Chapter 3

What could Anita possibly want at this hour?

The door opened, and she barged in, clutching her stomach like it was some tragic soap opera. Her face was flushed, and her voice wavered as she whimpered, "Rob, I'm sorry to bother you so late, but my stomach doesn't feel right."

Rob's panic button lit up immediately. "What's wrong? We should go to the hospital!"

"No, it's fine. I just—"

I cut her little act short. "If it's nothing serious, why are you knocking on our door?

"If you need Rob to take you to the hospital, just say so. After all, the baby is part of the Barne family, right?

"Rob, you'd better hurry and take her. You wouldn't want her condition to get worse—any complications could be a huge problem later."

Anita froze, clearly thrown off by how smoothly I played along. Rob, too, froze. "Honey—"

"Go on," I said, keeping my voice calm and even. "The first three months of pregnancy are crucial. You wouldn't want anything to happen to the baby."

Relieved, Rob nodded fast and helped Anita out the door. As they left, she shot me a look—smug and full of attitude

I smirked right back. 'Sure, Anita, take the house. Take the guy too. Doesn't bother me one bit. But FYI? You're still just the homewrecker, no matter how you spin it.'

Honestly, I couldn't wait to see how long she'd last with the "Mrs. Barne" title once the baby showed up.

As they walked out, Rob scooped her up, all dramatic like some cheap rom-com scene. I didn't even blink—just whipped out my phone and started recording.

I followed them out and hopped in a cab. Told the driver to follow their car. If anyone asked, I'd say I was just "concerned."

But Rob didn't take her to the hospital.

After driving around for a while, they finally parked in front of a hotel.

I laughed, bitter tears streaming down my face.

I called him. "How's she doing?"

There was a pause. "Uh... she's fine. The doctor said we just need to, uh, monitor her condition."

"Great. You keep an eye on her, then."

I hung up before he could respond and took a deep breath. Time to go home.

Rob didn't crawl back until the next morning, looking exhausted.

I was already in bed when he finally climbed in, the mattress dipping under his weight. His arm snaked around my waist, and my whole body tensed like I'd touched something slimy.

"Honey," he started. "I'm sorry. She had, uh, signs of a possible miscarriage, so she's staying at the hospital to protect the baby."

"Got it." I said flatly.

That threw him off. His hand kind of hovered awkwardly before he gripped me tighter.

"Don't worry," he said, softer now. "Once she's stable, I'll send her to Mom's house."

I sneered inwardly. 'Oh, so you can slip away to visit her even easier? Cute.'

I shoved his hand off and turned over, done trying to force myself to sleep. After a beat, I got up and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

Rob trailed after me, looking all kinds of uncomfortable. "Honey, I—"

"Don't," I cut him off. "This is what you wanted, right? No point in pretending anymore. Tell me, Rob, did you really take her to the hospital last night?"

He froze, then nodded. "Yes."

The panic in his eyes was quick, but yeah, I caught it.

Fate has a sick sense of humor. Anita couldn't help herself—she sent me a video of their little stunt right after I got home. Her big "miscarriage scare"? Total performance art. The stomach pain? Just a lie to make things more exciting for them.

'Honestly, Rob, I expected better from you.'

I turned to face him, keeping my voice steady but firm. "I can't have kids, and I definitely can't stay married to a cheater. Let's just get a divorce."