She Faked Bankruptcy for Four Years

It wasn't until the next morning that Serena finally turned up in the hospital room.

Faint shadows ringed her eyes, and she looked tired.

"Honey, Edward's been monitored all night. The tests came back clear. Nothing serious."

"I talked to the doctor about you too. Your leg isn't badly hurt. Rest and it'll heal."

When she finished, she reached out to ruffle our daughter's hair the way she always had.

But Lily slid quietly out from under her hand, the silent movement saying everything.

Serena froze, and something between embarrassment and anger crossed her face.

I kept my eyes on her and repeated it, cold.

"Serena, that company is something we built together. Part of it is mine."

"The house and the car, we split fifty-fifty."

"And everything you bought for Kieran and his son gets converted to cash. I want—"

Her face darkened further, until she finally lost it and slapped me.

"Money! Money! Money! Aaron, is there anything in your head besides money?"

"What gives you the right to talk to me about divorce? Without me, you're nothing."

"Kieran is gentler than you, more understanding than you. He never forces me to do things I don't want to do. And you? Have you ever once thought about how I feel?"

"Aaron, I'm not divorcing you. As for money, you'll get enough to live on and not one cent more."

The outburst startled our daughter, who crawled crying into my arms and reached up, aching, to touch my swollen cheek.

I looked at this woman I'd loved for more than a decade, and all at once it struck me as absurd.

When she loved me, she'd have handed me everything she had.

When she stopped, cruelty and fighting over money became the everyday.

I nodded, calm.

"Fine. You said it yourself."

Serena swept out of the room in a fury, without sparing us so much as a glance.

I held my daughter tighter, my face only more set.

That evening, a news story shot to the top of the trending list.

When the alert came through, Serena was at dinner with Kieran and his son.

Her phone buzzed wildly, and she thought it was me sending a message to make peace. A small, faint pleasure flickered through her.

Then she saw what it actually was, and her eyes went wide with shock, her face draining to white.