The courtroom smelled faintly of wood polish and old books, a place where lives were dismantled and rebuilt on paper. My palms were slick against the table, though I forced myself to sit upright, shoulders squared. Across from me, Trevor sat in his pressed navy suit, calm, smug, as though he had already won something I hadn’t yet realized I’d lost.
Henry leaned close, his voice steady. “Stay calm. Today’s procedural. The judge has everything she needs.”
I nodded, though my chest pounded. The proceedings blurred into a haze of voices, documents, and the gavel’s echo. My mind clung only to the words that mattered.
“The court hereby grants the dissolution of marriage between Erin and Trevor Larusso.”
It was done. Just like that, the years I spent trying to save us were reduced to a ruling and a stamp. Trevor didn’t look at me. He stood swiftly, buttoning his jacket with the ease of someone who had been waiting for this day, for my erasure.
Henry gathered our papers and touched my arm lightly—a gesture that steadied me, if only for a second. But the storm wasn’t behind the oak doors. It was waiting outside. Lavinia leaned against the marble column in the courthouse hallway like she belonged there.
Her silk blouse clung to her, her lips painted a victorious shade of red. The sight of her standing there, waiting for me, was almost worse than the judge’s words.
“Congratulations,” she purred as soon as she spotted me. “You’ve officially made me Mrs. Larusso without the boring ceremony.”
I tried to step past her, but she slid into my path, her eyes glittering with malice.
“You gave me your kidney once, Erin. And now—your husband.” She tilted her head, smiling sweetly. “You’re such a giver. How does it feel, watching me live the life you could never hold onto?”
Her words sliced deep, reopening wounds I thought had already scarred.
“Enjoy it while it lasts,” I said quietly, though my voice carried steel. “Because everything Trevor touches eventually falls apart.”
Her expression darkened. Then, before I could brace myself, her hand struck my cheek with a sharp crack. Heat blossomed instantly across my skin, humiliation burning hotter than the sting.
The hallway fell silent, onlookers freezing in shock. And then—her performance shifted.
Lavinia gasped, her hand flying to her stomach.
Her face twisted, pale now instead of triumphant. “Trevor!” she cried, her voice breaking into a sob. “She’s stressing me—my tummy’s rumbling weird. I guess…something’s wrong—”
Her knees buckled, her body folding slightly as if the very weight of her cruelty had turned on her.
Trevor had just emerged from the courtroom, his gaze snapping to the sight of Lavinia clinging to the marble column, trembling.
For a split second, I thought it was another act. A manipulative ploy. But then—
The dark bloom of blood appeared, staining the pale fabric of her skirt. Gasps erupted through the hallway.
“Trevor!” Lavinia’s voice cracked into a scream. “Help me—please—”
My breath caught in my throat. Even in her cruelty, even in her victory, she was still carrying his child.
Trevor’s composure shattered. His face drained of color as he rushed toward her, catching her before she collapsed fully.
Around us, chaos erupted—shouts for help, hurried footsteps, the echo of someone calling for an ambulance.
“If something happens to her and the baby, I swear, I'll never forgive you, Erin!” Trevor hissed as he boarded into the ambulance.
