Panicking Over His Newfound Freedom

Hayden Baxter's sidepiece comes up to me and throws yet another tantrum.

"I love Hayden too much. Can't you let me have him?"

Hayden sits quietly on one side but texts me, "Just say yes and humor her for a bit."

I do as I am told, then wordlessly begin to pack up my stuff so I can move out of the home I share with Hayden.

On my way out, I hear his friends jesting, "Elena is surprisingly obedient. Does this mean she'll abort her baby if you ask her to, Hayden?"

Hayden raises a brow, looking nonchalant. "Want to place a bet on it?

"I bet she'd whine and throw a fit at the hospital entrance in a week, only to give in and do as she's told."

I don't argue. Instead, I quietly tap on my conversation with someone else.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes."

I received a message that read, "You mean it?"

A happy emoji followed the text, but I locked my phone. For now, I had no plans to reply to the sender.

The laughter in the living room did not stop. "If Elena aborts the baby, you can drive my new car for three months!"

"Only three? I say a whole year!"

"You're on!"

The voices rose to a clamor, and everyone in the living room began to cheer on the bet.

I returned to the room and frantically packed my stuff, taking everything I saw and shoving it into the suitcase. It wasn't until my calf bumped into the corner of the table that a sob escaped me.

Hayden Baxter fell for Lola Dunbar, a woman seven years his junior. He bought her a house and a car, and took her on fabulous holidays around the world.

However, Lola refused to even let him hold her hand. She brandished her talent for waterworks and whined, "You're married. I can't do this to Elena!"

Hayden's heart had cracked at her tantrum, and he immediately returned home to divorce me. He'd hoped to use the divorce certificate to appease Lola.

I'd put up a fight, refusing to accept such absurd grounds for a divorce. But he'd pulled me into his arms and reassured me, "It's only for show. We'll get remarried soon. How about it?"

However, only a few days had passed before Lola showed up before me. She wept so hard that she collapsed in Hayden's arms. "I love Hayden too much. Can't you let me have him?"

Hayden's friends told me to be more generous instead of picking fights with a young lady like Lola. Hayden was silent throughout the exchange, his apparent reluctance to give in to Lola a mere cover for the text he secretly sent me. "Just say yes. You don't have to mean it. Just humor Lola for a bit."

Once again, I compromised.

Another text popped up on my phone. "Do you really, truly mean it, Elena? You're not lying to me, are you?"

My face heated