I Was Pregnant, He Chased Another Woman

Chapter 2

The next morning, Claire woke up to an empty, cold bed.

She washed up quickly, changed into her business suit, and started packing a suitcase for her business trip.

Her gaze brushed over the head of the bed, and the oversized wedding photo hit her like a punch to the chest. Just six months ago, she was still happily nestled against Steven.

She took down the frame, pulled her suitcase, and walked out of the bedroom, passing through the living room.

Morning sunlight spilled in through the floor-to-ceiling window, illuminating the home they had built together piece by piece.

The expensive leather sofa had been his gift to her after her promotion.

The abstract painting hanging on the wall was the one they had hunted through every gallery in the city to pick out together.

And he especially brought back the plants on the balcony on one of his business trips; he said they could purify the air...

During ten years of a relationship, five years of hard work, they had gotten through countless late nights working overtime, cheered each other on, and supported one another, before they finally managed to put down roots in this city.

Every brick, every tile, every table, and every chair here was once soaked with all their sweat and their hopes for the future.

These warm, intimate memories were now like countless tiny needles, pricking her heart until it ached dully.

Claire tossed the photo into the trash bin, hailed a taxi, and headed for the airport.

A project bonus was far more reliable than all those vain promises and Steven's self-righteous sweet love.

Thank goodness she had never given up her work, and never given up her own life for the sake of "love".

When the plane landed in Riverport, another city, Claire led her team directly to meet with their client.

In the conference room of Rayford Capital, Managing Director Charles Roberts leaned back in the main seat. His dark gray suit lent him an increasingly steady, imposing presence.

After Claire finished her presentation of the proposal, Charles closed the folder in his hand.

"Ms. Jones, your framework is very clear," his voice was even. "However, the market is sharply divided right now. Using the industry average to support the key valuation is not convincing enough."

Claire's heart tightened, and she gestured to Lucy to switch the slide.

"That's a very critical point you raised, Mr. Roberts. We have prepared a more focused analysis." She switched slides and pulled up a second model. "This model excludes the bottom-tier performers in the industry, is fully benchmarked against top enterprise data, and separates metrics by different growth stages."

Charles's gaze rested on the screen for a moment, his expression still impassive. "I want a complete risk projection and response strategy based on this tomorrow morning."

"Understood."

After three days of working overtime nonstop, Claire finally returned to Eldoria with the signed contract.

When she pushed open the front door, the living room was unlit. Only the twilight filtering in from outside the window outlined the silhouette of a person.

Steven sat on the sofa, a cigarette held between his fingers, its ember glowing bright and dim in the darkness.

"So you finally decided to come home?"

Claire set her suitcase by the entryway and slipped off her high heels. "This is my house. Why wouldn't I come back?"

Steven watched her grimly in the darkness. "Claire, you wouldn't answer calls or texts. Your assistant said you were on a business trip, but I checked with your company—there is no urgent project that requires you to go. Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you? You..."

A cold emptiness settled in Claire's eyes as she calmly cut him off. "Shouldn't you be very busy? Busy pulling all-nighters at the firm, busy taking care of clients in need."

Steven stubbed out his cigarette and walked to stand in front of her. "You knew it. So you sued Freya and disappeared out of the blue, all because of this?"

He stood close, trying to read anger, heartbreak, or any emotion he recognized on her face, but all he found was cold, unflinching calm.

"Claire, the matter with Freya isn't what you think. She's a poor, vulnerable girl, and my helping her was..."

"Poor enough that you pay her monthly living expenses, rent her a downtown apartment, sleep with her on the side, and even go with her to get a vaginal tear treated." Claire cut him off with a cold laugh. "Did you come here just to tell me your heroic story of saving a fallen woman?"

Steven's face hardened completely. "Fine, let's talk business. Withdraw the lawsuit against Freya."

"Why?"

"This benefits neither of us," he said in a deep voice, his gaze fixed on her. "Once this lawsuit goes public, it will damage the law firm's reputation. I will clean up the whole mess with Freya. But the lawsuit has to be withdrawn."

Claire looked at him calmly. "Steven, now you remember us and your reputation? Why didn't you think of that when you slept with her and spent our joint property?"

With that, she pulled the divorce agreement out of her document bag and handed it to Steven.

"Steven, I need to get my money back, and we are done. The house and car are mine; I get seventy percent of our shared assets, you get thirty."

Steven grabbed the papers and tore the agreement into pieces. He lifted his eyes, his gaze heavy and locked on her.

"It was my mistake, I admit it." His voice was low and strained. "But mistakes can be fixed. The problems between us shouldn't be solved in a mutually destructive way. Claire, we've had ten years together. I love you, which can't be covered up by a few sheets of paper, nor wiped out by one mistake."

"You love me? That's hilarious. You love me while you hook up with another woman—how wonderful!" Claire's face was completely impassive. "Steven, some mistakes can never be fixed. For that woman, you poured every bit of the savings we built up over five years into supporting her without even blinking."

She paused, her voice ice-cold. "And on top of that, you're dirty. You're f*****g disgusting."

She grabbed her suitcase. "I will have my lawyer send you a new copy of the agreement. As for the lawsuit to get our property back, we'll see each other in court!"