My Broke Husband Bought His Mistress A Mansion Chapter 02
My chest ached the entire ride home.
I stopped at a grocery store and grabbed a bucket of fried chicken and an ice cream bar Noah had been eyeing for weeks.
Once we got home, I cranked the AC without thinking twice.
Noah looked at me nervously.
“Mom, aren’t we spending too much money today?”
I forced a smile. “It’s fine.”
For years, we’d pinched every penny we could.
We bought groceries on sale and clothes from thrift stores.
In the summer, I barely ran the AC.
In the winter, I kept the heat as low as I could stand and piled extra blankets on Noah’s bed.
But no matter how much we saved, the debt Ethan claimed he owed never seemed to shrink.
Past-due notices kept showing up in the mail. Collection calls never stopped.
And I believed every bit of it.
After dinner, Noah sat on the floor playing with a beat-up toy car we’d picked up at a yard sale.
My phone buzzed.
A large transfer from Ethan had hit my account.
Then his texts came through.
【Claire, I know you’re angry, but I can explain everything.】
【Vanessa is pregnant. She got worked up after you left, so I’m staying with her for now.】
【I’ll send someone to pick you and Noah up tonight. We’ll talk. I promise I’ll make this right.】
I stared at the money and accepted it without hesitation.
Then I looked up one of the top divorce attorneys in the city.
I’d spent years trusting Ethan and grinding myself down beside him.
Now I didn’t believe a single word out of his mouth.
By the time it got dark, there was a knock at the door.
A man in a suit stood outside.
“Mrs. Hayes? Mr. Hayes sent me to bring you and Noah over.”
I didn’t argue.
I got Noah ready and we got in the car.
We were driven straight back to the mansion.
When we walked in, Ethan and Vanessa were sitting on the couch with Lily between them, reading her a picture book.
Ethan stood the moment he saw us.
Before he could get a word out, Lily grabbed his hand.
“Daddy, why are they here?”
She glared at Noah and me.
“I don’t want them in our house. Make them leave!”
Noah’s grip tightened around my hand.
Vanessa gave Lily a gentle smile. “Lily, be nice.”
Then she turned to me, resting one hand over her belly.
The smile on her face didn’t reach her eyes.
I didn’t waste my breath.
I walked straight up to Ethan and put the divorce papers in front of him.
“Sign them.”
I met his eyes.
“Noah stays with me.”
“And everything else goes through our lawyers.”