Chapter 5 - SLOANE WALKED AWAY FROM STEVEN TOO, BUT ANGELA REFUSED TO LET THEIR SHARED BETRAYAL TURN THEM INTO FRIENDS
Three weeks passed.
Angela reached ten weeks.
The bleeding stopped.
Her nausea did not.
Rebecca developed a ritual.
Crackers before Angela got out of bed.
Ginger tea after.
Then thirty minutes where absolutely nobody was allowed to mention Steven Daniels.
It worked surprisingly well.
Angela filed for divorce.
No announcement.
No dramatic service at corporate headquarters.
Steven received papers through counsel.
He signed acknowledgment the same afternoon.
No contest.
No begging.
That bothered her.
Then she reminded herself that divorce should not become harder simply because she needed proof he cared.
She had enough proof of care.
What she lacked had been honesty.
Those were not same.
Steven remained on leave.
Daniels Capital’s internal investigation uncovered $410,000 in company travel and hospitality expenses tied partly to Sloane over eighteen months.
Not all romantic.
She had modeled for a client brand.
Attended events.
Some legitimate.
Some not.
Steven agreed to repay disputed amount personally.
The board extended leave.
Northshore suspended negotiations indefinitely.
Then Sloane appeared outside Natalie Brooks’s office.
Not Angela’s home.
Not Rebecca’s building.
Proper channel.
That earned five minutes.
Angela agreed to meet with Natalie present.
Sloane wore jeans, a black sweater, no makeup except mascara.
Still impossibly beautiful.
It no longer intimidated Angela.
Beauty had never been the real problem.
Sloane sat.
“I’m moving to Los Angeles.”
Angela nodded.
“Okay.”
“My agency wants distance.”
“Probably smart.”
“I ended everything with Steven.”
Angela stared.
“Again, not my concern.”
“I know.”
Sloane took breath.
“I found texts.”
“What kind?”
“From before we started sleeping together.”
Angela’s stomach tightened.
Sloane placed printed messages on table.
Natalie took them first.
Good.
Steven to Sloane:
My marriage is essentially over. Angela knows we’re living more like friends.
False.
Another:
She doesn’t want children anymore. We want different futures.
False.
Then:
I will handle separation after Northshore. Public timing matters.
There.
A plan.
Sloane said:
“I believed first ones.”
“When did you stop?”
“Christmas.”
“Why?”
“The text you sent.”
Love you.
Crib catalog.
Angela remembered.
“And you stayed.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Sloane looked down.
“Because by then I loved him.”
Angela inhaled.
“And because part of me wanted to win.”
At least she said it.
Sloane continued:
“I told myself marriages are complicated.”
“They are.”
“I told myself maybe you were pretending.”
“I wasn’t.”
“I know.”
Then she slid another page.
A message she had sent Steven after Christmas:
If she doesn’t know, this has to stop.
Steven:
She knows enough.
Sloane:
What does that mean?
Steven:
Angela avoids confrontation. She has for years. Trust me.
Angela became very still.
That one hurt most.
Not because affair.
Because he knew her.
He had taken her desire for peace and used it as evidence she could be managed.
Natalie noticed.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
No.
But functioning.
Sloane whispered:
“I’m sorry.”
Angela looked at her.
“What do you want me to do with your apology?”
“Nothing.”
“Good.”
“I don’t need forgiveness.”
“Good.”
“I just didn’t want him telling you later that I knew everything from beginning.”
Angela thought.
“Did you know enough eventually?”
“Yes.”
“Then keep that part.”
Sloane nodded.
Angela continued:
“You were lied to.”
“You also made choices after you knew he was still living as my husband.”
“Both can be true.”
“Yes.”
Good.
No clean villain.
No forced sisterhood.
Sloane wiped one tear.
“Do you hate me?”
Angela considered.
“No.”
Sloane seemed surprised.
“I don’t have enough energy.”
That almost made Natalie laugh.
Angela continued:
“But I do not trust you.”
“And I do not want a relationship.”
“Understood.”
Then Sloane reached into bag.
A velvet box.
“No.”
Angela said immediately.
“It isn’t a gift.”
“What?”
“Steven gave this to me.”
Inside was a diamond bracelet.
Large.
Tasteful.
Expensive.
“He told me it was from his personal account.”
“Why are you giving it to me?”
“Because internal review asked about gifts.”
