stuff that needs throwing out.”
I didn’t reply.
When the cleaners arrived, I sat on the couch and watched them take down our wedding portrait. The framed family photo went into the trash, its glass breaking against the bin. They pulled down the curtains I’d chosen and threw away our matching mugs.
I had picked out every one of those things. Now strangers were clearing them away to make room for Mia.
I watched without saying a word.
Before they finished, I took my suitcase and called a cab to the hospital.
I was ending the marriage. I had decided to end the pregnancy too.