She Filed for Divorce,Then He Discovered She Owned Everything

I'd spent all morning waiting in line for a VIP room at the private obstetrics hospital. Now the person lying in my bed was Alma Harding, my husband's neighbor, nursing a sprained ankle.

William Stephens stood and tucked the blanket around Alma himself, then turned to me with a frown. "Alma's ankle is too swollen for her to sit up. What's the big deal if she borrows your bed for a bit? She got hurt saving my life years ago. Taking care of her is the least I can do. You're just here for a routine checkup. Go sit on one of the benches in the hallway and stop making a scene."

On the bed, Alma cradled her ankle, her smile innocent and timid.

I looked down at the swell of my belly. Then I tugged at the corner of my mouth and tore the ultrasound requisition form in my hands to shreds.

"You're right, Mr. Stephens. Benches are perfectly fine. So I think I'll find a father for this baby who actually gives a damn about his pregnant wife. As for this hospital, which happens to be owned by my private medical consortium, security will be throwing both of you out on the street momentarily."

——

"Seraphina Ashford, how long are you going to keep this up?"

William frowned, adjusting his cufflinks, his tone dripping with impatience.

He shoved a cup of hot milk he'd just bought into my hands. That was his usual move: slap you first, then offer you a piece of candy.

"I'm not 'keeping up' anything. I'm taking back what's mine." I didn't accept the milk. I let it fall to the floor.

I pressed a hand against my aching lower back and pointed at the door. "Take your precious neighbor and get out."

"Please don't be upset, Seraphina. This is all my fault."

Alma struggled to sit up, her eyes reddening instantly, her voice thin and pitiful.

"My foot just hurt so badly, and William saw I couldn't stand, so he let me come in to rest for a minute. I had no idea you'd been waiting all morning for this room. I'll leave right now..."

She made a show of climbing off the bed. The moment her toes grazed the floor, she let out a sharp whimper and collapsed straight into William's arms.

William caught her without hesitation, his face going completely dark.

"Alma, you have an old injury. Stay put and don't move!"

When he turned back to me, his eyes were full of blame.

"Seraphina, look at yourself. Petty. Vicious. Is this how a Stephens wife behaves? When the Stephens family was at its lowest, Alma took that car accident for me. She has permanent damage in that foot because of me! I owe her my life. What's wrong with letting her lie in your room for half an hour?"

"Behave?" I let out a short laugh. My stomach churned. "William, I'm pregnant. I waited four hours in line. My legs are so swollen I can't even fit into my shoes. You gave my spot to your dear neighbor, and you want to lecture me about how I behave?"

"The hallway out there is plenty wide. You can sit anywhere." William waved his hand dismissively. "A prenatal checkup is just routine. Stop using the baby as leverage against me. I booked you a specialist appointment. I bought you milk. What more do you want?"

I looked at William standing there, so sure he was right about everything, and the last trace of warmth inside me went cold.

This was the man I'd hidden my identity for. The man I'd married and quietly propped up for five years.

He could be tender sometimes. He'd stay up all night holding my hair back when the morning sickness was at its worst.

But the second Alma called, he wouldn't think twice about leaving me alone on a rainy night.

He always said he loved me. But he could never let go of what he called his "debt."

"Fine. Since you think the hallway is so spacious, then you two can wait out there."

I pressed the call button on the wall. My voice gave nothing away.

The head nurse pushed open the door, looked at me, then at William, her expression caught somewhere between a rock and a hard place.

"Mrs. Stephens, this... Mr. Stephens is a VIP guest of our hospital, and Miss Harding is an injured patient..."