Chapter 4
The moment Edward stormed out, I scrambled to get to the Bennett estate to find my mom.
I had just gotten there when Edward showed up too.
He was holding Grace's hand, his grip tight. After throwing me a freezing look, he led her inside, and I followed close behind.
From the living room, my mom's voice drifted out, thick with unshed tears. "If I had known he was in love with someone else seven years ago, I would never have let my daughter marry into this nightmare."
Edward's father, Kaden Bennett, was quick to defend his son. "You have it all wrong.
"Lauren is the only one Edward has ever cared about. Seven years ago, he was the one who begged me to go to your house and—"
Before Kaden could finish his sentence, Edward walked through the doorway, his fingers tightly intertwined with Grace's.
The defense fell flat, turning Kaden's words into a total joke.
His face burned with embarrassment, leaving him utterly speechless.
After a painful silence, Kaden's eyes flared with rage. "You bastard!"
Sitting nearby, Edward's grandfather, Gavin Bennett, was white-hot with anger.
He shot to his feet and hurled a cup straight at Edward's head. "Right in front of your wife and mother-in-law? You piece of trash! Get out of here, and take that woman with you."
Grace stared at the flying porcelain, her face draining of color as she froze in terror.
Edward lunged forward, pulling her into his chest to shield her.
The cup shattered against the back of his neck, but he didn't make a sound.
When he looked down at Grace, his icy expression melted into pure tenderness. "I've got you. Don't be scared."
It had been ages since I'd heard him speak like that. For a second, the warmth in his voice threw me off.
Grace pushed him away, murmuring an anxious complaint. "I told you I shouldn't have come."
Edward took her by the hand, leading her to the center of the room and guiding her onto the sofa.
Then he looked up at me, snorting, "You had to show your face eventually. No squatter gets to hog a home that doesn't belong to her forever."
Over the last seven years, I had grown numb to Edward's hostility.
But my mom was seeing it up close for the first time.
Her eyes burned with tears of pure rage as she glared at him. "You have gone way too far! I will drag your name through the mud and make you pay for this."
My mom was usually the epitome of poise, but today she was pushed completely over the edge.
The Bennett elders scrambled to apologize to my mom while barking orders at Edward to beg for forgiveness.
But Edward refused to back down. Instead, he slapped the stack of photos capturing Charles and me onto the coffee table.
His voice was thick with sarcasm and venom. "I might have crossed the line, but don't act like Lauren is some kind of saint."
A dead silence fell over the living room.
After a long beat, my mom broke the quiet, her voice tight with anger. "What is this? What exactly are you trying to prove with these pictures?"
The coffee table was cluttered with photos, every single one showing me with Charles.
But the absolute limit of our interaction was sitting across from each other grabbing coffee.
Gavin and Kaden quickly snapped out of their shock.
Gavin snapped, "You pull this kind of garbage, and then you try to throw mud at Lauren?
"Lauren and Charles grew up right in front of our eyes.
"They are ordinary friends, period. Don't you dare try to smear them with your delusional lies!"
Grace shrank back, trembling. "Edward, maybe we should drop this," she whispered.
Edward had no intention of letting it go.
He plucked a single photo from the pile on the table.
"What kind of 'ordinary friends' hand over their husband's salary card?" he sneered.
The picture captured the exact moment I handed the card to Charles.
Gavin's face changed a bit.
Trying to avoid unnecessary drama with the Bennett family, I dug into my bag, pulled out the bank card in question, and spoke up, "Seven years ago, when Charles's firm was struggling, I lent him some money.
"I handed him the wrong card by mistake, but I got it back the very next day."
Edward scoffed. "That was years ago. Who's to say how long he actually had it?"
Anger made my temples throb.
Seeing his fingers still locked with Grace's made my stomach heave all over again.
Something in me snapped, and I threw all caution to the wind. "Fine. Why don't you audit the account right now?
"Figure out exactly how much is missing, and calculate every single dime I've cost you over the years.
"I'll repay you every cent, and then we are getting a divorce!"
Since he had paraded Grace right into the house, the Bennetts could see clearly that I wasn't the one who blew up this marriage.
Edward stared at me, his fury faltering as he froze.
I couldn't see my own reflection, but the look in his eyes told me exactly how pathetic and wrecked I must have appeared.
Seven years of marriage, and I had finally let him turn me into a screeching, hysterical mess.
Edward's shock lasted for only a second before his cold, defensive mask slipped right back on.
"Good. I've been waiting for you to say that. Don't go begging for me to come back," he said.
With the gloves off, there was no way Edward and I could keep playing the happy couple anymore.
Gavin slowly calmed down and made his decision.
He said, "The Bennetts owe the Sinclairs a massive apology.
"If Lauren wants a divorce, she gets it. The Sinclairs can name their terms, and I will meet every single one of them.
"Any joint projects we dissolve will be treated as a breach of contract on our end, with us covering all the penalties."
"I don't think so," Edward snapped.
White-hot with rage, Gavin swung his cane at him. "You don't get a say in this!"
Gavin turned to his assistant and ordered, "Transfer half of this bastard's shares in the Bennett Group to Lauren."
Edward's face turned stony.
He glared at me as if I were a schemer who had finally gotten exactly what she wanted.
"Lauren," he spat. "Either you walk away empty-handed, or you can forget about ever getting a divorce."
"Then we'll let the courts decide," Gavin countered.
He turned to his assistant. "Get the best lawyers in the city. We're going to win this case for Lauren."
Edward stared at Gavin in disbelief before cutting his eyes to me, his face twisted with disgust and sarcasm.
"Look at how they coddle you, Lauren. Why don't you claim them as your father and grandfather already?" he spat.
He grabbed Grace and marched out, completely ignoring his family's furious shouting.
I stared at their interlaced fingers, a memory flashing in my mind, of a time, a lifetime ago, when he used to hold my hand with that same tenderness.
But now, all those memories felt like nothing but a cruel, fleeting dream.
*****
My mom and I left.
When we got outside, Edward hadn't left yet. He was leaning against his car.
Grace was nowhere in sight, likely already waiting in the passenger seat.
I caught the bizarre look on his face, a cold dread pooling in my stomach.
As I brushed past him to reach our car, he spoke, "My wife is terminally ill, and I can't bear to let her suffer alone.
"That's why I'm refusing the divorce. What do you think of that excuse?
"Do you think the judge will buy that?"
My mom froze in her tracks.
After a long moment, she slowly turned around.
She looked at him and asked, "What did you say?"