Chapter 2

When he saw I wasn't going to speak, he lost interest. He grabbed his coat.

"Something came up at the school. I don't have time to sit around with you."

The door slammed behind him. I sat alone in the hospital room for a long time.

Then I asked the nurse to take out my IV and signed my own discharge papers.

Back home I started packing. I didn't want to be scrambling three days from now.

The most important thing was the evidence of Aiden's affair. I screenshotted it page by page.

A notification popped up on my phone. Local trending news.

"Yale professor rushed to hospital with female student after intercourse-related adhesion. Doctors performed emergency separation on-site."

The video was crystal clear. Aiden and Lena were barely covered by a thin blanket.

Every word the doctors said had been recorded.

The comment section was on fire.

"A Yale professor? So this is what the Ivy League is turning out these days? I'm dying."

"With his own student? Buddy, you can go ahead and bury your career right now."

"His wife's literally pregnant. Is this guy even human?"

The university moved fast. The official announcement said an investigative committee had already been formed.

Aiden was suspended from all teaching and research duties. Lena's situation was under review.

I turned off my phone and kept packing.

The property deed. The bank statements from every year of our marriage. One folder at a time.

Our wedding photo was still sitting on the nightstand.

He was smiling with his eyes crinkled up, like a hero coming home from war.

The glass already had a crack running through it. I turned the frame face down.

My phone lit up. Vanessa had sent me a business card.

【Selene. The cases she takes usually settle at the first hearing.】

The doorbell rang. I opened it, and Lena dropped to her knees at my feet.

Her eyes were swollen and red. She grabbed the hem of my pants with both hands.

"Mrs. Whitmore. Please. I'm begging you. Let me go."

She was sobbing so hard her voice was barely working.

"Please take the video down. If the school expels me, my parents will kill me."

"I'm begging you, Mrs. Whitmore…"

I pulled my leg free and spoke coldly.

"I didn't post it. But whoever did? I think they did the right thing."

She lifted her head and stared at me. Her eyes were full of hate.

That was when Aiden came home.

He walked over in long strides, hauled Lena up, and pulled her against his chest.

The look he gave me was ice.

"Selene. This time you've gone too far."

His voice was heated. He was almost grinding the words out.

"If you have a problem, come at me. Lena can't even go back to her dorm right now. Do you understand that?"

Before I could say anything, he drew a long breath.

"It's already all over the news. There's only one way out of this. We're getting divorced."

Lena's head snapped up. Something calculating flickered through her eyes.

When I didn't respond, Aiden reached for my hand. His voice softened.

"We'll get divorced to kill the story. Once the noise dies down, we'll remarry."

"By then the baby will be here. We'll be a family of three."

Lena wiped her eyes and spoke softly.

"Mrs. Whitmore. Don't worry. I would never try to take Aiden from you."

I let the corner of my mouth twitch. My voice was very level.

"Fine."

Aiden froze for a second. He clearly hadn't expected me to agree so easily.

Lena froze too, watching me like she was trying to work out an angle.

I took a step back and started to close the door.

"I'll have my lawyer draft the papers. You can leave now."

Aiden's face went black. Lena pressed herself against him and murmured, "Aiden, she's just hurting right now. Let's go."

He gave a cold snort, grabbed her arm, and left.