3: 3
3
Philip took my silence as a sign that I'd finally come around.
His voice went soft.
“Once the baby's born, I'll get Althea a house and set aside a sum of money for her.”
“She'll never show up in front of you.”
“You'll still be Mrs. Weiss, and our child will be the only heir the Weiss family openly acknowledges.”
Althea leaned back against the couch, stroking her belly.
“Amber, the one Philip loves most is still you.”
“I'm more than content just having him come by to keep me company now and then.”
She said it so sweetly.
But the smugness in her eyes gave her away.
In their eyes, I suppose.
I was supposed to be like Philip's mother, swallowing every last humiliation for the sake of so-called dignity.
I gave a small laugh and told the bodyguard to bring the legal team in.
“Invoke Clause Seven of the prenuptial agreement.”
The words had barely left my mouth when more than a dozen lawyers filed in through the door.
Fabian Swanson, at the front, held the documents out to Philip.
“Mr. Weiss.”
“Miss Pruitt's prenatal records are already enough to prove you've breached the prenuptial agreement.”
“As of now, the thirty-seven percent of Weiss Group shares in your name will be taken over by Ms. Donaldson.”
“The Donaldson family's cash funding to Weiss Group has also been formally terminated.”
Philip's phone rang at once.
It was the chairman.
Even from where I stood, I could hear the roaring on the other end.
“Philip, what the hell did you do?”
“The Donaldsons pulled their funding out of nowhere, and the banks are already coming after us for repayment!”
“The board is demanding your immediate suspension from every position!”
Philip gripped the phone, the color draining from his face bit by bit.
“Amber, we've been together all these years.”
“Are you really going to destroy everything I have over something this small?”
I looked at him and, all at once, I laughed.
“Philip, don't you like keeping a pretty little bird in a cage?”
“I'll leave her to you.”
“As for the cage, the feed, and the money you used to keep her.”
I slipped the villa keys out of his hand.
“All of it is mine.”
“From today on, I'm not leaving you a single thing.”
I turned and walked toward the door.
Behind me, for the first time, Philip dropped every ounce of his pride and called my name in a rush.
I didn't look back.
At the door, I said one last thing to Althea:
“Congratulations.”
“This man with nothing left to his name is now completely, wholly yours.”
