I closed out of the computer and called Harper Jennings, my best friend and divorce attorney.
“Harper, I need a favor.”
“I want a divorce. And I want him to leave with nothing. I want him ruined.”
Harper and I stayed up all night going through the assets. Then my phone buzzed with a friend request on social media.
The profile picture was a woman holding a child.
Gwendolen Whitney.
Her message read：Hi, Molly's mom! I'm Nathan's mom. Our kids are going to be classmates now. We should swap parenting tips sometime!
I stared at the screen, pressing my lips into a thin line.
She was already coming for me.
I hit accept.
Gwendolen sent a voice message, thirty-some seconds long.
I tapped it open. Her voice spilled out.
“Molly's mom, I'm so sorry to bother you this late.”
“So here's the thing, this weekend is my little Nathan's fifth birthday, and we're throwing a party at home.”
“We've invited tons of kids. Molly should totally come! Our backyard is huge. The kids will love it.”
She was showing off the villa and her perfect little family.
I typed back：“Sounds great! Molly's been wanting to make more friends.”
That weekend, I held my daughter's hand and walked into that villa.
Gwendolen greeted us at the door.
“Molly's mom, come in, come in!” She looped her arm through mine.
Then she launched right in.
“Oh my gosh, this dress? My husband insisted on buying it for me. Said I looked gorgeous in it.”
“You know how men are. Where they spend their money is where their heart is.”
I hadn't bought anything for myself in a long time.
Ervin always said he felt bad that I was so frugal, then said he never had time to take me shopping.
Now I knew where all his time went.
I forced the corners of my mouth up.：“Really? Your husband sounds so generous.”
Gwendolen pulled me along for a tour of her home.
“Come on, let me show you Nathan's playroom. My husband hired a designer for it. Everything's eco-friendly.”
She pushed open a door on the second floor. Inside, toys covered every surface.
The walls were plastered with family photos. A family of three.
The largest one showed Ervin in the delivery room, watching as the umbilical cord was cut.
My fists clenched. I sucked in air through my teeth.
Nathan pointed at the photos on the wall and announced：
My daddy tucks me in every single night! I'm his precious little baby!”
“Not like some kids who never even get to see their daddy!”
Molly tilted her face up toward the photo. She tugged at the hem of my shirt.
Her eyes brimmed with tears, and her voice cracked when she spoke.
“Mommy, Nathan's daddy……why does he look exactly like my daddy……”
I clenched my jaw and stared at the photos on the wall.
I would never let them get away with this.
I crouched down and covered Molly's eyes with my hand.
“It's okay, baby. That's not Daddy. He just looks like him.”
I drew a breath and held my daughter close, soothing her.
Gwendolen stood off to the side, hand over her mouth, laughing softly.
“Oh, don't mind her, Molly's mom. Kids mix people up all the time. Totally normal.”
She walked over and patted my shoulder.
“My husband's a senior executive. Super busy. But he still makes time to revolve his whole world around me and Nathan. Couldn't possibly be someone else's daddy too.”
She leaned in close to my ear, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“Belinda, I hear your husband's been using business trips as an excuse. Hasn't touched you in, what, half a year?”
“Must be awful, being a married widow.”
Every muscle in my body went rigid. I lifted my head and locked eyes with Gwendolen.
I took one step toward her and flicked the switch on the voice recorder in my pocket.
I curved my lips into a smile.
Then I kept going.
“You've been talking him up so much, now I really do want to meet this perfect husband of yours.”
“Come to think of it, he's never once shown up to a parent-teacher conference at the kindergarten, has he?”
“Loves his kid so much, but can't spare even that little bit of time?”
Gwendolen blinked, then lifted her chin.
“He's busy! Not like some housewives who have nothing better to do than hover over their kids all day.”
“He went to pick up Nathan's custom birthday cake today. He'll be back any minute!”
“Just you wait. You're about to see what a real perfect husband looks like!”
The words had barely left her mouth when the keypad on the villa's front door beeped.
The door swung open.
Ervin walked in carrying a two-tier cake.
His head was down as he called out.
“Honey, Nathan, come look what Daddy brought home!”
The living room went silent.
Every pair of eyes locked on the man in the doorway.
I rose from the couch.
I stared straight at Ervin and let a cold smile curl across my lips.
“Honey!”
“Which wife are you calling for?”
