Chapter 8 - The UltimatumDawn was just beginning to break over the city skyline, painting the horizon in bruised shades of purple and orange, when I unlocked the front door of our house.
My house.
Because by the time I was done with the lawyers, Ryan wouldn't own a damn thing.
I walked into the kitchen, threw the manila folder onto the island, and dropped my keys beside it. My hands were still shaking, but the shock was gone. In its place was a cold, impenetrable rage.
Ten minutes later, the front door clicked open.
Heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway. Ryan walked into the kitchen, looking like a ghost. His hair was disheveled, his eyes hollow and dark.
"Beth," he started quietly, standing by the entryway. "Please. Let me explain everything properly."
"There is nothing left to explain, Ryan," I said, not even looking up from the kitchen counter where I was drafting an email on my laptop.
"You can't just throw eight years away like this," he pleaded, taking a hesitant step closer.
"Eight years?" I looked up at him, my eyes narrowing into slits. "Ryan, we haven't had eight years. For the last eight months, I’ve been married to a stranger who knocked up my sister behind my back, stole our savings, and forged my signature on adoption papers. What's left to throw away?"
Ryan closed his eyes, dropping his head in defeat. "What do you want to do?"
"Here is what is going to happen," I said, my voice steady and cold as steel. "You are going to pack your things right now. You are going to leave this house before the sun is fully up."
"And the baby?" Ryan asked, his voice cracking. "Oliver?"
"Oliver is Emily's problem. Or yours. Or Mark's. I don't care. He has nothing to do with me."
"Beth, you can't just cut him out," Ryan argued, a flash of desperation crossing his face. "He’s innocent in all of this. He’s just a baby."
"He is the physical manifestation of my husband's betrayal and my sister's deception," I fired back, standing up from the stool so fast the chair scraped loudly against the tile. "You expect me to play happy family with the product of your affair? Are you out of your mind?"
"I’m filing for divorce today," I continued, my voice unwavering. "I’m handing these forged adoption documents and bank records over to my attorney and the district attorney's office. You committed fraud, Ryan. Financial fraud and forgery. You could go to prison for this."
Ryan stared at me, the last color draining completely from his face. He realized then that I wasn't bluffing.
"Beth... please," he whispered, taking a step forward. "Do whatever you want to me. Take the house, take the money, send me to prison. But don't ruin Emily and the baby. They didn't ask for this."
"Neither did I," I said coldly. "Now get out."
He stood there for a long, agonizing moment, looking as though he wanted to say a thousand more things. But the look in my eyes must have told him there was no coming back.
Without another word, Ryan turned around, walked down the hall, and closed the front door behind him.
May you like
The house fell completely silent.
I stood alone in the kitchen, listening to the hum of the refrigerator, wondering how my entire life had imploded in less than twelve hours.
