Three weeks later, Seattle exploded with gossip.

Apparently, wealthy businessmen loved drama just as much as everyone else.

Especially when it involved betrayal.

Word spread quickly through corporate circles about Ethan divorcing the hidden heiress of Bennett Holdings days before childbirth.

Then losing a multimillion-dollar partnership because of it.

People talked.

Investors hesitated.

Clients withdrew.

And Parker Consulting started bleeding money almost immediately.

Meanwhile, Vanessa became a social disaster.

Women in professional circles avoided her. Several companies quietly distanced themselves. Even her own staff reportedly questioned her judgment.

Affairs were common.

Public cruelty wasn’t.

Especially not toward a pregnant woman.

One morning, while feeding Clara in my father’s penthouse overlooking Elliott Bay, I saw Vanessa’s face on a local business blog.

Former Marketing Executive Resigns Amid Corporate Controversy.

I stared at the article silently.

Then closed it.

I didn’t feel victorious.

Just tired.

Revenge sounded satisfying in movies.

In reality, heartbreak exhausted everyone involved.

My father walked into the kitchen carrying coffee.

“You’re reading about them again.”

“I was curious.”

He sat beside me.

“How are you feeling?”

“Sleep deprived.”

He smiled slightly.

“That means you’re officially a mother.”

Clara yawned in my arms.

My father’s expression softened immediately.

He adored her already.

Sometimes I caught him standing silently beside her crib at night just watching her sleep.

“She has your eyes,” he murmured.

Another knock sounded unexpectedly.

One of the house staff approached carefully.

“Miss Bennett,” she said. “There’s someone here asking to see you.”

I frowned. “Who?”

The woman hesitated.

“Mrs. Parker.”

Confusion crossed my face instantly.

Then realization hit.

She’d married Ethan after all.

My father’s expression darkened immediately.

“She has nerve.”

“I’ll handle it.”

He clearly disliked the idea.

But eventually nodded.

A few moments later, Vanessa entered the penthouse living room.

And honestly?

She looked terrible.

Gone was the polished confidence from the courthouse.

Dark circles lined beneath her eyes. Her expensive clothes looked rushed. And tension radiated from her entire body.

She glanced around the luxurious penthouse slowly.

I could practically see her calculating numbers in her head.

“So,” she said quietly, “the rumors were true.”

I remained calm.

“What do you want?”

Vanessa laughed bitterly.

“You know, Ethan told me you came from a normal family.”

“He never asked otherwise.”

Her jaw tightened.

“Do you have any idea what’s happened to us?”

Us.

Interesting choice of word.

I adjusted Clara gently in my arms.

“His company’s collapsing,” she snapped. “Half his clients disappeared.”

Vanessa stepped closer.

“You could stop this.”

I blinked slowly.

“You think my father destroyed Ethan’s company?”

“Didn’t he?”

“No,” I replied softly. “Ethan did that himself.”

For a moment, anger flashed across her face.

Then unexpectedly… she looked emotional.

“He barely sleeps anymore,” she admitted quietly. “He drinks constantly. He keeps looking at pictures of the baby.”

A strange ache twisted inside my chest.

Vanessa noticed.

“He still loves you,” she whispered.

I stared at her.

“Then why did he marry you?”

That question lingered heavily between us.

And Vanessa couldn’t answer it.

Because maybe she didn’t understand either.

Finally she exhaled shakily.

“I thought he’d move on eventually,” she admitted. “But he’s miserable.”

I almost pitied her.

Almost.

But then I remembered her laughter in the courthouse.