Discarded After the Twins: A Billionaire's Revenge

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I delivered twins by C-section, and on the day I was discharged, a battered moving van pulled up in front of me.

My husband Xavier Simmons's little hometown sweetheart said, "See? I told you she'd never notice the reservation at the recovery center had been changed."

I asked what that was supposed to mean.

"Come on, I made a bet with Xav. If you didn't catch that someone else's name was on the recovery center booking, he loses, and the family van and the suite both go to me!"

Nellie Fox climbed into the family van, smug as anything.

I was shaking with anger. "Xavier, then what about me?"

Xavier pulled the door open for her, doting, then turned to me. "A bet's a bet. So I booked you a moving van."

"And Nell lost her baby. She really does need to recover properly."

"You take the van home first. It's roomy enough, you can even lie down back there."

Before I could answer, he drove off with Nellie, the van sweeping away down the street.

The moving-van driver took one look at me and the babies and startled.

"I thought this was a freight run. Didn't expect to be hauling people."

I watched the direction the family van had disappeared, and all at once this marriage felt like nothing worth keeping.

"Sir, take me to the law firm, please."

I'm not staying at that recovery center. And Xavier, I don't want you either.

……

The driver kept glancing at me in the rearview mirror, and finally he couldn't hold it in.

"Miss, you just gave birth. How is there not a single person here with you?"

"You can't get chilled or jostled right after delivery. Where's your family? They've got some nerve!"

I said nothing, awkwardly shifting to make the babies more comfortable.

The incision still ached faintly, and my body kept going weak in waves.

I took out my phone, thinking I'd play something soft to soothe the babies.

The screen lit up, and Nellie's new post popped up.

In the photo she was reclined comfortably against the van's leather seat, a soft cashmere blanket over her, the little tray table beside her covered with imported snacks and dainty cushions.

Xavier's hand, wearing the watch I'd given him, rested steady on the wheel, caught in the frame too.

The caption read: "Lost the love of my life, but still treated with such care."

Below it, Xavier's buddies lined up to like it.

The comments were all comfort and sympathy.

"Don't be sad, Nell, at least you have our Xav."

"Rest up and take care of yourself. Our hearts ache for you."

The pain hit my chest out of nowhere, and I nearly couldn't breathe.

This van was the one Xavier had made a point of taking me to the dealership to order, right when I'd found out I was carrying twins.

I still remembered him with his arm around my shoulders, thrilled:

"Look, babe, all this space."

"Once we take the two little ones out, we'll fit the car seats and the stroller with room to spare."

"When they're bigger they can even play back here."

But once Nellie showed up with that belly, everything changed.

The specialist appointment I'd finally managed to get for my prenatal checkup, she said she wanted to see a top doctor to set her mind at ease, and Xavier decided on his own to hand it over to her.

The prenatal classes we'd agreed to take together, the day before they started, he went to the coast with Nellie because she was in a bad mood, and I was the only one in the whole class sitting there alone.

Diapers, tiny clothes, diaper cream, a crib, the hospital bag… Nellie said she didn't know how to choose, so without a word Xavier had the whole set of things carted over to her apartment.

I was so furious I had a huge fight with him, but he always had a reason.

"Nia, she's all alone, no one to lean on, and pregnant on top of it. It's only right that we look out for her a little more."

"Nia, she's emotionally unstable. The doctor said it could affect the baby. Just bear with it."

"Nia, no one's more gracious than you, right?"

Right up to the day I gave birth, one call from Nellie and he didn't even wait for my answer. He turned and left, didn't even sign the surgical consent form.

In the end I signed it myself.

Before the anesthesia took hold, I had only one thought.

Xavier, we're done.

"We're here, miss."

The driver's voice pulled me back out of the memory.

Holding the babies, I walked into the city's most famous law firm looking like a mess.

The young woman at the front desk saw me and went blank with shock, then hurried over.

"Hello, do you have an appointment?"

"I'm here to see Melvin Delgado. Please tell him it's Alice Henson."

She led me to a seating area off to the side and poured me a cup of hot water.

"Lawyer Delgado is in a meeting. Please wait a moment."

I'd just sat down when Xavier's call came through.

"You home yet? I sent the postpartum nurse to look after Nell. She just got out of the hospital, she can't be without someone."

"I found you a new night nurse, but they said she can't get there until this afternoon, so just tough it out on your own for now. You're my wife. Think of it as sharing the load for me, okay?"

Sharing the load for him?

Sharing the burden of him looking after another woman?

My voice was calm. "Xavier, let's get divorced."