My Husband’s Ex-Girlfriend Is Sleeping in Our Marriage Bed Chapter 04

My Husband’s Ex-Girlfriend Is Sleeping in Our Marriage Bed Chapter 04

In that moment, it felt like a knife had twisted in my chest.

Three years of marriage. I stayed up with him when the company was failing. I stayed in the hospital with his father. I handled his grandmother’s surgery. I managed his social life and cleaned up his messes. I was always the one standing in front.

As a lawyer who deals with messy divorces every day, I still chose to believe in marriage. I believed in him. I believed the past was the past.

And now, to protect Vivian, he was calling me heartless.

I looked at him and gave a slow, rhythmic nod.

“Fine.”

“If you want heartless, I’ll show you heartless.”

I pulled a credit card from my purse and tossed it onto the coffee table.

“Calculate her room and board at five-star hotel rates. Since you want to be a saint, don’t use our joint marital assets to fund it. I want the money transferred to this card by tomorrow. Otherwise, I’ll file it as an unauthorized transfer of marital property to a third party. Don’t blame me for getting technical.”

Julian stared at the card, stunned.

Vivian’s expression shifted too.

That night, for the first time, Julian didn’t argue.

He just stood there as I took my card back, his voice sounding raspy.

“Is this really necessary?”

“Yes.”

I looked him dead in the eye.

“You should have seen this coming the day you brought her through that door.”

Over the next week, I learned exactly what ‘give an inch, take a mile’ meant.

Vivian said the hotel beds were too soft and Leo couldn’t sleep.

The next day, Julian had a toddler bed moved into the master suite.

Vivian said her job hunt was failing because of the gap in her resume.

Julian had her CV sent directly to one of the firm’s partner brands.

Vivian said she didn’t have a car and it was hard to take Leo to appointments.

Julian handed her the keys to his spare Mercedes.

I only found out because I noticed the keys were missing from the foyer.

In that moment, I wasn’t even angry anymore.

I just stood by the door and asked him calmly, “Do you realize that every time you ‘help’ her, she takes another step into our lives?”

Julian paused while taking off his blazer.

“You’re overthinking it.”

“Am I?”

I smiled and leaned down to change my shoes.

“Then just watch.”

Women who know how to weaponize a man’s guilt don’t ask for everything at once.

They take it piece by piece.

A little time. A little money. A little status.

By the time you wake up, she’s completely woven into your life.

And you’re the one who let her in.

On the eighth day, a call came from the family estate. It was Grandma Rose’s 80th birthday gala this weekend.

Since I married Julian, the old lady liked me best.

Not because I kissed her ass, but because I was real.

She had been a powerhouse in her younger days and hated anything weak or manipulative.

When I got the call, I thought this dinner would finally give me some breathing room.

I was wrong.

The day of the gala, the moment I arrived at the estate, I saw Vivian.

She was wearing a pale green silk evening gown, her hair swept up. She was standing in the courtyard, leaning down to fix Leo’s collar.

I recognized that dress.

Grandma Rose had personally picked out the silk last year, telling me to save it for this very party.

Now, Vivian was wearing it.

I stopped in my tracks. My best friend Tess, who had driven over with me, hissed under her breath, “You have got to be kidding me. The audacity.”

Tess was a family law attorney too. We traded cases and always had each other’s backs.

She insisted on coming today.

Not because I was too weak to handle it alone, but because she had been blunt:

“Your husband’s ex is living in your house and you’re going to this gala solo? Are you attending a party or a funeral?”

She was right.

In rooms like this, bringing someone who knows the game isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s insurance.

Vivian spotted me. Her face stiffened before she forced a smile.

“Sloane, you’re here. I really didn’t want to come, but Mrs. Vance said Grandma Rose loves a full house, and Leo wanted to wish her a happy birthday.”

I glanced at the dress and smiled.

“It fits well.”

She looked down, appearing flustered.

“Mrs. Vance said it was a waste to let it sit in the closet. She insisted I wear it.”

Tess looked like she was about to roll her eyes into the back of her head.

I remained perfectly calm.

“It’s a beautiful dress. Shame about the person in it. You can borrow a dress, Vivian, but you can’t borrow a soul.”

Vivian’s smile froze.

Just then, Julian’s mother, Evelyn, came out to greet us. Her face cooled the moment she saw me, turning immediately to take Vivian’s hand.

“Vivian, why are you standing out here? It’s windy. Don’t let the boy catch a cold.”

Then, she spared a glance for me.

“And you. If you’re here, get inside. Don’t just block the entrance.”

I didn’t answer her. My eyes were locked on Vivian’s wrist.

She was wearing a vintage jade-and-gold bracelet.

My wedding gift from Grandma Rose.

I had always thought it was too precious for daily wear, so I kept it locked in the jewelry box in my master bedroom.

Now, it was on Vivian’s arm.

The smile died on my face.

“That bracelet,” I said, my voice cold. “Who gave it to you?”