The front door clicked open at 7:00 AM.
I stood in the kitchen, gripping the edge of the marble island until my knuckles turned white.
"Morning, beautiful," Alexander called out, walking in with a flawless, exhausted smile.
He loosened his silk tie and pressed a quick, obligatory kiss to my cheek. "Sorry I'm so late. The client dinner ran into the early hours. You know how these investors are."
The faint, lingering scent of Serena’s sweet vanilla perfume clung to his collar. My stomach violently churned.
Every instinct in my body screamed at me to slap him, to ask how he could look me in the eye and lie so effortlessly after what I had recorded at the club just hours ago.
But I swallowed the glass in my throat. I forced a gentle, oblivious smile.
"It's okay, honey," I said softly. "I know how hard you're working for our family."
"Always," he murmured, not looking at my eyes, not touching my stomach. "I need a quick shower before I head back to the office."
As soon as the bathroom door shut and the water ran, my smile dropped. I walked over to his discarded suit jacket.
I didn't need high-tech hacking skills to know my husband was a liar; I just needed to look in his pockets. I slid my hand into the inner lining.
My fingers brushed against cold, heavy metal. I pulled it out.
A sleek, titanium black Centurion card. An exclusive, invite-only credit card with no limit.
A bitter, heartbroken laugh almost escaped my lips. Just last week, he had frozen my access to our joint savings, claiming we needed to "strictly budget for the baby."
He was systematically financially paralyzing me, setting the stage to leave me destitute, all while carrying an unlimited fortune in his pocket.
I quickly memorized the numbers, slipped it back, and placed the jacket exactly as I found it.
Barely an hour after Alexander finished his shower and went to his home office to make calls, the front door chimed. Serena let herself in using the spare passcode.
"Alex asked me to check on you," she sneered, dropping the sickly-sweet act the second we were alone. She walked straight to the bar and poured herself a glass of my expensive red wine.
"Get out of my house, Serena," I said, my chest tightening.
"Your house?" Serena laughed, taking a slow sip. "For how much longer? You're a burden, Vivian. Alex comes to work exhausted because he has to come home to... this." She gestured in disgust at my pregnant body. "You're dragging him down."
She took a step toward the armchair where my favorite cream-colored cashmere maternity coat was draped. It was a rare, vintage designer piece—the only luxury I had bought for myself during this pregnancy.
"You don't fit in his life," Serena whispered, her eyes flashing with pure malice. "And you don't even fit in these clothes."
Looking me dead in the eye, she tilted her glass.
A dark, crimson splash of red wine cascaded directly over the pristine cream cashmere, ruining it instantly.
"Oops," she said flatly.
"What is going on out here?"
Alexander stepped out of his office, frowning at the commotion.
Instantly, Serena’s face crumpled. Real tears welled in her eyes as she let out a dramatic, breathless sob.
"Alex! I... I accidentally spilled a little wine, and Vivian just snapped! She screamed at me and tried to throw the glass!"
I froze. I looked at my husband, my heart hammering with a desperate, pathetic hope. Choose me, I begged silently. Look at me. Defend your pregnant wife.
Alexander looked at the ruined coat, then at Serena’s fake tears, and finally at me.
His eyes held nothing but pure, unadulterated disgust.
"It's just a damn coat, Vivian!" he barked, his voice echoing in the penthouse. "Stop acting like a hysterical lunatic! Serena came out of her way to check on you, and this is how you treat her?"
"Alexander, she did it on purpose—"
"Enough!" he snapped, cutting me off. He walked right past me and wrapped a protective arm around Serena’s shoulders. "I can't deal with your paranoia today. Come on, Serena. I'll take you out to Le Petit for a luxury lunch to make up for this lunacy."
"Thank you, Alex," she sniffled, burying her face in his chest, shooting me a triumphant smirk over his shoulder.
The door slammed shut behind them.
I stood alone in the quiet penthouse. The realization that I would never be chosen shattered whatever fragile, naive pieces were left of my heart.
The agonizing pain hollowed me out, leaving nothing but a freezing, terrifying void.
The tears didn't fall. They dried into cold, hard resolve.
I walked over to the kitchen counter and picked up my phone.
I dialed the number of the most exclusive luxury boutique in the city.
"Good morning, Madame," the manager answered.
"Hi, this is Vivian," I said, my voice smooth as silk and cold as ice. "I need a replacement maternity coat. The Vicuña wool custom piece. Yes, the one for fifteen thousand dollars. I need it rushed and delivered by this evening."
"Of course, Madame. And how will you be paying for this today?"
I looked at the wine-stained coat on the chair, a razor-sharp smile touching my lips.
"Charge it to my husband’s private black Centurion card. The one ending in 8492. He insists I only have the absolute best."
