His Wi-Fi Exposed His Affair,

Chapter 4

I spent that night calling in every favor I had.

Messages and emails poured in like a flood, each one a poisoned blade. Mr. Hale's entry and exit records over the past three years: itinerary overlaps with Iris Mercer on 17 separate occasions. Last October, Mr. Hale made an emergency trip abroad for one week, his itinerary consistent with Ms. Mercer's visit to a ski resort in Asterra. Prenatal screening report for Iris Mercer, issued by a private hospital three years ago: 8 weeks along.

The papers slipped from my trembling hands and scattered across the floor.

I was calm in a way that frightened me. I called my father first, then my secretary.

"Dad, I'm breaking off the engagement." Then, to my secretary: "Terminate all ongoing projects with Hale Group immediately. Pay whatever penalties are owed."

There was a pause on the line. "But these projects were all personally overseen by you..."

"Do it now." My voice had gone completely flat. "And book me the earliest available flight out of the country."

By the time I hung up, dawn was already threatening the sky. A wave of dizziness hit me without warning, and I could no longer hold myself upright.

I took a cab to the hospital, but stopped dead the moment I turned the corner toward the exam rooms.

Elliot and Iris were just down the hall. He was easing her carefully into a seat, one hand at her back.

"You really don't have to come with me every time," Iris said quietly. She shifted slightly away from him, but he pulled her back without hesitation.

"What we're doing... it's so cruel to Wren."

Something complicated moved behind Elliot's eyes, those eyes that usually held nothing but cool self-assurance. "I know. I know I'm being a bastard. But I..." His fingers moved absently along her sleeve. "I can't help myself. And that night, you weren't exactly pulling away either."

Iris' tears fell before she could stop them. His jaw tightened.

"Elliot." Her voice turned sharp, carrying the finality of someone burning the last bridge behind them. "The baby is my responsibility. Go back to Wren. Be good to her. Pretend none of this ever happened."

"How am I supposed to pretend nothing happened?" It came out almost as a growl, raw with anguish. "That's my child. I'll find a way. I'll figure something out, give both of you a proper place in my life. I promise neither Chester nor Shay will ever want for anything."

Chester. Shay.

Those two names drove into my chest like ice picks, piercing straight through whatever was left of me. They were the names I had whispered in the dark, curled against his side, dreaming out loud about the children we would one day have.

"Elliot."

He heard my voice. He turned, and his gaze traveled down the corridor through the sparse figures between us, until it found mine.

Every trace of color drained from his face.