Too Late, Ex-Husband: You Can't Afford Me

or. The man's words, Carlee's terror-it was a puzzle he cou

cold and trembling. "Carlee? What is

ok her head frantically, her eyes wide with a desperate, unconvi

It was low and mocking, full of a lazy co

of his leather jacket. He pulled out a sleek, modern smartphon

, remember? That little hotel by the beach? You said I was the best you'd ever had." He winked. "Course, you also said you were gon

sickly, mottled crimson. "Shut up!

know she was pregnant, right? My kid. About eight months ago. She didn't tell you that part? Took a little

f horror that only comes when a man realizes he has traded a diamond for a handful of filth. His lips moved, but no sound came out. He looked like he was going to vomit. He had thrown away thirteen years of loyalty, thirteen years with a woman who had stood by him sin

her voice a shrieking, desperate wail. "You son of a bitch! You promised you'd n

. "Inflation, sweetheart. Genevi

t. She whirled on Genevieve, he

id this! You set me up, you vicious, scheming bitch! You

calm. She tapped her temple with a though

ght it was relevant. After all, it pertains to the future stability of my husband's nex

fties, with sharp eyes and a severe gray suit, rushed i

, taking in Carlee's hysteria, Jaycob's shell-shocked expression, the smirking stranger, and t

de. "Miss Roman, be quiet," she

expression all business. "Sir

of a question in his eyes. He was

was set. The audience was captiv

ly broken, his expensive suit suddenly loo

crisp and clear, devoid of an

ly on the man who had taken thirteen

ten thousand dollars. Living expenses, at two thousand a

en driving for the last six years, which is in my name, plu

, for five years. At market rate for Georgetown, that's a con

, Jaycob's face grew paler, u

For what? Being a wife? You were married for three years and you couldn't even give him a child. Not one. What kind of wife can't even do the one thing a wife is supposed to do?" She

me crossing his face. But no words came.

she spoke, her voice was quiet. Almost conver

r an answer. "Because three months before our wedding, Jaycob's father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. His dying wish was to see his

he room was u

l bills. I managed his father's care. The hospital visits, the medications, the sleepless nights sitting by his bedside when Jaycob couldn't be there because he had exams." Her voice did not waver. "I held his

t be. You cannot conceive a child with a man who has never shared your bed. As for what I sacrificed, I gave up my own do

alculator app. The modern, mundane action was som

el. "The doctoral program I gave up. The years I spent not building my own future, b

d the screen toward him. The final num

saw not dollars, but every sacrificed year, every sleepless night, every moment of loyalty he ha

e: your fiancée's little adventure becomes the front-pa

red to Carlee's

sever all ties. And I walk away with my guest,

t Carlee's tear-streaked, terrified face. He looked at Leo's smug, exp

m began