Chapter 3 - The First Ultimatum
Evelyn marched down the hallway clutching her quilted overnight bag like a shield, her face twisted in pure, unadulterated hatred. She stopped right in front of me, her nose wrinkled in disgust.
"You'll regret this, Ivy," she spat, her voice dripping with venom. "Wade is a good man. He deserves a warm, supportive wife, not an ice-cold tyrant who cares more about bricks and mortar than her own family. He'll leave you. And when he does, you'll be nothing. A lonely single mother with a ruined body and an empty apartment."
"Maybe so," I replied calmly, holding the front door wide. "But at least I'll be solvent. Now, walk."
Evelyn scoffed, tossed her head, and stormed out into the hallway, her sensible walking shoes clicking sharply against the tile.
Wade didn't follow her immediately. He lingered in the entryway, shifting his weight from foot to foot, the angry flush on his face giving way to a greasy, desperate calculation. He looked at the door, then down the hall at his mother waiting by the elevators, and finally back at me.
He thought he could charm his way out of it. He always believed his smile was a universal solvent.
"Ivy... come on," he said, lowering his voice into a smooth, wheedling register. He took a step toward me, holding his hands out palms-up. "Let's be reasonable. We're exhausted. I'm stressed about work, you're recovering from the C-section... emotions are running high. We're a family. We can't just throw all this away over a stupid argument about water and money."
I crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at him. "Money? Wade, you committed fraud. You stole my business credit to feed a gambling addiction. That isn't an argument; that is a felony."
His expression hardened for a fraction of a second, the mask slipping, before he slapped the warm, pleading look back onto his features. "I'll pay it back! I swear to God, I'll get a second job. I'll stop playing entirely. Just... let's not do anything rash. Don't call lawyers. Don't make things ugly for Leo. What kind of home are we giving our son if we split up before he's even two weeks old?"
"The kind of home where his mother is safe, respected, and not physically assaulted by her in-laws while recovering from major surgery," I answered.
Wade’s jaw tightened. The desperation curdled into frustration, and the old, familiar menace crept back into his eyes.
"You're making a massive mistake, Ivy," he warned, his voice dropping dangerously low. "If you lock me out, if you try to cut me off, I'll file for divorce on the grounds of abandonment. I'll demand fifty percent of this condo, fifty percent of your business assets, and joint custody of Leo. You think you're smart? Try fighting a custody battle when you're a hysterical, unstable woman who can't even sleep through the night."
A shiver of genuine fear rippled down my spine, but I forced my expression to remain smooth as glass. I knew how the family court system worked in Colorado. I knew that divorces could drag on for months, and that high-conflict custody battles were psychological torture.
But I also knew something Wade didn't.
"File whatever you want, Wade," I said, stepping back and gripping the edge of the heavy oak door. "But you won't be doing it from this address."
Before he could lunge forward to catch it, I slammed the door shut and threw the deadbolt.
A heavy, echoing click vibrated through the frame.
On the other side of the door, Wade let out an angry shout, followed by a heavy thud against the wood. "Ivy! Open this door right now! Ivy!"
I stood in the quiet foyer, breathing heavily, listening to the muffled sound of his fist pounding twice more before footsteps retreated down the hall toward the elevators.
Silence settled over the condo.
From the bedroom, a tiny, high-pitched mewl drifted down the hallway. Leo was awake again.
May you like
I walked down the corridor, feeling the steady ache in my lower abdomen, and scooped my son up into my arms. He blinked up at me with sleepy, unfocused eyes, warm and soft against my chest.
"It's just you and me, little bean," I whispered, pressing my face into his sweet, milky hair. "We’re going to be just fine."
