Chapter 5

Seven days later, Robert and his little family returned from their company-funded vacation.

The dining table sat exactly as they'd left it—dishes crusted over, food rotting, a monument to their entitlement.

Robert frowned and pulled out his phone to call me. That's when he saw it: a court summons for divorce proceedings.

At the time, Jessica had been clinging to his arm, pouting about something trivial. He'd swiped it away without even looking.

Only now did he realize the hearing date was today.

And my name—Scarlett Lewis—was printed right there at the top.

Bobby's call came through immediately.

"Mr. Sullivan, this is Bobby Owens, attorney for Ms. Lewis. I'm calling to inform you—"

Robert hung up.

Jimmy wandered over, clutching a new toy. "Who was that?"

Robert let out a cold laugh. "Your mother hired some two-bit lawyer to scare us. Says she wants a divorce. Pathetic."

Jimmy barely glanced up from his game. "Dad, don't even bother. My teacher says that's called 'attention-seeking behavior.' She's probably just jealous we went on vacation with Mom Jessica."

Robert didn't respond. Instead, he reopened the court document and read it again—slowly this time.

Then he stood abruptly and strode into the study.

After a few minutes of rifling through drawers, he found what he was looking for: the prenuptial agreement, locked safely in his desk safe.

His shoulders visibly relaxed.

"Good thing I grabbed the original years ago. Thought you could use this to threaten me? Stupid woman."

What he didn't know was that my father, Jay Lewis, had kept a second copy—and handed it directly to Bobby before he died.

Robert locked the safe again, then typed out a text:

[Scarlett, instead of wasting time with these theatrics, why don't you clean the damn house? Jessica hates filth. Especially you.]

Message failed to send.

He stared at the screen. Then he tried calling. Then texting again.

One by one, every method of contact came back the same way: blocked.

That's when it finally sank in.

I wasn't bluffing this time.

Robert's jaw tightened. He nodded slowly, furiously, and immediately froze all my credit cards.

"Fine. Fine. Let's see how you survive without me."

Too bad for him, I was already halfway across the world, living off the inheritance my parents had left me—money he'd never known about.

Meanwhile, Jimmy shuffled out of his room, yawning and whining about being hungry.

Robert stared at him for a long moment. Then he said, flatly:

"Get dressed. I'm dropping you off at Jessica's. I'll pick you up when I'm done."

Jimmy perked up instantly, bouncing on the couch. "Yay! I get to see Mom Jessica again! She's the best!"

Robert ruffled his son's hair, but his smile had already vanished.

Half an hour later, he shoved Jimmy into Jessica's apartment—interrupting her beauty sleep—and bolted for the hospital.

But he didn't even make it to his office.

Dr. William Brown intercepted him in the hallway.

William was the hospital's youngest associate director—brilliant, sharp-tongued, and insufferably smug. Years ago, he'd come to visit my father as a med student, accompanying his own mentor. He'd fallen for me on sight.

But I was a month away from marrying Robert.

So William became my father's protégé instead. He followed him to this hospital, took every shift he could near my lab, just to be close to me.

Robert had always known. And he'd always hated him for it.

"Get out of my way," Robert snapped.

William didn't move. He tilted his head, lips curling into a lazy smirk.

"You've been fired, Sullivan. And you didn't even know. Pathetic. Keep letting women destroy you like this, and you'll end up in a gutter."

"What?"

The words hit Robert like a freight train. He shoved past William and sprinted to his office door.

Someone else was sitting at his desk.

His nameplate was gone.

Robert's breathing turned ragged. His eyes locked onto the new name on the door.

"This is impossible. I'm the face of this hospital. I'm a legend in this field. They can't just—"

"Marital infidelity," William cut in smoothly, examining his nails. "You've become a liability. Bad for the hospital's image."

Robert lunged at him—but stopped short when he noticed the phone peeking out of William's coat pocket.

He snatched it and immediately dialed my number.

I was overseas, unpacking furniture in the house my parents had bought for me years ago—my escape plan, my sanctuary.

When I saw William's name on the screen, I answered without thinking.

Before I could say a word, Robert's voice exploded through the speaker.

"Scarlett, are you insane? You want to burn everything down? You think airing our dirty laundry makes you look good? Being abandoned by your husband—is that something to be proud of?"

I paused. Then I laughed—cold, sharp, and utterly done.

"Robert, I could ask you the same thing. I gave you a chance. Multiple chances. So tell me—does being abandoned by your wife make you feel proud?"

Silence.

"I think I've made myself perfectly clear," I continued, my voice steady and final. "I, Scarlett Lewis, don't love you anymore."