My Husband’s Ex-Girlfriend Is Sleeping in Our Marriage Bed Chapter 05

My Husband’s Ex-Girlfriend Is Sleeping in Our Marriage Bed Chapter 05

Vivian visibly panicked and instinctively glanced at Mrs. Vance.

But Julian’s mother remained defiant.

“I gave it to her,” she said, her tone matter-of-fact. “It’s just a bracelet. You never wear it anyway, and it looks perfect with the silk gown Vivian is wearing today.”

Tess let out a sharp, low breath beside me.

I stood frozen for two seconds, then walked over and held out my hand.

“Take it off.”

Mrs. Vance’s face darkened. “Sloane, what is wrong with you? It’s the old lady’s birthday gala. Don’t you dare start a scene.”

“It’s mine,” I said, my voice dropping an octave as I stared Vivian down. “Whether I lend it out or not isn’t up to anyone else. Take. It. Off.”

People were already starting to stare.

Vivian’s eyes welled up, and her fingers began to tremble as if she were the victim of some grand injustice.

“Sloane, I’m so sorry. I really didn’t know this was yours…”

“You knew,” I cut her off.

“Not only did you know, but you knew exactly what people would think when you walked through those doors wearing it.”

The color drained from her face.

Mrs. Vance was fuming. “You just have to ruin this, don’t you?”

I laughed.

“Ruin this?”

I reached out, grabbed Vivian’s wrist, and slid the heirloom ring off her finger in one swift motion.

She let out a sharp gasp of pain, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

I handed the jewelry to Tess to put away, then turned to Mrs. Vance.

“Evelyn, out of respect for Grandma Rose, I’m holding my tongue. But you’d better remember one thing. I am still married to Julian. As long as I am Mrs. Vance, no outsider touches my things.”

I spat the word “outsider” with a venom that made Vivian flinch.

Vivian started sobbing harder just as Julian stepped out from the foyer.

His face fell the moment he saw the carnage. “What’s going on?”

Mrs. Vance beat me to it. “What do you think? She’s making a scene over a piece of jewelry just to humiliate Vivian in public.”

Julian looked at me, his eyes tight with a controlled, simmering anger.

“Sloane, that’s enough.”

A sudden, sharp laugh escaped my throat.

“Enough? She’s wearing my clothes, wearing my jewelry, and brought her son to your grandmother’s birthday. Am I supposed to clap and offer her my seat?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

I looked at him, the smile on my face turning ice-cold.

“Julian, do you really think that as long as I don’t scream at you, you can just treat me like I’m invisible?”

The courtyard went silent.

Every guest was watching.

The gala was barely underway, and the air already tasted like a civil war.

Julian lowered his voice. “We’ll talk about this at home.”

“No, we’re talking about it now.”

I took a step toward him.

“I gave you a week. That was more than enough. If she had sat there quietly and just eaten her dinner, I might have respected how thick-skinned she was. But she stood in front of me dressed like this. Tell me, Julian—did you allow this?”

He went silent.

Sometimes, silence cuts deeper than a confession.

The urge to speak suddenly vanished.

Just then, Grandma Rose emerged from the house, leaning on her cane. Her gaze swept over us before landing squarely on Vivian.

“Who is this?”

No one dared to answer.

I stepped forward and took the old lady’s arm, my voice steady.

“Just a guest staying at the house, Grandma.”

Grandma Rose had eyes like a hawk.

She looked at Vivian’s gown, then at the ring I was holding, and understood everything in an instant.

She didn’t ask questions. She just turned to Mrs. Vance, her voice low but loud enough to silence the entire yard.

“I’m not dead yet, and neither are the rules of this family. I don’t need you deciding who wears what or where they sit.”

Mrs. Vance’s face turned a mottled shade of purple.

Vivian looked like she was about to collapse, tears streaming down her face.

As I led Grandma Rose inside, I heard Tess whisper behind me.

“Karma’s a bitch.”

The dinner was quiet on the surface.

But the real show was only beginning.

Before the main course, while everyone was mingling in the foyer, Leo was running around, clutching a toy car and crawling under tables.

He was just a kid. A pawn in someone else’s game.

I hadn’t planned on taking it out on him.

Until he ran up to Julian, grabbed his leg, and looked up with a bright, clear voice.

“Daddy.”

The room went dead silent.

Julian froze.