“I gave them receipts.”
“This one was bought through a Daniels Capital client-entertainment account.”
Angela stared.
“Company money.”
“Yes.”
“I’m returning it to company through Natalie.”
Good.
Not Angela’s revenge trophy.
Evidence.
Sloane continued:
“There was also a hotel in Paris.”
“Company paid.”
“Aspen.”
“Company.”
“Private flight from New York.”
“Company.”
Angela closed eyes.
Steven had not merely cheated.
He had merged romance with business so casually he stopped seeing boundaries.
Exactly what he had done with marriage.
Everything became one system designed around his needs.
Sloane left thirty minutes later.
At the door, she turned.
“For what it’s worth…”
Angela almost sighed.
“What?”
“He talks about baby constantly.”
Angela’s chest tightened.
“I didn’t ask.”
“I know.”
“Then don’t tell me things designed to soften him.”
Sloane nodded.
“You’re right.”
Then left.
Natalie gathered documents.
“You handled that well.”
“No.”
“I sat still.”
“That counts.”
Angela leaned back.
“Why do people think because two women were lied to by same man, we’re supposed to become friends?”
Natalie smiled.
“Television.”
“Terrible.”
“Yes.”
Then:
“You’re allowed to understand her without inviting her into your life.”
Good.
That afternoon, Angela received first direct communication from Steven in five days.
Not emotional.
Internal review found additional expenses. I am repaying all amounts they classify personal. Natalie will receive full schedule. I’m not asking you to respond.
Angela stared.
Then typed:
Thank you.
Nothing else.
An hour later:
Also, I transferred the Gold Coast apartment deposit back to marital account. It was wrong to use joint funds.
Angela replied:
Send documentation to Natalie.
Steven:
Already did.
Good.
Then another:
Can I attend the twelve-week ultrasound?
Angela’s hand froze.
She had been expecting question.
Still.
Did he deserve to?
Wrong framework.
Did his presence help or harm Angela?
Would it create pressure?
Would it matter for their future co-parenting?
She called Dr. Ellis.
Then therapist recommended by Natalie.
Yes.
Angela had started therapy too.
Apparently everyone eventually does.
The therapist asked:
“What do you want?”
“I don’t know.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“That I’ll see him react to the baby and confuse fatherhood with marriage.”
Good.
Different categories.
She thought for two days.
Then replied:
You may attend. This does not mean anything about reconciliation. We will arrive separately. We will leave separately. We will discuss only the pregnancy.
Steven responded:
Understood. Thank you.
At twelve weeks, he arrived early.
Sat in corner.
Did not touch Angela.
Did not ask personal questions.
When the heartbeat filled the room for first time clearly—
fast.
Strong.
Alive—
Steven covered his face.
Angela cried too.
For a few seconds, they were simply two people hearing their child.
No Sloane.
No Northshore.
No divorce.
Then doctor handed them two printed images.
One for each.
Steven stared at his.
“Is that…”
“The head.”
Dr. Ellis said.
“It looks like a bean.”
Angela whispered.
Steven laughed through tears.
“An expensive bean.”
Angela almost smiled.
Then caught herself.
No.
She did not need to police every smile.
A smile was not reconciliation.
It was a moment.
After appointment, Steven walked with her to elevator.
“Thank you.”
“You said that.”
“I know.”
He hesitated.
“I’m starting therapy.”
Angela raised eyebrows.
“My board suggested.”
“Of course.”
He almost smiled.
“But I’m staying.”
“Good.”
Then:
“I realized I kept telling everyone different versions because I didn’t want to be villain in any of them.”
Angela became quiet.
Steven continued:
“With you, I was overwhelmed.”
“With Sloane, I was trapped in dead marriage.”
“With board, I was protecting acquisition.”
“With myself…”
He stopped.
“What?”
“I was a good man who made one mistake.”
Angela looked at him.
“And?”
“I wasn’t.”
Good.
No comfort.
Elevator arrived.
Angela stepped in.
Steven remained outside.
“Angela?”
“Yes?”
“I know you don’t owe me another chance.”
“Good.”
“But I’m going to become someone our child can trust.”
She held his eyes.
“That is the only promise I care whether you keep.”
Doors closed.
And for the first time since Bellamy’s, Angela believed Steven might finally understand what he had actually lost.
May you like
Not a wife waiting to be won back.
The right to assume trust would always be there.
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