Chapter 3

3

The next morning, the sharp click of the front door woke me up.

I walked out of the bedroom and saw Garrett standing in the foyer, holding a little girl around five years old.

I stood frozen in the hallway, at a loss for words.

The little girl wrapped her arms around Garrett's neck and whined, "Daddy Garrett, my tummy hurts, I want breakfast."

Garrett gently patted her back, his voice dripping with affection as he looked up at me.

"What are you just standing there for? Didn't you hear her say she is hungry? Go make something."

"Keep it light and bland. Zoey has a sensitive stomach."

I stayed rooted in place, staring at the casual way he ordered me around like a maid.

"Does she not have a mother of her own? Why is that my responsibility?"

Garrett's expression instantly turned icy, his eyes glaring at me with sharp disapproval.

"Clara, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why are you taking your anger out on an innocent five-year-old child? Do you have an ounce of compassion left in you? You are truly disappointing."

He carried Zoey to the sofa, gently sitting down before fumbling with a pink ribbon to braid her fine hair.

A while back, there was a viral trend on TikTok where boyfriends braided their girlfriends' hair.

I had excitedly begged Garrett to try it on me so we could film a sweet video, but he sneered and called it childish and tacky.

Now, he sat there with endless patience, carefully redoing the braid whenever a strand slipped out.

His entire expression was filled with a tenderness I had never seen before.

Months ago, Garrett had looked me in the eye and claimed he despised children, regardless of gender.

Yet his grandfather constantly pressured him for an heir, declaring that Garrett had to start a family before taking over the Vance empire.

The very day I finally received a positive pregnancy test, I was met with the news of his secret marriage.

A cold, bitter smirk touched my lips.

"Since you love playing house so much, let's end this. I wish you, Sadie, and your little family a lifetime of happiness."

Garrett's hands froze, and he snapped his head up in disbelief.

"Are you out of your mind? Our wedding invitations are already printed! You want to throw five years away just because of a piece of paper?"

"I told you I am divorcing her the second the paperwork clears! What more do you want from me?"

Just a piece of paper?

I could not fathom how he could utter those words with such effortless indifference.

Zoey burst into terrified wails at the sound of our shouting, her shrill cries grating on my frayed nerves.

I pressed my temples and frowned.

"Can you make her stop screaming?"

My words set Garrett off even further.

"Why are you yelling at a kid? Sadie was right about you! You are completely selfish, totally devoid of basic empathy, and you would make an absolute disaster of a mother!"

His words struck like a serrated blade, piercing straight through my chest until I was bleeding internally.

I was carrying his flesh and blood inside me, yet he deemed me unfit to ever be a mother.

How bitterly ironic.

A suffocating silence settled over the living room.

Garrett seemed to realize he had crossed an unforgivable line, his jaw tightening as he awkwardly scooped up Zoey and grabbed his jacket.

"A marriage is not something you get to cancel on a whim. Stop threatening to leave every time you don't get your way. Think about what you just said."

In the past, whenever we argued, I was always the one to apologize and beg for peace.

Today, I was completely drained.

My hand instinctively rested against my flat stomach, where a tiny, fragile heartbeat was quietly growing.

I sat on that sofa alone until noon, then picked up my phone to call my parents back in Ohio.

I was calling off the wedding for good.