I signed, slipped off my wedding ring, and stood to leave.

Noreen's voice cut through the air. "Wait."

"Open the purse. Let me see."

I looked at Dale. "You want to search my things?"

"Noreen is the woman of this house now. Do as she says."

I took out my phone, then tossed the purse to Dale.

"Search away."

Dale handed the purse to Noreen.

Noreen rifled through it. "Everything in here was bought with Dale's money, wasn't it?"

"Including the purse itself. You can't take it."

"And your phone."

"The clothes on your back."

Noreen looked me up and down, a smirk playing on her lips. "If you've really got that much pride, leave it all behind."

I turned to Dale. He was gazing at Noreen, soft and indulgent. "Do as Noreen says."

He used to look at me that way. But Noreen's return had changed everything.

I set the phone down without a word and walked back to the bedroom.

Minutes later, I emerged wearing the traditional wedding gown my birth family had custom-made for me.

I never imagined I'd walk into this marriage wearing this dress and walk out of it wearing the same one.

When I stepped out of the bedroom, something flickered in Dale's eyes.

On our wedding day, he'd told me I was the most beautiful woman in the world. An angel descended from heaven.

I wondered what was running through his mind now. Maybe he thought he was powerful enough to have it all.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and fixed my gaze on him. "This dress has nothing to do with you, does it?"

"I didn't buy it." He said it to Noreen, not to me.

Displeasure flickered across Noreen's face. She'd clearly wanted to humiliate me, to send me out the door with barely a scrap of clothing on my back.

She pointed at my necklace. "I like that necklace. You're not seriously letting her keep it?"

Dale wouldn't even look at me. "Leave the necklace."

Today I'd confirmed I was pregnant. That was supposed to be the best news of my life.

Even after Dale brought up the divorce, I hadn't planned on making a scene. Not today.

But he just kept pushing.

This necklace was a gift from my father for my eighteenth birthday, crafted from the finest materials by one of the world's most renowned jewelers.

I'd worn it every day since, and it was my pre-marital property. Dale knew that perfectly well.

"Dale Fleming, don't push your luck. This necklace has nothing to do with you."