Chapter 2

2.

Elias was gone first thing in the morning. Of course, I knew exactly where he went. He'd been leaving early and coming home late for days.

His assistant at work, a young woman named Chloe, had called my phone several times looking for him.

Chloe told me Elias hadn't been to the office at all recently.

Putting the pieces together, the answer was obvious―he could only be at one place: taking care of Savannah.

I scheduled an appointment online and took an Uber to the clinic. The procedure went smoothly, and two hours later, a nurse wheeled me out of the recovery room.

As fate would have it, I ran into Elias at the front desk while paying my bill. He was holding Savannah's shoulder, and his brow furrowed the moment he saw me. "Are you stalking me?"

I ignored him and looked at Savannah. She awkwardly avoided my gaze, then gave Elias’s arm a playful, scolding squeeze.

"What a thing to say! Why would Charlotte stalk us? It’s not like we have anything to hide. I’m sure she understands, right?"

With those light, airy words, Savannah tossed the problem right back to me. I could only force a smile and reply, "That's right. You two are here for a prenatal check-up. What's that got to do with me? Why would I follow you?"

My bluntness infuriated Elias, and he shoved me. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Savannah is like family to me!"

My body was still weak from the procedure. The push sent me stumbling to the ground. A sharp pain shot through my lower body, and I let out a hiss, my eyebrows knitting together tightly.

Seeing this, Savannah immediately knelt to help me up, chiding Elias, but her face was filled with a triumphant, provocative smirk.

I pushed her away in disgust and tried to use the wall to pull myself up. But to my shock, she used the momentum to sit down hard on the floor, clutching her stomach and crying out that she was in pain.

Elias rushed to her side, helped her up, and then roared at me, "If anything happens to Savannah, I'll make you pay!"

A cold sweat broke out all over my body as I watched my husband abandon me, wrapping his arm around another woman and rushing away.

In that moment, I was more certain than ever that I’d made the right choice. A man who doesn't even love his own wife could never love her child.

Back home, I opened my phone, thinking of posting something, only to see Savannah’s new Instagram Story. It was a picture of Elias from behind with the caption: "Feeling so safe and secure with a man who loves me by my side."

Below it were the thinly veiled comments from Elias's frat boy friends.

Tanner: "That back looks familiar. Guess some people never forget their first love. ?? #OldHabitsDieHard"

Jack: "This is the real power couple. Some people should have bowed out a long time ago. [beer emoji] [fist bump emoji]"

Noah: "Now that’s the 'best gift.' If you know, you know. ???? #TheGiftThatKeepsOnGiving"

I quickly found Elias’s reply in the comment section.

"Don't talk crap. I'm just helping out. Are you guys trying to make Charlotte divorce me with this bullshit?"

Tanner replied immediately, dripping with his typical gaslighting bullshit: "Relax, bro. We're just saying you're a stand-up guy. But for real, we all think you and Savannah have way more in common. Follow your heart, man. Don't let yourself be trapped by some heavy sense of duty."

Tanner was Elias’s best friend since childhood. He never liked me, always thinking I wasn't good enough for his buddy and that I couldn't compare to Savannah in any way.

In his circle of arrogant pricks, I was less pretty, less charming, and less understanding than Savannah. In his eyes, I was worthless.

But for Elias, I had always put up with it. Now that our marriage was dead in all but name, I didn't have to care about anyone's feelings anymore.

I replied to Tanner: "Since you all love her so much, make sure you chip in for her lawyer's fees for the child support papers at the next get-together. #Karma"

After posting, I went to my own profile, selected two images―one was the ultrasound report from my pregnancy, the other was the receipt from the clinic procedure.

The caption: "Finally free."