Astrid's face went blank for a beat, and then her eyes filmed over with tears, the very picture of a wronged woman.
William frowned and shifted her behind him.
"Bella, haven't I taught you better than this? When we have guests, you mind your manners. How can you have forgotten even the basics?"
"And the state you're in right now, even if you went to a photo studio, you wouldn't be any help with the baby. You'd just give me one more thing to worry about. Don't be so difficult."
So being rude to a mistress was bad manners now?
The sting in my chest sharpened, and my throat went tight and dry.
You're the one who told me. When you meet selfish, bad people, walk away.
I slapped the divorce papers I'd drawn up down in front of William.
"William, we're done here."
He glanced at the agreement on the table and gave a short, contemptuous laugh.
Then he picked the document up.
A moment later, the contract I'd written out in black and white was two paper airplanes.
He pressed them into my hands and ruffled my hair hard.
"All right, all right, it's all my fault. Take these two paper airplanes as my apology, okay? Stop making a scene."
I stood where I was, staring dumbly at the planes in my hands.
He hadn't taken a single word of what I'd just said seriously.
I threw the planes hard to the floor, turned, and ran upstairs to pack.
Behind me came the sound of him soothing Astrid.
"She's a child, she doesn't know what she's saying. Don't take it to heart."
The bedroom door slammed shut behind me, cutting me off at last from that voice and its barbs.
Swallowing down a chest that had ached past the point of feeling, I opened the closet.
What met my eyes was a row of clothes I had never seen before.
"Sorry about that, Bella. Will moved your clothes to the guest room."
A bright voice rang out behind me.
I turned, and met Astrid's contemptuous stare just as her tone shifted.
"Bella, do you have any idea how lucky you are? You married a man as rich and devoted as Will, and not even contraceptives could stop you from carrying his child."
The envy in her eyes was nearly spilling over.
"We both came from ordinary families. So why do you get to climb so high, while I have to grovel and pass myself around as a mistress to one disgusting man after another, all for money?"
I stared at her, frowning, and suddenly thought of those few boxes of vitamins she'd pressed on me back in college.
So it had never been gratitude. It was poison meant to ruin me.
Ten years married to William with no child, and it was because of her.
The woman in front of me suddenly smiled, gloating.
"Forget it, no point explaining to an idiot like you. Don't worry, I'll be sure to raise that little bastard well for you."
"If I'm going to feed her her whole life, she'll have to pay me back something, won't she? How about taking clients at three? I know quite a few men who are into that. Want me to film it for you so you don't pine yourself sick?"
I couldn't listen to another word. I slapped her hard across the face.
"Get away from me! I will never let you take my child!"
I ran out of the room, and just as I reached the top of the stairs Astrid caught up with me.
A whisper followed: "An idiot's so easy to set off."
Then Astrid grabbed my wrist and flung herself backward.
What came next was the bruising thud of her back striking every step on the way down.
That was the scene William saw when he raced to the foot of the stairs.
His pupils contracted sharply, and he rushed to Astrid's side, calling her name over and over.
As if he were about to lose her in the next breath.
It was the first time I had ever seen William come undone.
Astrid's lips parted weakly. Her voice was small, but it landed perfectly in my ears.
"Bella, as long as it makes you happy... I'd do anything..."
The accusation came down on me out of nowhere and pinned me where I stood.
I'd just opened my mouth to defend myself when I saw he had already gathered Astrid up and was striding away.
The things she'd said to me still seemed to be ringing in my ears.
I looked at the baby lying on the sofa, and my eyes burned.
My phone buzzed. It was Christopher.
*Sis, the tickets are booked. Do you need me to come get you?*
I rubbed my dry, stinging eyes and sent him my location.
Once, I'd told myself the child still carried William's blood after all, that he would never mistreat her.
But now, I didn't dare gamble on it.
By the time I appeared in the living room again, one hand dragging a suitcase and the other holding the baby, the family doctor who'd been called over had already finished examining Astrid.
The next moment I met William's black eyes, cold enough to frighten.
He planted himself in front of me, barely holding back the fury inside him.
"Isabella, you wanted a divorce, didn't you? Fine. You'll get your wish!"
He snatched the suitcase out of my hand, hard enough that it nearly took me to the floor with it.
"Everything you have, I gave you. The child and your things stay. Get the hell out, go wherever you want!"
It was only when he reached to wrench the baby out of my arms that he met my eyes, stubborn and brimming with tears.
His movement stopped, and his face softened a little.
"Bella, all these years you couldn't get pregnant and I never blamed you. You finally did, and it was a girl, and I didn't hold that against you either."
"All these years, do you really not know how much pressure I carried to marry you? Would it make you happy to have everyone laughing that the Delgados have no heir, and are raising a half-witted little heiress on top of it?"
"Stop making a scene. Once you've given me a son, I'll love you the way I used to, hold nothing back, give you everything you want."
The eyes he turned on me were flooded with ardent love.
