I Took My Husband’s Mistress To Her Appointment. Then Sent Them Both To Prison Chapter 04
A high-pitched ringing filled my ears. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
Livia took one look at my expression and laughed. “You don’t think I’m some shameless mistress, do you?”
She paused.
“There’s no love between them. That woman saved his life once and used it to force him into marriage.”
“I think she dragged him out of a fire and burned her whole back doing it. Rhys has a soft heart. He said he’d feel guilty for the rest of his life if he didn’t marry her.”
“But that’s all it ever was.”
I stared at her.
Guilt.
The word sank into my chest like a rusted blade. Five years ago, members of a rival branch of the Sterling family set fire to Rhys’s private residence.
They meant to burn both him and the incriminating ledgers hidden inside. He collapsed from smoke inhalation as the flames climbed the staircase.
By the time I ran inside, a burning ceiling beam had already broken loose. It crashed across my back. The smell of scorched flesh filled my nose, and the pain blackened the edges of my vision.
I dragged him out anyway.
He spent three days in a hospital bed. I spent three months lying facedown in one. The day he woke, a nurse was changing my bandages when he came into my room and saw the vicious scars covering my back.
The man who never showed emotion went red around the eyes. One tear struck the back of my hand.
“Genevieve, when you’re better, we’ll get married.”
“I’ll protect you for the rest of my life. I will never let anyone hurt you again.”
My entire body shook from the pain as he spoke. Tears streamed down my face, but all I could do was nod.
I had thought that was love.
It had only been guilt.
Livia leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Between you and me, I kept refusing to have his baby because I didn’t want that woman’s child to outrank mine forever.”
“So when I found out six months ago that his wife was pregnant, I threatened to leave. He arranged for a car to hit her and end the pregnancy—then came straight to me and begged me to take him back.”
“I tested him.”
“I told him to go comfort her. He said the baby was already gone and there was no point dwelling on it. He only wanted a child with me.”
Something inside me split wide open.
That had been my third accidental pregnancy. Rhys was in New York on business, and for once, I chose to keep the baby without asking him.
By the time he returned, I was four months along. He didn’t react with the anger I expected. For one treacherous second, joy even flashed in his eyes.
I had been so happy. I thought he wanted our child too. Then he glanced at his phone, his expression darkened, and he insisted that I terminate the pregnancy.
“Genevieve, this isn’t the right time. If those people find out, both you and the baby will be in danger.”
I refused and drove toward my parents’ house in anger. A car rammed mine on the way and sped off.
By the time an ambulance got me to the hospital, my baby was gone. Several days later, Rhys texted that the hit-and-run driver had been found, but the matter couldn’t be made public. The driver had paid a private settlement of twenty thousand dollars, already deposited into my account.
Then he told me he needed to go to London for a while and that I should focus on recovering.
“Don’t be sad. Give it time.”
“We’ll have another child. I promise.”
So I waited.
I waited for him to come home. I waited for him to eliminate his rivals. I waited for him to secure his position.
In the end, I learned that he had sacrificed my child to keep another woman. I had been four months pregnant. My baby already had tiny hands, tiny feet—the shape of a tiny person I had seen on the ultrasound.
Ice spread beneath my skin.
When I spoke, my voice came out scraped raw. ” Then why doesn’t he divorce her? Why keep both women trapped like this?”
Livia sighed. “He’s trapped by guilt. As long as she refuses to leave, he can’t bring himself to ask for a divorce.”
Then she smiled again, unable to hide her triumph. “But those thirty-three abortions weren’t for nothing. When I left the hospital today, he told me he’d finish the divorce once and for all.”
“And he’d complete our marriage paperwork at the same time. Starting today, I’ll officially be Mrs. Sterling.”
Before I could respond, she picked up her phone. “Let me ask if the documents are ready.”
He answered immediately.
“Babe,” she said sweetly, “did you get the final divorce judgment? And our certified marriage record?”
A quiet laugh came through the phone. “Baby, didn’t you see the pictures I just sent?”
She opened iMessage.
The photograph showed two stamped documents side by side: a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage bearing the Los Angeles Superior Court seal, and a certified copy of a California marriage record. I stared at the photograph, and cold contempt replaced the shock.
Divorce?
I had never received a petition, service papers, or notice of a hearing. A California divorce could not be completed secretly in a single day.
As for their supposed marriage, Livia had spent the entire day with me. She had not applied for a marriage license with Rhys, participated in a ceremony performed by a legally authorized officiant, or signed and returned a completed license.
So how, exactly, had Rhys manufactured a marriage all by himself?
Livia was practically bouncing with excitement. ” Love you!”
“Hurry home. I want you to make the king crab for me.”
“Anything for you, sweetheart. Wait for me.”
She ended the call and smiled. ” Let’s sit for a while.”
“He’ll be home soon. Rhys is an amazing cook.”
I answered with a thin, humorless smile. A moment later, familiar footsteps sounded outside.
“Honey, I’m home.”
Rhys entered with his briefcase in hand. The instant his eyes met mine, his face went bloodless.
I laughed softly.
“Rhys, which woman were you calling ‘Honey’?”