Chapter 1

He Accused Me of Spending $4,800 Without His Permission

I sat outside the obstetrics clinic with one hand resting protectively over my eight-month belly, staring at the bill the doctor had just handed me.

The ultrasound had shown that our baby was measuring smaller than expected, and the doctor wanted additional tests to make sure there was nothing wrong.

The doctor told me the additional examination would cost $4,800.

Then I heard my name shouted from the end of the corridor.

“Genevieve Arden!”

I looked up and saw my husband, Sebastian Hawthorne, striding toward me, his expression already darkening before he had even reached my chair.

Arabella Cross walked beside him in a perfectly fitted Chanel dress, her diamond earrings shining under the cold hospital lights.

I recognized those earrings immediately. They were worth more than the medical bill in my hand.

She looked completely comfortable standing next to my husband.

I looked at her, then down at the four-thousand-eight-hundred-dollar medical bill in my hand, and something inside me quietly cracked.

Sebastian stopped in front of me and held out his hand.

“Give me the bill.”

I handed it over, and his eyes immediately hardened when he saw the amount.

“Four thousand eight hundred dollars?”

His voice was sharp enough to make the nurses nearby glance over.

For a brief second, his expression changed.

Not because of the amount.

Because the argument reminded him of the six thousand dollars from seven years ago—the mistake he had never forgiven.

Then the anger returned.

“Genevieve, how many times do I have to tell you that you can't keep spending money every time you get nervous?”

I swallowed the humiliation and placed a hand over my stomach.

“The doctor said the baby is measuring small, so I needed another examination.”

“You always have a reason.”

His gaze dropped briefly to my belly before returning to my face.

“I wasn't trying to waste your money.”

“No, you were just going to use the baby as an excuse again.”

The words hit harder than his raised voice.

Arabella stood beside him without saying anything, but the faint smile on her lips told me exactly what she thought.

I wanted to explain that I had been using my own savings for most of our household expenses long before I ever touched his account, but Sebastian had already taken a pen from his briefcase.

He placed a thick document on my lap.

“If you believe I'm unreasonable about money, then let's solve the problem permanently.”

I stared at the title.

Financial Account Change Form.

My fingers went cold.

Sebastian looked at me as though he were offering me a perfectly fair solution.

“Sign this, and there will be no more arguments about money.”

I looked from the agreement to Arabella standing beside him.

For seven years, I had believed that being his wife meant we were building one life together.

That afternoon, sitting beneath the cold hospital lights, I finally understood that Sebastian had never seen it that way.

My abdomen tightened painfully, and I pressed one hand against my belly as I picked up the pen.

I signed my name.

Sebastian took the agreement immediately, barely looking at me before turning toward Arabella.

As they walked away together, the doctor hurried toward me with a worried expression.

“Mrs. Hawthorne, your blood pressure is dangerously high.”

I lowered my eyes to the place where my signature had dried on the paper.

For the first time in seven years, I stopped wondering how to save my marriage.

I took out my phone and opened my contacts.

Then I typed one sentence to a divorce lawyer.

I need to discuss ending my marriage.