TWO

SLYVIA'S POV

I felt my hands shaking as I stared at the papers Gray had just handed me. Divorce papers. My heart sank as the weight of his actions crashed down on me. "Why would you give me this, after... after everything?" I managed to ask, my voice trembling with a mixture of hurt and disbelief and tears streaming down my cheeks.

But before Gray could respond, Jocelia came striding towards me, her presence like a storm brewing. She pointed an accusatory finger at me, her words cutting through the silence like knives. "We don't need you here. We don't want you. A stripper like you has no place in this house. Now go away like the vermin you are."

I flinched at her words, feeling the sting of her hatred sear through me. It was as if all the years of resentment she had harbored towards me were finally boiling over, unleashed in a torrent of venomous words.

And then Alice joined in, her voice dripping with feign disgust as she accused me of the unthinkable. "I know you drugged my boy to sleep with you. All these strippers drug people and steal their money, so I wouldn't be surprised if you did that to William, my boy. You betrayed this family."

I stared at Alice in disbelief, her words hitting me like a slap in the face. Alice, the woman whom I knew had always resented Gray, who had never made any secret of her disdain for me also. The same woman who had been caught going to the media to leak information about Gray, but whom Gray had forgiven because she was his stepmother. And now she was standing before me, accusing me of betraying the very family she claimed to care about.

The hypocrisy of it all was staggering. How could she accuse me of such a thing when she herself had been plotting against Gray for years? How could she stand there and pretend to care about him, when all she really cared about was the family company and the money that came with it.

I felt a surge of anger rising within me, hot and fierce. I wanted to lash out, I wanted to cry, to scream and shout and make them understand the injustice of it all. But I knew it would be futile. They had already made up their minds about me. To them, I was nothing but a stripper, a lowly outsider who had dared to infiltrate their privileged world.

In that moment, I turned to Gray, seeking solace, hoping for some glimmer of understanding in his eyes. But what I found there shattered me more profoundly than any spoken word ever could. His gaze was cold, devoid of the warmth and love that had once filled it. And when he spoke, his words cut through me like a knife, each one a painful reminder of the betrayal that had torn us apart.

"You came into my life just to destroy it," he said, his voice laced with bitterness. "I hate you. I only married you because you saved my grandfather from a contract he was being forced into at that whoredom stripper club where you worked. I should have known you wouldn't keep your legs closed. I was a fool to ever love you. Now sign the divorce papers and get out of here."

His words hit me like a physical blow, knocking the breath from my lungs. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How could he say such things? How could he accuse me of such cruelty, such deceit? The man I had loved, the man I had married, stood before me now, a stranger filled with nothing but contempt.

I stared at him, unable to speak, unable to comprehend the magnitude of his betrayal. What was the point of telling him about the pregnancy now, anyways? They would think I was lying, or perhaps they would say it wasn't his. The truth didn't seem to matter anymore. All that mattered was the pain, the overwhelming sense of loss that threatened to consume me whole.

Gray turned away without another word, leaving me standing there, alone and broken. I looked around at the familiar surroundings, the house that had once been my home, now nothing more than a prison of memories too painful to bear. And then I saw them—my bags, laid out so neatly by Jocelia, a cruel reminder of the life I was leaving behind.

With a heavy heart, I gathered my things and walked away, each step a painful reminder of the love I had lost, the dreams that had been shattered.

As I walked down the driveway to catch a cab, I felt a crushing weight on my chest. I didn’t even realize when the heavy tears started streaming down my cheeks. My vision blurred, and I used my handkerchief to wipe away the snot from my nose. This past year with Gray had made me believe that all those years ago, when I saved Maxwell Lockwood from those two men who were forcing him to sign a contract by pretending to mistakenly pour alcohol on the contract papers, was fate. That incident led to him introducing me to Gray. I thought it was meant to be. But here we are, and what good is fate when the road leads to such heartbreak?

"I have to be strong for the baby," I whispered to myself, trying to summon the strength I desperately needed. At least I had the scholarship trust fund from Maxwell before he died. Maybe... just maybe, I could rebuild from there.

A cab pulled up beside me, the driver rolling down the window. "Where to, ma'am?" he asked, his voice kind yet indifferent.

"Did I really have anywhere to go?" I thought, feeling the enormity of my situation. I took a deep breath, trying to clear my mind. Houston sounds nice, I thought. Far away from this nightmare, a place to start fresh.

"The airport," I said, my voice steadier than I felt inside.

The driver nodded, and I climbed into the back seat, clutching my bags. As we drove away from the mansion, I watched it disappear in the rearview mirror, the life I once knew fading into the distance.

I wiped away another tear, looking out the window as the city of New york passed by. The vibrant lights and bustling streets seemed to mock my despair. I tried to focus on the future, on the tiny life growing inside me. This baby was my hope, my reason to keep going.

Arriving at the airport, I paid the driver and stepped out, feeling a sense of finality. The bright lights of the terminal felt cold and impersonal, but they represented a new beginning. I took a deep breath and walked inside, heading towards the ticket counter.

"One ticket to Houston, please," I said to the clerk, my voice steady.

The clerk typed on her computer, then handed me the ticket. "Safe travels," she said, offering a polite smile.

As I walked to the gate, I thought about the scholarship trust fund Maxwell had set up for me. It was meant to be used for furthering my education, a way out of the life I had known. Now, it was my lifeline. In Houston, I could start anew, focus on my studies, and prepare for the arrival of my baby.