The Fake Wife's Spectacular Genius Comeback
Chapter 2
Chloe's phone buzzed.
*"How was the appointment, love? Everything okay?"*
She stared at the screen. *Love.* The word was a knife wrapped in silk.
Her thumb hovered over the keyboard. She could type the truth. Send the screenshots. Burn his world down with one message.
*Not yet.*
*"Everything's fine. Dr. Miller said I just need to rest more."*
She watched the three little dots appear. Then disappear. He didn't even care enough to finish typing a reply.
*Good. Keep underestimating me.*
---
The Manhattan County Clerk's Office smelled like wet wool and broken dreams.
Chloe took a number and sat on a hard wooden bench between two beaming couples. The woman to her left was showing off her engagement ring. The man to her right was practicing his signature.
They were here to start their lives.
She was here to prove hers had been a lie.
*"B-47."*
Her legs felt like they belonged to someone else. She walked to the counter and slid her license through the gap.
"I need a copy of my marriage record. Chloe Hayes and Julian Sterling. October 12th, five years ago."
The clerk typed. Frowned. Typed again.
"I'm not finding anything."
"Try again."
"I did."
"*Again.*"
The clerk's eyes softened with pity. *Pity.* Chloe wanted to scream. Instead, she smiled. A cold, beautiful smile that made the woman flinch.
"Let me check the physical ledgers," the clerk murmured, and disappeared.
---
Five minutes.
Chloe counted every second.
The clerk returned. Empty-handed.
"I'm sorry. There is *no record* of a marriage between Chloe Hayes and Julian Sterling in the state of New York."
She pushed a printout across the counter.
"According to our records, your legal status is—"
"Single. I heard you."
Chloe took the paper. Her hands didn't shake. That was the worst part. She wasn't sad. She wasn't even angry.
She was *empty.*
---
Outside, the rain was savage.
Chloe stood under the awning, the official document clenched in her fist. The ink was already bleeding.
*No record found.*
Five years. Cooking his meals. Attending his galas. Spreading her legs when he came home drunk and called it "love."
She pressed a hand to her flat stomach.
The baby. *His* baby. A child conceived in a beautiful, airy cage she'd mistaken for a home.
The thought made her want to vomit.
So she did. Right there, in a trash can outside the county clerk's office. Bitter bile burned her throat.
She wiped her mouth and pulled out her phone.
No tears. No trembling.
She searched: *women's health clinic + termination + discreet.*
Three blocks away. Open now.
She called.
"I need an appointment."
"For?"
"*Termination.*"
The voice on the other end hesitated. "Ma'am, do you have someone to—"
"I have *myself.* That's enough."
---
CVS was bright. Sterile. Full of smiling families and cheerful greeting cards.
Chloe walked past them all. Straight to the vitamin aisle.
She picked up a bottle of generic prenatal vitamins. The right size. The right shape.
The perfect prop.
At checkout, the cashier smiled. "Have a great day!"
Chloe looked at him. Her lips moved. Something that might have been a smile. Or a warning.
She pushed open the glass door and walked into the rain.
*Time to go home.*
Home to the spy Julian had installed as their housekeeper. Home to the beautiful, empty cage he'd built for her.
*But cages have keys.*
And Chloe had just found hers.
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