He Made Me Have a Baby for His Mistress. I Made Him Lose EverythingChapter 3

Grandma's surgery lasted nine hours. Bellamy's Seattle team took over the operating room while specialists in London and Boston consulted remotely. When the attending surgeon finally told me she was stable, my knees nearly gave out.

By noon, I had accepted Charlie's standing offer to join Bellamy Medical Group as a special adviser to its cardiac technology division. The position covered Grandma's treatment, but I would have taken it even if it paid nothing. Walking back into medicine felt like drawing my first full breath in years.

That night, Bellamy hosted a fundraising gala at the Fairmont. I almost stayed at the hospital, but Grandma woke long enough to order me home, showered, and back among the living.

So I entered the ballroom in a black silk gown with her heirloom emerald at my throat.

I had barely accepted a glass of champagne when the doors opened and conversation dipped. Ethan walked in wearing an immaculate tuxedo. Lila, dressed in white, held his arm as if she were the wife.

He was supposed to be in New York for two weeks. Apparently his urgent acquisition had included Iceland, another woman, and a return flight timed perfectly for Bellamy's gala.

The year before, in this same ballroom, Ethan had barely let me out of his sight. Tonight, he crossed half the room without noticing me.

I turned toward the terrace.

"Natalie?"

Lila's sweet voice stopped me before I reached the doors. When I looked back, Ethan was frowning.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. His gaze swept over my dress. "And why are you dressed like that?"

Ethan had always called his jealousy concern. He preferred me in high necklines, neutral colors, and clothes no other man would remember.

"Neither question is any of your business."

His jaw tightened. "Are you still angry about this morning? Evan checked on your grandmother. The surgery is over, and she's alive. Did you really come here looking like this just to punish me?"

The confidence in his face made my stomach turn.

"Not everything I do is about you, Ethan."

Lila touched his sleeve. "Don't be upset with her. This is probably my fault."

Her eyes dropped to the emerald necklace, and false sympathy sharpened into naked want.

"That's beautiful, Natalie. Is it vintage?"

Ethan followed her gaze. "Where did you get the money for that? Did you charge it to my account?"

I almost laughed. "It belonged to my grandmother. It's been in my family for generations."

Lila tilted her head. "I have a charity auction next week. I've been looking everywhere for something with that kind of history."

Ethan understood her perfectly.

"Let Lila borrow it for the auction."

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him. "Absolutely not."

"Why does everything have to become a fight?" His voice rose enough to turn nearby heads. "Lila is dealing with serious mental health issues. Her doctors have told us to avoid unnecessary stress. It's a necklace, Natalie. I'll buy you another one."

"You cannot replace this one."

"Your grandmother is still alive. Stop acting as if it's some sacred relic."

The ballroom went silent around us.

I slapped him.

His head snapped to the side. A red mark spread across his cheek as he stared at me in stunned disbelief.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Ethan!" Lila rushed forward and touched his face. Then she turned on me. "If you don't want to lend it to me, fine. You didn't have to hit him."

Her hand shot toward my throat.

I caught her wrist and shoved her away. Lila stumbled backward, then made no attempt to catch herself. She landed beside a table and scraped one palm against the floor.

"Oh God. It hurts."

Tears appeared instantly.

Ethan drove both hands into my shoulders. I hit the corner of the banquet table hard enough to send a white flash through my vision. Pain ripped across my lower abdomen.

"Security," he shouted. "Get her out."

Two guards approached, but neither seemed eager to put hands on me.

Ethan stepped close enough that only I could hear the first part of his threat.

"Your little private practice depends on referrals from hospitals where Prescott Holdings controls the leases, equipment contracts, or donor boards. By tomorrow morning, every one of those doors will be closed."

Then he raised his voice for the room.

"When you're ready to apologize, you can come home. Until then, find out what life is like without my name protecting you."

I looked at the man I had loved and began to laugh. Tears burned my eyes, but I did not wipe them away.

"You won't have to close anything. I'm done with the practice, and I'm done with you."

I handed my champagne to a passing server, straightened my spine, and walked out despite the pain twisting through my abdomen.

Behind me, Lila gave a breathless little laugh. Ethan did not follow.

The cold outside hit me like a wall. I made it to the curb before the pain forced me to crouch, one arm wrapped around my stomach.

A black sedan stopped in front of me. The rear door opened, and Charles Bellamy climbed out.

"Natalie, what happened?"

I tried to tell him I was fine. Then warmth ran down the inside of my thigh.

When I looked down, blood had soaked through the hem of my gown and pooled inside one shoe.