Her Billion Dollar Exit

THE BREAKING POINT

EVELYN

​The driveway of the Hayes mansion looked the same as it always did, but the air felt different as I stepped out of the taxi, and I kept my head down because I didn't want the security guards to see the redness in my eyes while I walked toward the front entrance to get my final suitcases. I had hoped to be in and out before anyone noticed, but when I stepped onto the stone patio that led to the side garden, I saw Samantha sitting there on a bench, looking like she had been waiting for me to arrive all afternoon.

​"I wondered how long it would take you to come back for your scraps, Evelyn, though I'm surprised you have the nerve to show your face here after signing away your dignity for a few billion dollars," she said, standing up and smoothing out her dress while she walked toward me with a sharp, ugly smile that she never used when Arthur was around.

​"I'm just here for my things, Samantha, so you can go back to picking out new curtains or whatever it is you do now that you've finally stepped into another woman’s life," I replied, trying to move past her, but she stepped into my path and gripped my forearm with surprising strength.

​"You think you’re so clever, don't you, going to the clinic and trying to use a pregnancy to tie yourself to this family forever, but I saw the message on your phone and I want you to know right now that it won't work," she whispered, her voice dropping to a low, cold hiss that made my skin crawl.

​"I don't know what you're talking about, and I certainly don't need to explain my medical history to you, so let go of my arm before I make a scene that even Arthur can't ignore," I said, pulling back, but she only tightened her grip until her nails dug into my skin.

​"Arthur will never believe that child is his, Evelyn, because I've already spent the last three days telling him how you were seeing other men while he was away on business trips, and he’s so blinded by his love for me that he’d believe the sky was purple if I told him so," she sneered, and then her eyes shifted toward the gate as the sound of Arthur’s car echoed through the driveway.

​Before I could even process what she was doing, her entire expression changed from malice to pure terror, and she suddenly grabbed my hand and shoved it against her own shoulder while she used her other hand to scratch deep red marks into her own arms.

​"Evelyn, please, stop it, I didn't mean to upset you, I just wanted us to be friends for Arthur's sake," she wailed, her voice loud enough to carry across the entire garden, and then she threw herself backward with a violent jerk, tumbling down the three stone steps that led to the lower fountain.

​She landed with a heavy thud and stayed there, sobbing and clutching her ankle, and I stood at the top of the stairs in total shock because I hadn't even touched her, but then I heard the heavy, frantic footsteps of Arthur running across the grass.

​"Samantha! What happened, oh my god, are you alright," Arthur shouted, rushing past me without a glance to kneel beside her, and he looked horrified as he saw the scratches on her arms and the way she was shaking.

​"I just wanted to talk to her, Arthur, I told her I hoped she would be happy, but she got so angry and said that if she couldn't have you, then nobody could, and then she pushed me," Samantha sobbed, burying her face in his chest while she pointed a trembling finger at me.

​Arthur turned his head toward me, and I had never seen so much pure hatred in a person's eyes before, and he stood up slowly, his chest heaving as he stepped back up the stairs until he was towering over me.

​"I knew you were greedy, and I knew you were bitter, but I never thought you were a monster who would physically attack a woman just because you lost a marriage that you only wanted for the money anyway," he growled, his voice vibrating with a rage that made me want to shrink away.

​"Arthur, listen to me, I didn't touch her, she did that to herself the second she heard your car pull in, she's lying to you because she wanted you to see exactly what you’re seeing right now," I tried to explain, but the words felt hollow because I could see that he had already made up his mind.

​"Shut up, Evelyn, just shut your mouth because I’m tired of your lies and your pathetic attempts to play the victim when the woman I love is bleeding on the ground because of you," he shouted, and before I could even blink, he swung his hand and struck me across the face with a force that sent me stumbling back against the stone pillar.

​The pain was sharp and immediate, and my vision blurred for a second while the side of my face went numb, but the sound of the slap was even worse, echoing through the quiet garden like a final goodbye to the woman I used to be.

​"Get out," Arthur said, his voice quiet now but filled with a cold, deadly promise. "If I ever see you near her again, or if you even think about stepping foot on this property after today, I will make sure the police are the ones who handle you, so take your blood money and disappear before I lose my temper again."

​I stood there for a long moment, the stinging in my cheek feeling like a brand, and I looked at him while he turned back to scoop Samantha up in his arms to carry her inside, and I realized that there was no point in saying anything at all because the man I had loved for three years didn't exist anymore.

​I didn't cry, and I didn't scream, and I certainly didn't tell him that he had just hit the mother of his child, because as I watched him walk away with Samantha clinging to his neck, I knew that he didn't deserve to know the truth.

​I turned around and walked toward my car, my hand instinctively moving to cover my stomach where the tiny life was still safe, and I felt a strange sense of calm wash over me as I realized that the heavy chains of this house were finally broken for good.

​I got behind the wheel and started the engine, catching a glimpse of my reflection in the rearview mirror where a dark bruise was already starting to form on my skin, but I just put the car in gear and drove through the gates without looking back even once.

​As the mansion disappeared from my sight, I reached into the passenger seat and picked up my phone to call the only person I knew I could trust, because I had a lot of work to do if I was going to make sure that the name Hayes never touched my son's life.