He Wanted a Fake Divorce for the Payout, I Gave Him a Real One for the Payback Chapter 03

He Wanted a Fake Divorce for the Payout, I Gave Him a Real One for the Payback Chapter 03

The next morning, Darren came out with dark circles under both eyes.

He rummaged through the fridge, pulled out a carton of milk, and gulped it down.

Then he warmed something up for Lorna and carried it into the bedroom as carefully as if he were serving a queen.

I got up and made myself a bowl of instant noodles with two poached eggs. Steam filled the apartment, rich and warm.

“Well, aren’t you eating good?” Darren came out of the bedroom, saw my food, and curled his lip.

“We’re divorced, not dead. I still have to eat.” I picked up a piece of egg white and took a bite. “Lorna seems to be having a rough pregnancy.”

“Pregnant women are like that.” Darren rubbed his hands together. “For the next few days, stay out of the living room as much as you can. Seeing you around is annoying.”

“Fine. I’ll go look for a job.” I drank the last of the broth.

“Since I’m divorced now, I need to support myself. I can’t live on air forever.”

Darren’s eyes flickered. “A job? Where? You haven’t worked in years.”

“A massage parlor. I heard the money’s good.” I wiped my mouth and looked at him.

Darren’s face darkened. “What the hell would you be doing there? Is that where decent women go? We may be divorced, but you still need to save me some face.”

“Dignity? If you cared so much about dignity, you should’ve crawled into a hole and died.”

I stood up and tossed the bowl into the sink, the water rushing loudly after it.

“Darren, get this straight. I’m unemployed now, and I need to feed myself. If you won’t give me money to live on, I’ll earn it myself. Massage parlor or anything else, if it pays, I’ll do it.”

Darren looked livid. He pointed at me. “You… You wouldn’t dare.”

“Watch me.”

I put on my shoes and walked out.

I did not go to a massage parlor.

I went to a pharmacy and bought a pregnancy test. Then I went to a copy shop and made a copy of my divorce decree.

Last, I went to see one of Nathan’s old friends. His name was Rusty Callahan.

He was a locksmith, mostly unemployed and always hanging around, but he knew everything that happened in town.

Rusty was crouched by his front steps fixing a bike, his hands covered in grease.

“Well, look who it is. Clara. Haven’t seen you in forever.” Rusty grinned when he saw me, flashing yellow teeth.

“Rusty, I need to ask you something.” I handed him a cigarette.

He took it and tucked it behind his ear. “Shoot.”

“Do you know where Lorna went the day Nathan had his accident?”

Rusty’s hands stopped moving. He lifted his head and gave me a look. “Why are you asking?”

“I just want to know.” I took out a lighter and lit the cigarette for him.

Rusty took a drag and blew out a ring of smoke. “That afternoon, Lorna went to the hospital.”

“The hospital? Was she sick?”

“Not sick.” Rusty lowered his voice and leaned closer, all mystery and gossip. “She went in for an abortion.”

A blast went off inside my head.

“An abortion?” I stared at him. “What did you just say?”

“My sister-in-law is a nurse at that hospital. She told me herself.”

Rusty tapped ash from the cigarette.

“That afternoon, Lorna was about to go into the procedure room when the news came that Nathan had been hit. She didn’t go through with it. She just turned around and left.”

I stood there, rooted to the ground, unable to take a single step.

So Lorna had already been pregnant back then.

Then Nathan…

Nathan had been working construction out of town at the time and only came home once a month. The month before he died, he had not come home at all.

That baby had never been Nathan’s.

Rusty saw me staring into space and patted my shoulder.

“Clara, this thing… maybe keep it quiet. Nathan’s gone. Show some respect for the dead.”

“Dignity?” I laughed, so hard my eyes almost filled with tears. “Did they leave him any?”

When I got home, Lorna was sitting on the couch eating sunflower seeds. The shells were scattered all over the floor like a layer of black sesame.

She did not even lift her eyes when I walked in. “Darren said you need to sweep this up. If you’re going to live here, you should at least do some work.”

I threw my bag onto the couch. “I’m not sweeping. If anyone’s cleaning up after you, let your man do it.”

The sunflower seed in Lorna’s hand trembled. “What did you say? Who’s my man?”

“Who else in this apartment would it be?” I looked at her belly. “Don’t tell me you don’t know whose baby that is.”

Lorna’s face flushed a deep, ugly red. She stood up, pushing her belly forward like a rooster ready to fight. “Clara, don’t you dare smear me. This is Nathan’s posthumous child.”

“Posthumous child?” I let out a cold laugh.

“Nathan hadn’t been home for three months before he died. Where exactly did this posthumous child come from? Unless you’re the Virgin Mary and got pregnant by miracle.”

Lorna took a step back and bumped into the coffee table. With a crash, the fruit bowl tumbled to the floor, apples rolling everywhere.

“You… How did you know?”

“I know a lot more than you think.”

I stepped toward her, one slow step at a time.

“Lorna, let’s lay our cards on the table. That baby is Darren’s, isn’t it?”

Lorna’s lips trembled, but she could not get a word out. Just then, the apartment door opened, and Darren came back.

He froze when he saw us. “What the hell is going on?”

“Ask your woman.” I pointed at Lorna. “Ask her whose baby she’s carrying.”

Darren’s face went pale, then immediately flushed red. “Clara, what kind of bullshit are you talking about? That’s Nathan’s child.”

“Quit acting.”

I pulled the copy of my divorce decree from my bag and slapped it onto the coffee table.

“Since we’re divorced now, I’m not afraid to tell you. This apartment belonged to Nathan, and his name is the only one on the deed. Now that he’s dead, the first heirs are my parents. Lorna comes after them. And I’m Nathan’s sister, which means I have a claim to this estate too.”