### Chapter 3
My head buzzed, and my entire body went numb.
"What? The marriage certificate is fake?"
"Yep! That frumpy little wife and her kid spent five whole years suffering through poverty with him, and they never even knew. Honestly, I feel sorry for them!"
Her plump cheeks twitched as she pouted in displeasure.
"But even so, he still won't leave his ugly duckling wife. I have no idea what he's thinking."
My voice came out dry and cracked. "Why? Why would he use a fake certificate to deceive her?"
"Well, right when they were about to get married, he and I happened to be, you know..." She waved her hand suggestively. "He was chasing me hard. I got angry and threw a fit, threatened to kill myself. To calm me down, he actually went out and bought a fake certificate for fifty bucks."
So the marriage I'd fought tooth and nail to hold together was nothing but a scam worth fifty dollars.
Eve tossed her dark curls over her shoulder, triumph radiating from every pore. "So he and I are the real thing. The one who isn't loved is the other woman here—"
Crack.
My palm connected with her face before either of us saw it coming.
She shrieked, clutching her cheek, her pretty eyes blown wide. "Did you just fucking hit me?!"
"You made sure my child never got to see his father one last time. Are you even human?!" I screamed, my eyes burning red.
A sharp pain tore through my thigh.
"Bad lady! You're hurting my mommy! I'll bite you to death!"
I looked down. Eve's son had latched onto my leg, sinking his teeth in.
The little boy was arrogant, his small eyes brimming with hostility.
And then I finally saw it clearly. That face. It looked so much like Dominic's childhood photos.
So much like my son.
In that moment, the designer outfit on his little body seared my vision like a brand.
I forgot the pain. Something inside me snapped, and I lunged for the tiny suit jacket.
"Take it off! Take it off!"
The child went white with terror at the crazed woman clawing at him and burst into wails.
Eve flew at me, her manicured nails raking through the air.
"You psycho! That's Dominic Ashford's son!"
Two flight attendants rushed over, grabbing my arms, hauling me back in a frantic tangle of limbs.
"Ms. Simmons, please, you can't take this out on a child!"
"Besides, Miss Sullivan and her son are VIP clients. You really can't afford to cross them."
VIP clients?
One of the attendants pulled me aside and whispered, "She's a premium guest with our airline. She's the woman of that billionaire Mr. Ashford, the one worth tens of billions. You don't want this fight."
So the whole world knew he was a billionaire. Everyone except his own wife.
I went to the restroom and splashed water on my face, trying to pull myself together.
As I turned to leave, I heard glass shatter somewhere behind me. Before I could react, a red stiletto heel hooked my ankle.
"Ah—!"
I hit the floor hard. Shards of broken glass bit into my kneecaps, and I sucked in a sharp breath through clenched teeth.
Eve stood over me, arms crossed, looking down like I was something stuck to her shoe.
"What exactly do you think you are, daring to hit me?"
Her eyes were venomous. "You said you had a child once. Don't tell me it died?"
"Look at you. Pathetic, disgusting. No wonder your man doesn't want you. That's why you're so insanely jealous of me, isn't it?"
I got up.
Without a word, I grabbed a fistful of her hair and slammed her head toward the sink counter.
"You—how dare you?!"
Eve thrashed wildly, and the flight attendants who'd been hovering nearby charged in instantly.
A male attendant shoved me back, hard and rough. I hit the floor again.
Eve screamed at a pitch that could shatter crystal.
"You all saw that! This trash tried to attack me! I'm calling the police!"
The male attendant dropped all pretense of courtesy.
"Did you hear that, Ms. Simmons? If you lay a hand on Miss Sullivan again, we'll have airport security waiting at the gate."
"I'd suggest you behave."
They ushered Eve out with the care and deference reserved for royalty.
I pulled the glass shards from my knees one by one, my whole body trembling with pain.
Then I got up and limped back to my seat.
The flight attendants swarmed around Eve and her son, treating her with the reverence of courtiers before a queen.
"Miss Sullivan, we're so sorry for the disturbance. Please, this is a freshly opened bottle of champagne to help calm your nerves."
"And for the little gentleman, this is a limited-edition collector's model, brand new. We hope he likes it."
"Please don't hesitate to let us know if there's anything else you need. Again, our sincerest apologies for this unpleasant experience."
I sat expressionless. I connected to the in-flight Wi-Fi, pulled up the photo of our marriage certificate on my phone, and sent it to Dominic.
A long pause before he replied.
"? I'm swamped at work, practically dying over here. I really wish I could spend your birthday with you."
I typed back:
"Dominic, is our marriage certificate real?"
