He Forged My Name to Give Away Our Home, So I Gave Away His Chapter 03

He Forged My Name to Give Away Our Home, So I Gave Away His Chapter 03

The news had already spread like wildfire through the residential loop.

When Ethan and I walked back to our building, one after the other, the neighbors hanging laundry, washing vegetables, and taking out the trash all slowed their movements to a crawl.

Mrs. Higgins, holding a colander of greens, kept her eyes glued to my purse.

“Hey, Ava, did you get it all sorted out at HQ?”

Ethan stopped in his tracks.

“Mrs. Higgins, this is a private family matter.”

Mrs. Higgins tossed a stray leaf back into her colander.

“If it’s a private matter, don’t print it out and stick it on the base notice board, Major. We didn’t exactly have to peek over your backyard fence to find out.”

Someone burst into a laugh nearby, quickly muffling it with a hand.

Ethan’s jaw clenched tightly.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Our current living room was still filled with old, mismatched furniture.

We had agreed that once we got the keys to the new house, we would donate these old wooden cabinets and buy a brand-new set together.

Standing before the vintage hutch, I noticed a piece of base stationery taped to the glass.

Ethan had written it himself before his last deployment: [Peace and Safety Through the Years].

The handwriting was beautiful.

Too bad the man wasn’t.

Ethan shut the front door behind him.

“Ava, you shouldn’t have caused a scene in front of outsiders today.”

I tossed my bag onto the dining table.

“When did you sign that waiver?”

His hands froze midway through taking off his uniform jacket.

“Last week.”

“And where was I last week?”

“At the clinic.”

“Right. I was pulling three consecutive night shifts, and you were sweet enough to bring me dinner every single night, all while finding the time to sign away our home behind my back.”

He hung his jacket over the back of a chair.

“I didn’t sign it away permanently. It’s a temporary reallocation.”

I pulled out the photocopy.

“It says ‘forfeit’ in black and white, Ethan. It doesn’t say ‘lease’ or ‘borrow’.”

“That was just the bureaucratic phrasing Mr. Davis used.”

“Did Mr. Davis write my signature, too?”

His face darkened completely.

“Ava, do you really have to push me this hard?”

I looked at him, completely incredulous.

“I’m pushing you? Ethan, you put my name on a legal document I’ve never even seen, and you’re accusing me of pushing you?”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply.

“Chloe’s situation is unique.”

“How?”

“She just finished a brutal overseas deployment. Her health is failing, and her emotional state is incredibly unstable.”

“So because she needs a place, I’m supposed to just hand over my keys?”

“It’s not like you’re homeless.”

“I live in a cramped hospital unit that could be clawed back for the next on-call doctor at any second. That house was our marital home. It’s the home we waited three years for.”

Ethan fell silent for a few seconds.

“If you want a house that badly, I’ll file another application.”

I let out a bitter laugh.

“And how many more years will that take? Three? Five? Are we waiting until Chloe gets bored of living there?”

His tone sharpened.

“She won’t stay there forever.”

“Then tell her to move out right now.”

He stared at me.

I stared right back.

The only sound left in the room was the rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock against the wall.

After a long pause, he finally spoke.

“I can’t do that right now.”

“Why?”

“She can’t handle any psychological stress right now.”

I picked up my set of keys from the table and slid them across the wood, stopping right in front of him.

“But I can handle it, right?”

Ethan’s throat bobbed, his voice sounding choked.

“Ava, don’t talk like that.”

I pulled open the drawer, gathering my bank ledger, my legal ID, and our marriage certificate.

His face shifted instantly.

“What are you doing with those?”

“Taking what’s mine.”

“Where are you going?”

“Back to the hospital dorms.”

He stepped around the table to block my path.

“I don’t consent to this.”

I looked up at him coldly.

“You didn’t ask for my consent when you forged my signature either.”

He reached out, trying to grab the documents from my hand.

I took a sharp step back.

“Ethan, don’t make me call the base military police.”

His hand hovered in midair, freezing.

Just then, a soft knock sounded at the door.

“Ethan? May I come in?”

Chloe’s voice drifted through the wood.

Ethan turned around instantly.

I watched his reaction.

So fast.

Infinitely faster than he had been to admit his own fault.

He swung the door open. Chloe stood on the porch, cradling a stainless steel soup thermos.

“I made some chicken broth. I wanted to bring it over and apologize to Ava.”

Daisy poked her head out from the stairwell down the hall.

“You bring soup for an apology, but you don’t bring the eviction notice? Fascinating.”

Chloe bit her lip hard.

Ethan frowned heavily.

“Daisy, if you open your mouth one more time, I will call the hospital chief.”

I threw the door open wider.

“Go ahead. Call him.”

Daisy blinked in surprise.

I looked Ethan dead in the eye. “Let’s have the hospital chief see exactly how a registered pharmacist’s legal signature gets passed around without her knowledge.”

Chloe panicked slightly. “Ava, it’s really not what you think.”

“Then what is it?” I demanded.

She looked at Ethan for help.

Ethan stepped forward, shielding her from my view.

“That’s enough. This matter is concluded for today.”

I nodded slowly.

“Fine.”

He let his shoulders drop slightly, assuming I was yielding.

I slid the marriage certificate into my purse and zipped it shut.

“Tomorrow morning, I’m taking these documents to a forensic handwriting expert.”

Ethan’s entire face changed.

“Ava!”

I brushed past him, walking out into the corridor.

“Are you trying to report me to the chain of command?” he called out after me.

I stopped at the top of the stairs.

“Weren’t you the one who just reminded me that I’m your wife? When a wife’s name is forged and her husband refuses to investigate, she has to investigate it herself.”

The thermos slipped from Chloe’s hands, hitting the floor with a loud bang.

Broth splattered everywhere.

Every neighbor in the hallway stared open-mouthed.

I walked right through the puddle of soup and down the stairs.

Behind me, Ethan roared my name.

I never stopped.

Daisy caught up with me, wrapping her knit scarf around my neck.

“Ava, where are you going? Let me come with you.”

As I stepped out of the building, I noticed a sleek black government sedan idling by the curb.

A middle-aged man in a sharp civilian suit stood straight the moment he saw me.

He spoke in a low, highly respectful tone.

“Mrs. Bennett, the retired General wishes to see you.”

I raised a hand, cutting him off.

“Tell him I’m busy tonight.”

The man nodded smoothly and stepped back.

Up on the landing, Ethan had chased me to the railing. He stared at the suited gentleman, his voice tight.

“Who is that man?”

I adjusted my scarf.

“None of your business.”

For the first time in his life, the Major had absolutely nothing to say.