Chapter 3
I didn't want to go to Ethan's company celebration.
Lily was finally better, and I felt like someone had hollowed me out with a spoon. All I wanted was a shower, clean sheets, and eight uninterrupted hours of sleep. Maybe ten. Maybe a new life.
But Ethan stood in the doorway of our closet and looked at me like he was offering me a rare privilege.
"You always say I keep you out of my world," he said. "Come tonight. See what my life actually looks like."
It sounded like an invitation.
It wasn't.
It was a trial.
He wanted me to see the lights, the pressure, the applause. Then he wanted me to go home and admit that changing diapers didn't exactly compare.
I put on a black dress I hadn't worn in years. The zipper caught at my waist. In the mirror, I saw the body pregnancy had left behind. Softer. Tired. Not broken, exactly. Just used up in ways Ethan never had to think about.
He glanced at me.
"You look fine."
Fine.
Once, I had been the youngest partner-track consultant in my division. Clients moved meetings to get on my calendar.
Now my husband looked at me and gave me fine.
By the time we reached the ballroom, I understood exactly how invisible I had become.
Everyone knew Vanessa.
She wore a silver dress and stood beside Ethan like she belonged there.
She greeted investors by name. She remembered which board member wanted club soda, which one hated small talk, and how much water Ethan needed before speaking so he wouldn't clear his throat onstage.
A young employee walked by with champagne and grinned at her.
"Vanessa, our real boss tonight."
Someone else laughed. "Tonight? She runs this place every day."
They all cracked up.
Vanessa laughed too.
Then her eyes slid to me.
A woman in diamonds came up and handed me her empty glass.
"Could you take this?"
I stared at it.
She actually looked at my face then, and went pink.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I thought you were with the event staff."
Before I could answer, Vanessa swept in and touched my arm.
"This is Mia, Ethan's wife."
The woman's smile froze.
"Oh! I thought Vanessa was--"
She stopped herself.
Too late.
A few feet away, two men were talking like I couldn't hear them.
"Ethan's wife? I thought Vanessa was the wife."
"No, that's the stay-at-home one. Vanessa is the one who actually built the company with him."
Vanessa lifted her glass toward me, all soft smile and perfect teeth.
"Mia gave up so much for the family," she said. "Honestly, I could never do it. Diapers, bottles, school forms... I'd lose my mind."
A compliment.
Sure.
Every word shoved me a little farther into the nursery while she stood under the lights beside my husband.
Ethan came up behind me and lowered his voice.
"Vanessa is complimenting you. Don't look offended."
I looked at him and almost laughed.
Of course.
Even my face was doing marriage wrong now.
The event started.
Ethan took the stage. The screen behind him lit up, and the project title appeared in clean white letters.
Northline Expansion Model.
My fingers went numb around my glass.
I knew that title.
Because I wrote it.
Three years ago.
I turned to Ethan when he stepped offstage during the transition.
"You used my model."
His face darkened.
"Not here."
"That was my original strategy."
His voice dropped so low only I could hear it.
"Mia, you helped me organize a few notes back then. Don't stand here and act like you were a founder."
A few notes.
Ten years of industry experience, three months of market research, and the model that got him his first investor check.
Vanessa took the microphone onstage.
"This company was built by people who refused to quit," she said. "Ethan had a vision when no one else believed in it."
She turned toward him, eyes shining just enough.
"And I'm honored I got to stand beside him from the beginning."
The room applauded.
Ethan smiled and walked back up as the host announced the night's biggest moment--the final signing for Northline's new funding round.
Everyone raised a glass.
Then one of Ethan's assistants rushed in through the side door, white as paper.
He leaned close to Ethan.
Ethan frowned. "What?"
The assistant's voice was low, but not low enough.
"Ethan, we have a problem."
Vanessa's smile froze.
The assistant glanced at her.
Then at me.
"A legal hold was filed against the original Northline model. The cease-and-desist just came in. The investors are pausing the signing."
The whole room went quiet.
Ethan turned and stared at me.
At the same moment, my phone lit up.
Noah had texted:
I'm outside the ballroom. Do you want me to come in?