Chapter 4
"Ms. Mason." Zoe walked over, eyes rimmed red.
"What do you want?" I stopped in my tracks.
"I want to talk to you."
"What could we possibly have to talk about?"
"I can step aside, as long as you don't make things hard for Gavin," she says, biting her lip and acting all noble, like she was sacrificing herself.
"Seriously?" I snorted. "Zoe, do you really think saying this even matters now?"
"I really can leave. I can even give up the baby."
"Give it up?" I chuckle coldly. "After scheming so hard just to get pregnant and threaten Gavin, now you suddenly don't want it?"
"I'm not threatening him. I truly love him."
"Love him?" I glanced at her stomach. "So loving him means breaking up his marriage?"
"He's the one who stopped loving you first. If he truly did, would he even have been with me?" Zoe shot back.
Zoe was so brutally honest, I couldn't help but want to laugh.
"You're right." I nodded. "That's why I'm divorcing him—so the two of you can be together out in the open."
Zoe was stunned. "You… you're really divorcing him?"
"Of course. It's not like I'm into suffering. Why would I stay with someone who doesn't even love me?"
"But... but then what about Gavin's company..."
"His company?" I laughed. "Zoe, you've got it all wrong. From today on, the company has nothing to do with Gavin."
"What do you mean?"
"It means your sugar daddy's broke." I got in my car. "Think about it—does a broke guy really deserve you having his baby?"
With that, I drove off.
From the rearview mirror, I caught a glimpse of Zoe—she was frozen on the spot, face drained of color.
She clearly never saw this coming.
She really thought hooking up with the CEO meant she'd be living the trophy wife dream.
And now she was scared? Too late.
*****
That night, I got a call from an unknown number.
"Hello?" I said.
"Is this Grace Mason? It's Zoe Olsen," the speaker said.
I let out a cold laugh. "What do you want?"
"I want to meet up. There are some things I need to say to you in person."
"There's nothing for us to talk about anymore."
"It's about Gavin." Her voice cracked. "Please, just give him a chance, okay?"
"And why exactly should I give him a chance?"
"I could disappear—never bother you or him again."
"Zoe, do you seriously not get it?" I sat up straighter. "I'm not divorcing Gavin because of you."
"What do you mean?" Zoe asked.
"What I mean is, even if you never existed, we still wouldn't have made it." I kept my voice steady. "You were just the last straw."
"I don't buy it. How could you two be married for three years and not have anything between you?"
"Feelings?" I thought about everything that had happened these past three years, my heart twisting. "Zoe, do you have any idea how many times Gavin actually celebrated my birthday?"
Zoe went silent.
"Zero times," I said flatly. "Every single birthday, there's always a business dinner or some urgent work. Not once did he bother to be there for me."
Zoe replied, "But he bought you gifts every year."
"Gifts?" I scoffed. "Those? Please. His secretary picked them out. He couldn't even tell you my favorite color if his life depended on it."
"You want to know the real reason he married me?" I pressed further.
Zoe didn't say anything.
"Because of my dad's investments and the Mason family's background," I said calmly. "From the start, our marriage was just a transaction."
Zoe asked, "So why did you stay…"
"Why did I stick around for three years?" I thought about it. "Honestly, I used to believe that if I tried hard enough, maybe he'd love me in the end.
"Now I finally understand—you can't force love. It never lasts."
"Ms. Mason..." Zoe's voice was barely above a whisper.
"So Zoe, don't beat yourself up, and don't worry about being some kind of homewrecker," I said, my tone lighter. "You just made me see things for what they really are."
"Then, what's going to happen to Gavin?"
"That's between you two. It has nothing to do with me."
"But he lost his job, and now we..."
"Oh, so you're just freaking out that he can't pay for you and the baby anymore?" That was when it finally hit me what Zoe really wanted.
"No, I swear, I really do love him."
"Love him? Really?" I scoffed. "Then tell me, would you be willing to rough it with him if things got ugly?"
"I..."
"Answer me—if Gavin lost everything, would you honestly still stick around?"
Zoe went quiet for ages before finally mumbling, "I... I need to think about it."
"Don't bother," I said coolly, my finger hovering over the hang-up button. "We both know your answer."
"Wait, please!" Zoe blurted out in a panic. "Ms. Mason, can we talk in person? I have something really important to tell you."
"Like what?"
"It's a secret about Gavin—one you deserve to know."
I hesitated. "What secret?"
"It's not something I can say over the phone. Let's talk face to face."
I said, "Alright. Tomorrow morning at ten, Palmer Café."
"Thanks for meeting with me," Zoe replied.
After I hung up, I fell into deep thought.
I wondered what secret Zoe knew.
Honestly, I couldn't care less what it was.
No matter how many secrets Gavin had, it won't change my mind about getting divorced.