Chapter 2

I pushed open the front door of my house.

Tessa, wearing an apron, walked out of my kitchen carrying a plate of sliced fruit, looking every bit the lady of the house. When she saw me, her smile died on her lips.

Grant was sitting on the living room sofa, flipping through a financial magazine. Hearing the door, he looked up and frowned.

"You brought Leo back?"

"Get out," I said.

But Leo rushed past me, throwing himself straight into Tessa’s arms. "Tessa! I missed you!" His little arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

Tessa knelt down, affectionately tapping his nose. "I missed you too, sweetie. Were you a good boy at school today?"

"Yeah! My teacher gave me a sticker!"

"So smart. I’m making your favorite—honey BBQ wings and potato wedges."

"Yay!"

Grant put down his magazine, walked over to ruffle Leo’s hair, and then looked at me. "Claire, it's still my house, too. We aren't divorced yet."

I let out a harsh laugh. "So you bring your mistress into our home and play house like you both belong here?"

Tessa’s eyes welled up. She shrank behind Grant. "Claire, please don’t say that... I just came over to cook a meal—"

"Get out."

Leo suddenly shoved away from Tessa and stood in front of her, shielding her with his tiny body.

"Mom, stop being mean to Tessa!" He glared up at me, his little fists clenched.

I knelt down to his eye level. "Leo, Mom and Dad are getting a divorce. The judge is going to ask who you want to live with, but they have to decide what’s best for you—"

Before I could even finish, Leo’s eyes lit up.

"Are you marrying Tessa, Dad?" His face broke into pure, unadulterated joy. "That’s awesome! Then Tessa can be my new mom! She’ll play with me every day!"

The entire world went dead silent.

"Leo..." I reached out, wanting to touch his cheek. "Don't you want to be with Mom?"

He dodged my hand and scowled. "Mom always makes me practice piano and study. When I’m bad, you just talk and talk and talk. Tessa lets me skateboard. She buys me ice cream and never yells at me. I want a mom like Tessa."

He looked at me, his six-year-old eyes entirely devoid of empathy. "Mom, you can go. I want to live with Dad and Tessa."

Tessa immediately pulled him into a hug. "Leo, you can’t speak to your mom like that."

Grant looked at me. There was pity in his eyes, but also a sick kind of relief. "Take Leo upstairs to play," he told Tessa.

Tessa carried my son up the stairs.

Grant lit a cigarette. "You see how it is. Even Leo prefers her. Claire, let’s just end this cleanly and privately."

I said nothing.

He exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Don't worry, Leo will always be my son. I swear to you, Tessa and I won't have any kids of our own." He paused, his tone sickeningly casual. "She doesn't want to ruin her body. And let's be honest, Claire... after you had Leo, you really let yourself go. The postpartum depression, the stretch marks, the way you lost your figure... I won't let Tessa go through a traumatic birth like that."

I closed my eyes.

Eight years ago, he had been on his knees, begging me to marry him. After the wedding, he begged for a child. I told him I had just taken over the company and wanted to wait.

He had held me, kissing my neck. "Honey, let’s have a baby. I’ll hire the best care team. You won’t have to worry about a thing."

I believed him.

During my pregnancy, I was vomiting between board meetings, signing contracts while dizzy with nausea. The birth was a nightmare—a traumatic labor and severe hemorrhaging. Then came the postpartum depression. It took me two years to claw my way back to myself.

Back then, he had said, "You did so well, Claire. I love you, and I love the woman you are now even more."

It was all a lie.

And now, the two of them—the man I bled for, and the child I nearly died for—had left me behind.

I opened my eyes, a cold smile touching my lips.

"Custody will be decided by the court. But Grant? Don't think you can hide from the asset recovery."

I held up my phone. "The security footage, the keycard logs, and the file access records are already with my lawyers."