### Chapter 3
Mid-rant, Stewart's gaze snagged on the gauze wrapped around my head.
The alcohol had worn off by now, and a flicker of guilt crossed his face. "Your head..."
Before he could finish, Vivian burst through the door, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe:
"Stewart, maybe I should just go get rid of the baby right now! Better that than having everyone call it a bastard!"
Stewart panicked. He pulled her into his arms, his voice going impossibly soft:
"Don't talk like that. You're not the other woman, and our baby is not a bastard!"
"We have a marriage certificate. You are my lawful wife."
"Anyone who says otherwise, I'll destroy them."
But Vivian only cried harder, on the verge of passing out:
"But everyone knows Leonora is your fiancée. I should just stop being an eyesore and leave right now!"
Stewart held her tighter, not bothering to hide his devotion:
"I already told her I'd settle things with her in a couple of years. What more does she want?"
"Stop crying. Every tear you shed feels like a knife in my chest."
Vivian struggled in his arms:
"But everyone thinks I'm the other woman. I can never show my face again. What's the point of staying by your side?"
The moment he heard that, Stewart pulled out his phone and called his assistant, barking orders that the wedding was back on.
Not only that, he wanted the whole thing upgraded to a multimillion-dollar affair.
"That way, the entire world will know that you, Vivian Porter, are my wife."
Vivian finally quieted, burying her face in his chest as her sobs turned into a coy smile. "Stewart, you're so good to me. How could I ever bear to leave you after two years?"
"Then don't. I'll take care of you and our child for the rest of your lives."
Once Vivian was properly soothed, Stewart finally lifted his head and looked at me with a sidelong glare:
"Why are you still standing there? Did you post the clarification? If you did, then hurry up and apologize to Vivian!"
Watching their little love show, I felt like I was the other woman in this story. The laughable third wheel.
But I hadn't done anything wrong. Why should I apologize to her?
"Stewart, what if I say no?"
He stared at me with that look, as though he had me all figured out, and let out a single contemptuous scoff.
"You're clinging on and refusing to leave because you want money. Just say it."
He pulled out a checkbook, scrawled a few strokes with a flourish, and slapped it on the desk.
"You were with me for years, so I'll be generous. A hundred thousand should cover it. Now go stand in front of the entire company and clarify that Vivian is not the other woman."
Employees had crowded around the office doorway, craning their necks for the show.
Feeling every last one of those contemptuous stares boring into me, I laughed. For real this time.
So that was all I was worth. A hundred thousand dollars.
"What's so funny? Think it's not enough? Every meal you ate, every thing you used these past years came out of my pocket."
"You should be grateful I'm offering you a hundred grand at all."
Listening to him say it with such righteous conviction, I felt nothing but a bone-deep bleakness.
I must have been blind to have loved a man like this for six whole years.
I reached across the desk and picked up the check. Slowly.
A knowing smirk tugged at the corner of Stewart's mouth.
Then, right in front of him, I tore it to shreds.
"Keep the money. Your happy little family of three is going to need it."
And that day was coming sooner than he thought.
Stewart's face twisted with humiliated rage.
"Leonora, I told you the wedding is just postponed! It's not like I said I'd never marry you!"
He still believed that no matter how far he pushed, I'd be standing in the same spot, waiting.
But betrayal was the one thing I would never forgive.
"Save it. You'd better enjoy your wedding with her while you can. It might just be the last party you ever throw."
The words left my mouth laced with ice.
"Leonora, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
He noticed me bending down to gather my things from the floor, and he froze mid-step:
"You're quitting?"
"There's no reason for me to stay."
I packed my belongings into a box without once looking up at him.
"Fine! Then get the hell out of my sight! Once you leave Delgado Corp, let's see which company in this city would dare hire you!"
