Chapter 4

Who would've thought those pajamas ended up on Emily instead?

I kicked the door open, startling all three of them inside.

Emily yelped in panic and scrambled to hide behind Jonathan.

Jonathan was caught off guard for a second, and then asked with an embarrassed look, "Why are you back?"

I sneered, "This is my house. Why shouldn't I come back?"

Jonathan was at a loss for words, but before he could say anything, Henry shot out of his arms like a little cannonball.

He charged straight into my stomach. I crashed hard into the corner of the table, pain stabbing through my lower back. Then, I staggered and collapsed onto the floor.

Henry cried out, "You're so bad. It's all your fault! Every time you come, Mom and I have to leave our home.

"You bad lady. Don't you have your own house? Why are you trying to take ours?"

Jonathan, looking embarrassed, gently pulled Henry back and said seriously, "Kids don't know any better. There's no point in arguing with a child."

I gritted my teeth and barely managed to stand up. "Fine, I won't argue with a kid."

Before Jonathan could look pleased, I marched straight up and slapped Emily hard across the face.

"If the kid's out of line, that's on the mom. Emily, you brought this on yourself!" I shouted.

But then, my wrist was gripped in a vice-like hold.

A split second later, a stinging slap landed on my cheek, making it burn with pain.

I crumpled to the floor, staring up at Jonathan, his hand still raised from the blow.

He looked down at me coldly and said, "Are you done yet, Victoria? Guess you still haven't learned your lesson today."

Suddenly, something seemed to dawn on him, and his expression turned ugly.

He snapped, "The bill today was 150 thousand dollars, and you were flat broke. So how the hell did you pay for it?"

Before I could answer, Emily broke down sobbing.

She said, "Victoria, even if you're pissed at us, you can't go and do something reckless to hurt yourself, okay?

"No wonder the manager was grinning at you when we left. Did you trade favors with him or something?"

She covered her mouth, putting on a show of fake regret.

Jonathan looked like he'd exploded, his face dark with fury as he glared at me. "Victoria, you'd rather sleep with someone than apologize? Is this what you've come to?

"How could you stoop so low?"

His hand trembled as he pointed at the door. "Get out. Get out of here right now!

"You wanted to break up? Fine, we're done. Now get out!"

I wiped the blood from my mouth and got to my feet, unsteady. "Jonathan, this is my marital home. You're the ones who should be leaving."

Emily's eyes glinted with mockery, but her voice stayed soft and patient. "Victoria, I know you invested some money at the start, but Jonathan's already signed the ownership over to me. Sorry, but you need to leave now."

I looked up with shock and stared at Jonathan. "You transferred our marital home to Emily?"

Emily walked over and linked her arm with Jonathan's, saying awkwardly, "Jonathan was worried Henry and I wouldn't feel comfortable living in someone else's house, so he transferred the place to me.

"He said this way, I'd finally have a home of my own"

Even though I thought I was already too disappointed, in that moment I felt like a punch straight to the gut.

I said, "This is our marital home. We decorated it together. Jonathan, how could you do this to me?"

He shot me a cold glare. "This house is Emily's now. No matter how you argue, it's not going to change a thing."

I only stared at the two of them for a while.