But because we were together, and I still had dividends from the company, I never asked for it back.
"Godfrey, do you really have to be this cruel to me?"
"Every single one of those three conditions is cruel to me."
"So what if it's Tristan's child? You could still raise it as your own!"
"And you can't fire Tristan. He's been bringing in contracts left and right lately. You're not even half the asset he is!"
I wasn't half the asset he was?
I laughed until tears streamed down my face. "Then what's left to say?"
I turned and walked out.
Behind me, my son's crying echoed through the room, tangled with my family's voices calling me ungrateful and unfilial.
I went home, packed my bags, and left.
I headed to a hotel to get a room.
When I finished checking in, the woman at the front desk gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, sir. Your card was declined."
I tried Apple Pay, every payment app I had. Nothing went through.
That was when a text from Marina came in.
"Honey, having trouble paying for things?"
"As long as you drop the divorce and stop trying to get Tristan fired, you can buy whatever you want."
She'd insisted early in our marriage that I hand over my paycheck. I'd used her supplementary card and her linked payment accounts ever since. At the time, I hadn't thought twice about it. I figured it was just something couples did to build trust.
Turned out it was a leash.
With no way to pay, I walked out of the hotel.
The streets were packed with people, but there wasn't a single place in the world for me.
I dragged my suitcase to the park.
"Hey, Godfrey. Ms. Pruitt sent me to bring you home."
I'd barely sat down when Tristan pulled up to the park entrance in the brand-new Rolls-Royce coupe Marina had just bought. He strolled in with his hands in his pockets.
I gave him one cold look and said nothing.
Tristan glanced around, confirmed no one else was nearby, and grinned.
"You know why she got pregnant?"
"That day, she and I went to meet a client. In the car, I tried to kiss her."
"She was going to let me, too."
"But then you called."
"She picked up, started talking to you, and pushed me away."
"That pissed me off. So that night, I had some coworkers get her drunk on purpose. Then I took her to a hotel, same as I always did."
"In bed, I held her. She thought I was you. Kept calling your name."
"I played along. I whispered, 'Let me take care of you tonight.'"
"I undressed her while she was still calling for you. And then I had my way with her."
Tristan doubled over laughing.
"Here's the best part. The whole time she was enjoying it, she kept moaning your name."
"Isn't that hilarious? Sleeping with another man, but crying out for her husband."
"And for me? God, that made it even better."
My fist connected with his face.
Blood spilled from the corner of Tristan's mouth as he hit the ground.
"Godfrey Simmons! He came here out of the goodness of his heart to bring you back, and you hit him?!"
"Daddy, Uncle Tristan bought me a toy car! Why did you hit him? Waaah..."
Marina walked over with Nathan in tow.
Nathan clutched a toy car to his chest and planted himself in front of Tristan, shielding him. He said I was a bad daddy.
And just like that, I understood.
Tristan had planned this.
But what chilled me to the bone wasn't Marina. It was my son.
Marina stared at me. "After you left this morning, Nathan cried and refused to go to school. Tristan took him to the children's park for the whole morning and bought him that toy car."
"Then he got worried something might have happened to you and offered to come find you."
"He was trying to do a good thing. And you did this to him?"
Right on cue, Tristan whimpered, "Ms. Pruitt, my face really hurts."
Marina's expression softened with concern. She cupped his face gently, then helped him to his feet.
