She instinctively covered her stomach.
"Thank you, Ms. Jourdain."
"The baby's father treats you well, right?"
"Yeah."
She wouldn't look at me.
"Good. People should appreciate what they have. And stay away from scumbags."
I held her gaze for a second, then walked away.
Outside the building, I took a slow breath.
'Kelsey, do you really think staying in the background keeps you safe? I'll show you exactly what a wife can do.'
That night, Nolan came home late, smelling like women's perfume.
"Client dinner. Had a few drinks."
He let out a small burp. "I'm gonna shower."
The second he walked into the bathroom, I grabbed his phone.
Kelsey: [Honey, the appointment went great! The doctor said we could find out the gender. It's a boy!]
Nolan: [That's amazing! My son! I'll take you shopping for baby stuff tomorrow.]
[You're the best. I love you!]
[I love you and our baby too. Once he's here, we'll finally be a real family.]
I felt sick reading it.
They already had it all planned out.
Just waiting for me, the wife, to disappear.
Keep dreaming.
I put his phone back and pasted on a sweet smile.
When Nolan came out of the shower, I walked over and started rubbing his shoulders.
"You've been working hard. So many client dinners lately."
He leaned back and enjoyed it, looking way too pleased with himself.
"It's all for our future."
"Oh, right." I kept my voice casual. "I saw your receptionist today. She looks pregnant. Pretty young to be having a baby."
His body went stiff. "Really? I didn't notice."
"She looks at least three or four months along."
"Young people these days don't know how to be careful."
He let out a fake laugh.
I laughed inside but kept smiling.
"I hope her boyfriend's doing the right thing. Otherwise it'd be pretty messed up."
"I'm sure he is."
He was already sweating.
The next day, I had the PI keep following them.
No surprise there.
Nolan took Kelsey to some upscale baby store. The pictures showed them acting like a happy little family.
His arm around her waist. His hand on her stomach.
The way he looked at her—
It was the same look he used to give me when we first got married.
Then it got worse.
They stopped at a jewelry store.
He bought her a twenty-thousand-dollar diamond ring.
Back when we got married, I'd told him I didn't need anything expensive.
He'd looked so touched he almost cried.
Now he could drop twenty grand on his side chick?
I saved every photo.
Future divorce evidence.
That afternoon, I went to the shopping district Kelsey always hung around and pretended to shop.
Didn't take long to find her.
She was sitting in a café with a friend.
I grabbed a seat nearby and listened.
"Kelsey, are you sure about this? He's married."
"So what?" Kelsey looked completely unbothered. "He doesn't even love his wife. He's only still with her because her family's rich.
"He said once I give him a son, he'll find some excuse to divorce her."
