uffling the world in a Christmas Eve hush. I rested a hand on my swollen belly, feeling the gentle flutter of lif

iam. He was supposed to be home hours ago. As a tech mogul, Liam Vance was always busy, but he

elief through me. He was finally here. I walked to the large picture

e smil

he tension in his shoulders. Then, the passenger door opened, and a woman emerged. Sarah Miller.

e weather. Liam' s face was a mask of strained composure. Sarah stood slightly behin

, his voice flat.

loved, with another woman carrying his child. He pulled a sheaf of paper

ce Pa

I asked, my voic

my eyes. He looked at the floor, at the ceiling, anyw

g to process his words. This had

coming business-like, as if he were closing a deal. "It' s

ing? After five years of marriage, of supporting h

word scrape

ogic that was somehow worse. "Sarah' s child can' t be a bastard, Ava. It would be a stain

lative reassurance I knew all too well. "It' s just temporary. I' ll divorce her after a year or two. Once th

our life, our vows, our future,

iumphant smile played on her lips. "He' s right, Ava. It' s for t

ly, and the meaning was clear. My

y chest. I wasn't just losing my husband; I was seeing him for who he truly was. A shallow, selfish man

a world with a father like Liam? A man whose moral compass was so broken? Did I w

o

ild to that. I would not let them be a pawn in Liam' s sick game, a

console table. I picked up the pen Liam had s

e he had marked. Ava Green. S

. It clattered ag

hly his "perfect plan" had gone. He saw my compliance not as a sign of my utter disgust, but as proof of

ds dripping with condescension.

ur bedroom, a room that now felt like a stranger' s. I didn' t pack my clothes, my jewelry, the thing

et life. My real life. As "Perla," the anonymous digital artist, I had a fortune he knew nothing about. I

wealth into a new set of accounts under a new name, un

f a celebratory drink. Sarah was already examining a

mall bag with his glass. He was smug, so sure of his victor

ll I want

r, the one I' d had since college, and started the engine. As I pulled away, I saw them in the rearview mirror, standin

rom it, into the darkness, with a resolve as cold and hard as steel. The life inside me deserved b