Chapter 2

The following afternoon, Julian cornered me in the underground garage outside my office tower.

"Evelyn, we need to talk. The kids need their father, and I can't live without you."

He was dressed in a tailored charcoal suit, his hair slicked back without a strand out of place. He looked nothing like the desperate man from last night.

I stared at him coldly. "Talk about what? The voice note you sent your mistress? Or the other two women on your payroll?"

Julian flinched. "I cut them off! Every single one! I swear to God! I was drunk out of my mind yesterday, I didn't mean any of it."

"Drunk?" I arched a brow. "Your tolerance used to be legendary. Last month at your corporate banquet, you polished off half a bottle of Macallan 25 and still delivered a keynote speech without slurring a syllable."

He choked on his words.

I moved around him toward my car, but he grabbed my wrist.

"Evelyn, seven years together! Are you really going to throw everything away over this?"

I glanced down at his hand, then up into his eyes. There wasn't an ounce of warmth left in me.

"Seven years, Julian? Do you remember the vows you whispered on our wedding day?"

He blinked, clearly drawing a blank.

"Let me jog your memory," I said evenly. "'Evelyn, you're the only woman I'll ever love. If I ever betray you, I'll walk away with nothing, leave every penny behind, and give you the kids.' It’s time to pay up."

Julian’s expression darkened. "I said that in the heat of the moment! It holds no legal weight! Besides, everything we built during this marriage is marital property! You don’t get to clean me out!"

I let out a soft, mocking laugh.

"Your shares in the Sterling Corporation were inherited before marriage. I don't want a dime of them. But Apex Genetics was founded solely by me prior to our wedding, and you won't touch a single penny of its equity. As for our penthouse in Manhattan? The deed is exclusively under my name. Pack your shit and get out. And as for our three children under eight? Family court will gladly award full primary custody to me."

"You… you planned this whole thing out?!"

I looked at him with sheer pity.

"Julian, what is my profession? I'm a geneticist and a researcher. My daily life revolves around crunching data, isolating evidence, and arriving at logical conclusions. Did you honestly think I’d handle my life with emotions like you do?"

I wrenched my wrist free and stepped into the driver's seat.

As the window rolled down, I leaned out slightly.

"Oh, by the way. I managed to get DNA samples from all three of your side pieces. As soon as their ultrasound records and baby filings roll in, I’ll be running paternity panels on them too."

Julian froze completely. "What the hell are you planning to do?!"

"Nothing illegal," I replied smoothly. "I just want to see if the babies growing inside them belong to you too. After all, if you can knock them up the way you knocked me up, it’s only fair that child support comes out of your remaining trust fund."

I rolled the window up and hit the gas.

In my rearview mirror, Julian stood rooted in place, looking like a shattered statue.

***