7 Years Married, His Only Gift Was Free

Chapter 4 He's Mine

I had no idea how long I sat there before finally forcing myself to stand.

Every instinct screamed at me to march straight to Jennifer Davis's seafood stall and tear the place apart.

But I couldn't move. My legs felt like they were filled with lead.

The courage I'd spent days clinging to had completely drained away.

All I could see was Mike Carter standing in front of Jennifer Davis at the hospital. Looking at me as though I was the problem.

I wandered aimlessly toward the alley behind the market. The air reeked of fish and garbage.

Then I stopped dead.

Beside the old delivery van, two figures were tangled together.

"Slow down," Jennifer Davis giggled. "It's broad daylight. Aren't you worried your frumpy wife might catch us?"

Even as she spoke, her arms were wrapped tightly around Mike Carter's neck.

"Why bring her up?" Mike Carter replied. "She's about as exciting as a piece of wood."

His back was facing me. He pinned Jennifer Davis against the van door. His hands roamed shamelessly over her body before he lowered his head and kissed her eagerly.

Every movement made one thing painfully clear. He wanted her desperately.

Then Jennifer Davis suddenly looked up. Her gaze locked onto mine.

She didn't pull away. Instead, she lifted her chin and smiled.

A smug, victorious smile.

Then she mouthed the words slowly, making sure I understood every syllable.

"He's mine."

I stood beside a dumpster and watched.

I didn't scream. I didn't rush over. I didn't cry.

I just stood there.

Watching.

Then I turned around and walked away alone, straight to a lawyer's office.

The couch in the tiny office was hard as stone.

The lawyer patiently explained everything. The diner had been built by Mike Carter and me together.

The business was marital property.

I was legally entitled to half.

All I had to do was stand my ground.

I sat there in silence. One hand rested over my stomach.

When I left the office, my phone rang.

The moment I answered, noise exploded through the speaker. Mike Carter's voice came through over the commotion.

"Susan Miller, Jennifer Davis and I are at the Business Licensing Office handling some paperwork. Go pick Ethan Davis up from tutoring and bring him back to the diner. I already sent you the address."

I tightened my grip on the phone. A bitter laugh almost escaped me.

Even now, he still thought I was the same woman as before. The woman who would always forgive him. The woman who would never leave.

"I don't..."

"I already sent the address," he interrupted. "The kid's waiting there by himself. He'll be scared. Stop making things difficult."

The line went dead.

The child was innocent.

At least, that's what I told myself.

He was only seven years old. I couldn't leave him stranded alone.

In the end, I went.

Outside the tutoring center, Ethan Davis was sitting on a bench, completely absorbed in a game on his tablet.

The moment he saw me, he rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Why are you here, you ugly old lady? Where's my dad?"

"Your dad is busy."

The words tasted bitter.

On the walk back, Ethan Davis kicked an empty soda can down the sidewalk.

Each kick sent muddy water and gravel splashing onto my pants.

"Stop that and walk properly."

My patience was wearing thin.

He spat and yelled at me, "Mind your own business. My mom says who the hell do you think you are?"

I stopped walking. A sharp pain twisted through my lower abdomen.

"Is that how your mother taught you to speak to people?"

When we reached the pedestrian overpass, Ethan Davis suddenly stopped.

He looked up at me.

The hatred in his eyes didn't belong to a child. It was borrowed from adults.

"My mom says you're the one who keeps clinging to my dad. You're just an old hag who won't let him go."

His voice rang across the overpass. His words struck like knives.

"And the baby in your stomach should just die too."

My entire body froze. Both hands flew protectively to my belly.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Nobody wants you! That stupid baby should die!"

Before I could react, he lunged forward.

Using all the strength his small body could muster, he shoved me hard in the stomach.

My foot slipped. The world tilted violently.

I lost my balance. Then I fell. Down the concrete steps of the overpass.