Chapter 4

The line went dead in a rush.

I sat on the sofa and didn't move for a long time.

The truth was, I'd known for a while that he was going to see Edith.

But actually hearing him beside another woman, laughing that freely, that happily.

My chest still felt like a hand had closed slowly around it, aching until it went numb.

Ralph Henson and I had been married five years.

He was always decent to me, always considerate, always restrained.

I used to think that was simply who he was.

It turned out it wasn't.

He'd only saved the losing-control, the shyness, the heat, all of it, for Edith.

What he gave me was the position of a wife.

A home he could come back to whenever he wanted, after ten months of indulging himself.

My phone buzzed.

An unknown number had sent a photo.

Under the hotel's warm yellow light, Ralph's cheeks were flushed.

A woman's hand rested on his waist.

Below the photo, there was a line of text.

"Miss Swanson."

"Have you ever seen Ralph like this?"

I stared at that photo for a long time, long enough that my eyes stung.

In the end, I forwarded it to my lawyer.

"For the record."

"Adultery during the marriage. Traveling together with the third party, physical intimacy."

The lawyer replied quickly:

"Received."

"Miss Swanson, the documents are already in process."

"Mr. Henson's signature is complete."

"If he tries to back out later, we have enough evidence to handle it."

While Ralph flew to Iceland with Edith to see the northern lights, I had the marital home emptied.

While Ralph leaned against the floor-to-ceiling windows of Reykjavik's highest scenic hotel, taking photos with Edith, I moved out of the place I'd lived in for five years.

While Ralph and Edith soaked in the hot springs, I mailed the signed divorce papers to the old Henson estate.

At the same time, the Swanson legal team formally notified the Hensons.

Every partnership project I'd led was suspended, effective immediately.

Every payment not yet released was frozen.

Ralph had been able to hold his seat as head of Henson Group in large part because of Swanson family resources.

He thought I was just his obedient wife.

He'd forgotten I was also the only heir to the Swanson family.

That night, Eleanor Henson's call came through to them overseas.

When the call connected, Ralph was watching the northern lights with Edith.

The next second, Eleanor's furious voice nearly split the receiver.

"Ralph Henson!"

"What exactly did you sign?"

Ralph frowned.

"Mom, what are you so angry about?"

Eleanor was shaking with rage.

"Penelope mailed the divorce papers to the house!"

"They have your signature on them!"

"And the Swansons have pulled every project with the Henson family!"