Another pause.
“I’m here with Chloe,” he added. “She’s pregnant, Olivia. You can’t just—”
I turned my chair slightly, looking out over the city.
“You already did,” I said.
Silence.
“We need to talk.”
“No.”
“Olivia—”
“No.”
And I hung up.
Thirty minutes later, he was in my office.
Not alone.
Chloe stood beside him.
She looked different.
Less confident.
More uncertain.
The receptionist’s voice came through the intercom. “They’re here. Should I send them in?”
“Yes.”
I wanted this.
I needed this.
They walked in together.
Daniel looked exhausted. Chloe avoided my eyes.
I remained seated.
Calm.
Composed.
Untouchable.
“What did you do?” Daniel asked again.
“I sold the house.”
Silence.
Chloe’s head snapped up. “What?”
“Forty million,” I added. “It sold quickly.”
Daniel stepped forward. “That’s my house.”
I met his eyes.
For the first time… without anything soft left in me.
“No,” I said. “It never was.”
He pulled out his phone. “I’m calling my lawyer. This is illegal.”
I gave a small shrug. “You should do that.”
Chloe spoke then, her voice quieter.
“Olivia… we didn’t want you to find out like this…”
“But I did.”
She swallowed.
“I’m pregnant,” she said, almost defensively.
“I know.”
Silence.
“Congratulations.”
There was no edge in my voice.
No bitterness.
And somehow… that made it worse.
Daniel lowered his voice. “We can fix this.”
“No.”
“I’ll make it right.”
I let out a small laugh.
“With what?”
He didn’t answer.
“Everything you have,” I said, “came from me.”
His shoulders dropped.
Chloe looked at him, confusion turning into something sharper.
“Daniel… is that true?”
He said nothing.
And that silence said more than any explanation ever could.
She stepped back.
“You don’t actually own anything?” she asked.
“It’s complicated,” he muttered.
“Nothing?” she pressed.
I didn’t say a word.
I didn’t need to.
The truth had already taken its place in the room.
Chloe’s expression changed completely.
“You lied to me.”
“No—”
“You lied.”
Her hand moved instinctively to her stomach.
“You told me everything was yours.”
Daniel looked down.
“I was going to fix it—”
“When?”
He had no answer.
And she understood.
Fully.
“I can’t do this,” she said quietly.
Then she turned and walked out.
Just like that.
No hesitation.
No goodbye.
Daniel went after her. “Chloe, wait—”
But she didn’t.
He came back alone.
Finally.
Stripped of everything.
“Sophia…” he said softly.
“No.”
I raised my hand.
“Don’t.”
He stopped.
“There’s nothing left to say.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I made a mistake.”