He Forged My Name to Give Away Our Home, So I Gave Away His Chapter 05

He Forged My Name to Give Away Our Home, So I Gave Away His Chapter 05

Ethan didn’t take me home.

He drove me straight to the base family advocacy office.

Three people were already seated inside the mediation room: Mr. Davis the clerk, Director Vance from hospital admin, and Mrs. Gable from the family support council.

Chloe was there, too.

She sat near the window, a neat stack of medical records on her lap, looking like a victim of a terrible misunderstanding.

The moment I stepped inside, Mrs. Gable let out a long, theatrical sigh.

“Ava, dear, marriage is a long road. Every couple hits a bump now and then.”

Daisy had followed me down the hall, but a security guard at the door stopped her.

She yelled through the crack before the door closed, “Ava, if they try to bully you, just yell! I’ll stand right here and tear them apart!”

Mrs. Gable’s face turned sour.

Ethan shut the door firmly.

“Sit down.”

I remained standing.

“If this is a formal mediation, I want the original waiver brought into this room right now.”

Mr. Davis kept his head low.

“The original document has been formally sealed into archives per protocol.”

I glared at him.

“It was sitting in your desk drawer yesterday morning.”

His face flushed a deep crimson.

Director Vance tapped his coffee mug against the table.

“Ava, we all work within the same federal system here. Blowing this out of proportion benefits no one.”

“Who does it hurt, exactly?” I asked.

He slammed his mug down onto the wood.

“You’re a base pharmacist. Is it really worth tearing the Major’s household apart over a temporary logistical arrangement? Have some sense.”

Ethan cut in sharply.

“Director Vance, watch your tone.”

The director scoffed but went quiet.

Chloe spoke up softly, her voice trembling. “Ava, if my presence causes this much distress, I can pack my bags and check into a local motel tonight.”

Mrs. Gable immediately interjected, “Chloe, your health is fragile. A motel is chaotic and loud. How are you supposed to recover there?”

Chloe kept her head down.

“I just don’t want Ethan and Ava fighting because of me.”

I surveyed the room of faces.

“So you called me here today to pressure me into letting this slide?”

Mrs. Gable quickly waved her hands. “It’s not letting it slide, dear. It’s an agreement. Let Chloe utilize the house for six months, and the council guarantees we will allocate a premium property for you and the Major after that.”

“Put it in writing,” I demanded.

She blinked, caught off guard.

“Write down that she must evict in exactly six months,” I said coldly. “Write down that the initial waiver is legally null and void. And write down that the signature on that document was forged and not executed by me.”

Mr. Davis dropped his pen onto the floor.

Chloe snapped her head up.

Ethan stared at me blankly.

Mrs. Gable offered a strained, tight smile.

“Ava, let’s not back everyone into a legal corner.”

“So you won’t sign it?” I asked.

No one answered.

I turned on my heel and headed for the door.

Ethan grabbed my wrist firmly.

“Ava Bennett, what exactly do you want from me?”

I yanked my arm from his grip.

“The truth.”

“Are you determined to humiliate everyone in this room?” he snapped.

“You all put me in this humiliating position first.”

Chloe stood up from her chair.

“Ethan, let her run the handwriting test.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it silenced the room.

“If the board determines that I shouldn’t be living there, I’ll pack my bags.”

Mrs. Gable cried out, “Chloe, no!”

Tears glistened in Chloe’s eyes.

“I refuse to let Ethan suffer for my sake.”

I looked at her coldly.

“Then pack your bags right now.”

Her words caught in her throat.

Ethan immediately moved, stepping into my line of sight to shield her.

“Ava, she’s already compromising.”

“Compromising?” I challenged. “She’s occupying my physical house while making grand compromises with her mouth.”

A loud burst of laughter came from the hallway outside.

Daisy yelled through the door, “Hell yeah, Ava! Tell them!”

The vein on Ethan’s temple throbbed violently.

Director Vance slammed his hand on the desk. “This is completely out of hand! Ava Bennett, if this disruptive behavior continues, I will recommend an immediate administrative suspension from your duties at the pharmacy.”

I turned around slowly to face him.

“On what grounds?”

“On the grounds that you are bringing personal marital disputes into a federal workplace, disrupting clinic operations, and damaging the hospital’s reputation.”

I walked right up to his desk, leaning over.

“Director Vance, less than two hours ago, you ordered me to falsify a federal prescription log to hide Chloe Vance’s identity. Does that disrupt hospital compliance, or does it only count when I speak the truth?”

His face turned instantly gray.

“I never gave such an order.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small digital voice recorder, placing it flat on the wood.

“Ten forty-seven AM,” I said clearly.

A dead silence fell over the room.

Director Vance scraped his chair back as he stood up, his voice cracking.

“You recorded me?!”

I slid the recorder back into my pocket.

“Standard practice at the pharmacy counter to protect against patient disputes. It loops automatically.”

Ethan stared at me, his eyes filled with a terrifying, foreign coldness.

“Ava… when did you become like this?”

I looked at him, my heart perfectly numb.

“The day you started treating me like an idiot.”

Chloe clutched the back of her chair.

“Ava… you’re even recording your own colleagues? Is there anyone you actually trust?”

“Certainly not him,” I said, gesturing toward my husband.

Ethan’s face hardened into a mask of pure fury.

“Go back to your unit. The handwriting test is cancelled. I am locking it down.”

“Are you pulling rank on your wife, Major?”

“I am doing this for your own good.”

“Then let me return the favor.” I walked over to the door and flung it open. “Don’t try to get in my way again, Ethan. Every time you try to stop me, I submit another formal complaint to the Inspector General.”

Daisy immediately fell into step beside me.

“Where are we heading first? I’ve got the stamp sheets ready!”

As we walked down the corridor, I spotted the elderly woman in the worn coat walking toward us, accompanied by a sharp-looking man in a dark tailored suit.

Seeing me, the old woman smiled warmly.

“Hello again, dear. My son informed me that you’re being pushed around by the brass.”

The suited gentleman nodded respectfully to me.

Ethan stepped out of the mediation room, freezing the moment his eyes landed on the man in the suit. His voice went thoroughly rigid.

“Colonel Sterling? From the Pentagon staff?”

The suited gentleman didn’t even acknowledge Ethan’s rank. He simply turned to the old woman.

“Ma’am, the car is waiting out front.”

The elderly lady reached out, patting my hand gently.

“You go take care of your business, sweetheart. Don’t you worry about how many stars or bars someone has on their shoulders. No rank in the world gives a man permission to steal his wife’s name.”

The entire corridor heard her.

Ethan stood frozen in the middle of the hallway, his face looking as though he had just taken a physical blow straight to the jaw.