His Betrayal Made Me Stand On My Own

Chapter 3

Adrian had once sworn with red-rimmed eyes that he would never let me go to the hospital alone and endure people's stares.

Now, phone clenched in his hand, he stood blocking the front door.

"Honey, a deal worth tens of millions of dollars has run into a serious problem. I have to handle it myself."

He crouched in front of my wheelchair and held my hand. His fingertips trembled.

I looked at him.

"But there'll be so many people at the hospital."

"Can I have Frank go with you instead?" he asked quickly. "I swear I'll come to the hospital the second I'm done."

I didn't pull my hand away.

"Go take care of it. I can manage on my own."

He exhaled in relief, kissed my forehead, and hurried out.

In the hospital's outpatient lobby, Adrian's driver, Frank Doyle, wasn't familiar with the hospital's check-in process, so he headed to the east entrance to get in line.

I wheeled myself through the crowd alone.

"Keep your distance. Don't bump into her."

People passing by kept turning to look.

In the past, I would have felt humiliated and hurt.

Now I simply kept moving toward the billing desk.

I felt nothing.

All I wanted was the report from my full skeletal evaluation so I could finalize the remaining arrangements for my surgery overseas.

When the examination was over, I waited in a quiet corner behind the lobby stairs for Frank to bring the car around.

Then the doors to the VIP maternity wing opened.

Adrian walked out.

He had one arm around a young woman's waist and carried her bag with the other.

She wore a loose maternity dress, and her pregnancy was already obvious.

It was Sophia.

Adrian lowered his head as he spoke to her, his face relaxed and his eyes full of tenderness.

A little boy running past brushed the edge of Sophia's dress.

"Ah!"

Sophia took the opportunity to duck into Adrian's arms.

Adrian's expression hardened instantly.

He pulled her tightly against his chest and glared at the parent rushing over.

"Watch your child! What if she'd been hurt? How could you possibly make that right?"

The parent apologized again and again, but Adrian kept snapping at them.

He rarely raised his voice at others.

Now, because of the baby another woman was carrying, he looked ready to tear someone apart.

I stayed in the corner and watched them.

Then I took out my phone, aimed the camera at the two of them embracing, and pressed the shutter.

At that moment, Adrian bent down and kissed the top of Sophia's head.

He never noticed that, barely 30 feet away, his wife, who couldn't even stand, sat in a wheelchair watching the entire farce.

I waited until they walked to the parking lot together and disappeared from view.

Then I put away my phone and called Daniel.

"I sent you the photos."

I heard papers rustling on the other end, followed by Daniel's startled exclamation.

"Is that Adrian Hawthorne? How could he bring her to the same hospital where you came for your follow-up?"

"Yeah."

"I'm finishing the last details of the divorce agreement. Do you want to change anything in the asset division plan?"

I stared at the smooth, nonslip floor beneath my wheels.

"Raise the stakes."

"How?"

"I want him to walk away with nothing."

Daniel was silent for a moment. "That's going to be difficult. He controls Hawthorne Group's core assets. Getting him to give up everything..."

"Write it the way I told you." I turned my wheelchair toward the exit, away from where Adrian and Sophia had disappeared. "If he refuses, we'll take it to court. Put these photos first in the appendix."

"All right. I'll revise it now."

After I ended the call, a new message appeared at the top of my screen.

Adrian: Honey, I finally fixed the problem with the deal. I'm heading to the hospital right now.

Another message followed immediately.

Adrian: Be good and wait for me.

I stared at the words, tapped the reply field, and typed a response.

Natalie: Okay. I'll wait.