“President Delgado, the chef has already left for the night. You can order delivery.”
Gavin shot to his feet and closed the distance in three strides, towering over me.
“Eudora, what the hell is wrong with you today? Are you actually trying to defy me?”
He reeked of liquor. Clearly not in a good mood.
“I'm tired.”
I pushed past him toward the stairs.
He grabbed my wrist, fingers clamping down hard enough to grind the bones together.
“Tired? You weren't tired out there messing around with some stranger?”
He shoved his phone in my face. On the screen was a photo of Connor dropping me off earlier today.
I had no idea who had taken it, but the angle was vicious. It looked like we were kissing inside the car.
“Explain.”
Gavin's eyes burned with the rage of a man whose possession had stepped out of line.
“I ran into him. He gave me a ride.”
I looked at him, steady.
“Gavin, you brought Lauren home. So you get to do whatever you want, but I can't even accept a ride?”
“You think you compare to Lauren?”
He sneered.
“She's a proper lady from a real family. You're……”
He stopped himself. As if even he found the word too ugly to finish.
“I'm what?” I finished it for him.
“An orphan. A gold-digger. Your bed-warming tool. Right?”
Gavin pressed his lips together. He didn't deny it.
Something sharp drove through my chest, and whatever warmth was left went cold for good.
“Since President Delgado thinks so little of me, let's end the contract.”
I finally said the words I'd kept locked inside for so long.
Gavin stared, like he'd just heard a joke.
“End the contract? Eudora, don't forget—your grandmother's still in that care facility. Without me, how are you paying those bills? Going to sell yourself?”
The slap cracked through the empty living room before I even registered my hand moving.
My palm was numb, my whole body shaking.
Gavin's head snapped to the side. A red handprint rose fast across his cheek.
He turned back slowly, disbelief in his eyes, a storm gathering beneath.
“Eudora. You hit me?”
“That was for the Eudora who was stupid enough to love you for five years.”
I pulled my hand back, nails digging into my palm.
“Gavin. We're done.”
I turned and walked upstairs without looking at him again.
Behind me, a vase shattered against the floor, and Gavin's roar followed：
“Eudora! If you walk out that door today, don't ever come crawling back to me!”
I closed the bedroom door, leaned against it, and slid to the floor.
One hand on my stomach, I whispered：
“Don't be scared, baby. Mama's taking you away.”
Over the next two days, as if to punish me, Gavin paraded Lauren to every high-profile event he could find.
The headlines were everywhere: “Delgado Group president and childhood sweetheart—happy news imminent.”
I packed inside the manor.
There wasn't much to pack.
The designer bags, the jewelry, the clothes Gavin had given me. I left every piece behind.
All I took were my documents, my bankbook, and the pregnancy report.
The day I left, it was raining.
Gavin wasn't home. Neither was Lauren.
I'd arranged Grandma Stella's transfer to a care facility in a small southern city.
It wasn't as luxurious as the one here, but it was quiet, and the fees were something I could manage.
Before I walked out, I placed a resignation letter and a signed “breakup agreement” on Gavin's desk in the study.
The terms were simple: every cent he'd given me over five years, counted as salary and compensation for what he'd put me through. After that, we owed each other nothing.
