He Forged My Name to Give Away Our Home, So I Gave Away His Chapter 02

He Forged My Name to Give Away Our Home, So I Gave Away His Chapter 02

I looked Chloe up and down.

“Explain what to me, exactly?”

Chloe placed the fruit on the desk, smoothly stepping in like a gracious host diffusing tension.

“I just got reassigned back to the state, and housing is completely backed up. Ethan mentioned that your current base duplex is plenty spacious, so he’s letting me use the new property as a temporary transition.”

“Letting you use it?”

I echoed her words slowly.

Mr. Davis kept his head down, flipping through papers so fast they clicked like a deck of cards.

Chloe sighed softly.

“Ava, I know you’re upset, but Ethan is caught in a terrible position. He’s the Major; he couldn’t just stand by and watch an old squad mate live out of a temporary base guesthouse.”

I asked her point-blank.

“Am I the one who signed that waiver?”

She paused.

“I wouldn’t know about that.”

“If you don’t know, how are you so sure I’m upset?”

The smile faded from Chloe’s face.

“There’s no need to use that tone with me. Ethan and I survived deployments together. We aren’t what you think we are.”

I nodded.

“So surviving a deployment gives you the right to move into my marital home?”

Her grip tightened around the grocery bag.

“Do you have to make this sound so ugly?”

A few onlookers were already peering through the glass doors.

Mr. Davis scrambled to his feet.

“Mrs. Miller, why don’t you head home first? I’ll double-check the files later.”

I pressed my hand firmly against the metal filing cabinet.

“Check them right now.”

Chloe stepped directly between me and the cabinet.

“Ava, Ethan is in the middle of a high-level brief. Do you really want to humiliate him in front of the entire command?”

“Did he think about my humiliation when he forged my name?”

Mr. Davis snapped his head up.

“Ma’am, that is a serious allegation.”

I glared at him.

“Then pull the file.”

The room fell dead silent for a few agonizing seconds.

Finally, Mr. Davis reached into the cabinet and pulled out a manila envelope.

He unsealed it, sliding out the waiver.

The typed justification was pristine: [I, Ava Bennett, voluntarily forfeit my claim to the assigned residential quarter and transfer all occupancy rights to Comrade Chloe Vance.]

And right at the bottom was the signature: [Ava Bennett.]

At a glance, it looked identical to my handwriting.

But the final letter ‘a’ ended with a sharp, unnecessary upward hook.

I had signed thousands of prescription logs over the years, and I never, ever looped my vowels that way.

Chloe leaned in for a closer look, her voice softening.

“Maybe you were just in a rush that day, Ava. People write differently when they’re hurried.”

I let out a cold laugh.

“Chloe, a single error in my pharmacy logs could kill a patient. Do you really think I’d be so rushed that I wouldn’t recognize my own handwriting?”

Her face turned incredibly pale.

Mr. Davis quickly snatched the paper back.

“You can’t take the original document out of this office.”

I pulled a formal copy request form from my purse.

“Then make me a copy. Standard procedure.”

Mr. Davis shot a nervous glance toward Chloe.

Chloe remained silent.

I locked eyes with the clerk.

“Why are you looking at her? That document bears my name.”

Swallowing hard, he shuffled over to the Xerox machine.

As the machine whirred to life and spat out the page, Chloe spoke up quietly.

“Ava, Ethan has been under immense pressure lately. Don’t back him into a corner over this.”

I took the warm photocopy from the tray.

“He’s under pressure, so I deserve to have my identity stolen?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

She lowered her voice, sounding wounded.

“You two have been married for three years. Has Ethan ever treated you badly? He’s simply helping me out this once, and you’re trying to ruin him.”

I folded the photocopy neatly and slid it into my bag.

“He’s helping you by taking my property, using my name, and keeping me completely in the dark. Chloe, that isn’t called helping. That’s called theft.”

The color completely drained from her lips.

Suddenly, a voice yelled from the corridor.

“Major Miller is coming down the hall!”

Ethan strode into the records office, bringing the bitter morning chill with him.

His eyes instantly locked onto Chloe.

“Why are you here?”

Chloe said softly, “I was worried Ava would misunderstand, so I came over to clear the air.”

Only then did Ethan look at me.

“Ava, let’s go home and talk.”

I looked him dead in the eye.

“Did you write this waiver?”

Mr. Davis froze with his coffee cup halfway to his mouth.

Chloe interjected immediately, “Ethan, please don’t fight with her.”

Ethan glanced at the manila envelope on the desk.

“I handled the arrangements.”

I took a step closer to him.

“I asked you if you forged my signature.”

He remained silent.

That silence was uglier than any confession.

I heard someone gasp outside the door.

Ethan lowered his voice, his tone demanding compliance.

“Ava, Chloe just got back, her paperwork is jammed up, and she needs a temporary place for a few months. You’re already used to the hospital apartment. Moving into the new house a bit later won’t change anything.”

I stared at him.

“So you decided that for me?”

“I am your husband.”

“Does being my husband give you the right to forge my name?”

His brow furrowed deeply.

“Watch your language, Ava.”

I pulled the photocopy out and slapped it hard against his chest.

“My language isn’t the problem here, Ethan. Your behavior is.”

Chloe’s eyes welled with tears.

“Ava, if you want to blame someone, blame me. Don’t talk to Ethan like that.”

Daisy, who had somehow managed to squeeze through the crowd at the door, barked out, “You’re living in her house and you want her to blame you? Captain Vance, did the government issue you that audacity, or did you buy it retail?”

Mr. Davis choked on his coffee.

Ethan’s face went entirely cold.

“Daisy, this is a military installation, not a playground. Watch yourself.”

I pulled Daisy firmly behind my back.

“Is she wrong?”

Ethan stared at me, his voice dropping an octave, laced with a warning.

“Home. Now. I’ll explain everything.”

I tucked the photocopy back into my bag.

“Fine.”

He visibly relaxed, thinking I was backing down.

“We’ll settle the score at home,” I added.