The Long-Awaited Divorce

My best friend took me back to her place. Her face was full of worry.

"What are you going to do now?" she asked.

I already had a plan.

"I'm going to make them crumble from the inside."

The next day, I showed up at the spa where Vanessa Hughes—Brad's executive assistant—loved to go.

Lucky me. She was there.

The moment she saw me, she lightly touched her belly. Her eyes were practically glowing with smugness.

Then she opened her mouth.

"Well, well… look who's here. It's Mrs. Harrington," she said, dripping with fake sweetness.

She covered her mouth with a theatrical little giggle.

"Oh, but I guess I can't call you that anymore. You and Brad are divorced. And you walked away with nothing. Can you even afford this place? You're not going to pull a dine-and-dash, are you?"

I gave her a calm, small smile.

"You don't need to worry about my marriage," I said. "Anyway, aren't you supposed to have depression? You don't seem depressed at all."

Her smile flickered.

I glanced at her belly. "That's starting to show. I wonder where the father is? Brad said he wanted to look after you out of family obligation. Is this baby going to be born without a dad?"

That got to her.

Her face twisted with anger. She lunged at me, but her friend grabbed her arm and held her back.

Perfect.

I kept going.

"And by the way, how do you know I walked away with nothing? Brad and I have years together. Do you really think he'd leave me with nothing?"

I let the words hang.

Then I paused. Deliberately.

My eyes drifted down to her stomach. Then back up to her face.

"Anyway," I said sweetly, "take good care of that baby. All of us will."

Vanessa stood there frozen. Confused. Suspicion flickering across her face.

Exactly what I wanted.

Here's the thing about someone as selfish as Brad—he'd never put his real assets in anyone else's hands. So Vanessa has no idea how much he's actually worth. She can't be sure if I'm lying or telling the truth.

And I know Brad told her I couldn't have children. That's why she's so confident now that she's pregnant.

But now… I've planted the seed. With my little hints, she's going to start wondering: Is Brad just using me for the baby?

The moment that doubt takes root, cracks will form between them.

And the more cracks, the more mistakes they make.

The more evidence I can gather.

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