Chapter 5

"Look what you did," Liam said, his voice cold with anger. He knelt on the floor, carefully picking up the large pieces of the broken vase, his movements sharp and agitated. "You're acting crazy. You need to pull yourself together."

I didn't answer. I just stood there, my hands trembling slightly, the world still feeling unsteady beneath my feet. The nausea was churning in my stomach, a physical manifestation of the sickness in my soul. I was tired. So deeply tired of the fighting, of the lies, of his complete and utter blindness.

Chloe, ever the actress, let out a little gasp and clutched her chest. "Oh, my heart is racing. The crash... it was such a shock." She looked up at Liam with wide, frightened eyes. "I'm sorry, Ava. I'm sure you didn't mean it."

Her fake apology was more infuriating than Liam's anger. She was using her pregnancy as both a shield and a weapon, and Liam was her willing accomplice.

"It's not your fault, Chloe," Liam said, his voice softening as he turned to her. He stood up, leaving the mess on the floor, and went to her side. "Don't you worry."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out a credit card and handed it to her.

"Here," he said. "Why don't you go online and order some things for the nursery? Buy whatever you want. Something to take your mind off this."

It was a blatant, transactional gesture. A payment for the "distress" I had caused. The same way he had paid her to carry his child, he was now paying her for her emotional performance.

Chloe took the card, her fingers brushing against his. She looked down, a picture of false humility. "Oh, Liam, you don't have to. It's too much."

"Nothing is too much for you and the baby," he said, his voice thick with an emotion he no longer showed me. "Ava and I have plenty of money. It's the least we can do after everything you're doing for... for the family."

"We"? He was still trying to include me in this twisted fantasy, as if his money could stitch our shattered marriage back together. As if a credit card could make up for a broken heart.

"I just want a place to belong," Chloe whispered, a tear trickling down her cheek. "A real home."

She was already asking for more than just a room. She was asking for my life. She wanted to be the lady of the house, the mother of the heir, the new Mrs. Patterson. And Liam, in his desperate obsession, was paving the way for her.

I finally found my voice. "She doesn't want things, Liam," I said, my tone dripping with ice. "She wants my name."

Liam and Chloe both froze. My words hung in the air, sharp and undeniable.

Just as Liam opened his mouth to retort, a sudden, sharp pain shot through my abdomen. It was so intense it stole my breath. I doubled over, clutching my stomach, a low gasp escaping my lips. The shards of the broken vase on the floor seemed to mock me, a reflection of my own shattered state. Another, more intense cramp seized me, and I felt a horrifying warmth spread between my legs.