I Was His Wife for 8 Years, He Paid Me Like a Maid Chapter 08
Two weeks into living at the Hayes residence, Stella’s school called.
A conflict between students required a parent meeting.
The teacher specifically asked for the “new mother” to come.
Evan didn’t dump it on me.
He held the phone out to me. “This isn’t in your contract. Do you want to go?”
I paused, then nodded.
At the school, I didn’t pretend to be Stella’s mother.
I just said, “I’m an adult Stella trusts.”
Stella had been tense the whole way there.
When she heard those words, she quietly reached for my hand.
That was when I understood.
Being needed and being forced to give were two different things.
Once Damon started auditing, Vivian made her move.
The leaked video from the banquet. The three–hundred–thousand transfer records. Photos of me and Lily moving into the Hayes residence.
All of it hit the internet overnight.
The headlines got uglier by the hour.
[Etiquette School Grad Ditches Billionaire Husband for Richer Sugar Daddy]
[She Left Her Husband for $300K–Now She’s Playing House with a Rich Widower]
Gemma posted too. [Some people call job–hopping independence. The audacity is honestly impressive.]
Stella came home from school and threw her backpack on the couch.
“They’re saying Miss Sterling is only here to steal my dad’s money.”
Before I could respond, Evan placed two options in front of me.
“Release the full employment contract publicly. Or sue.”
“Your choice.”
I blinked. “You’re not worried about the Hayes name?”
“You’re the one being defamed. The decision should be yours.”
I chose to release the contract.
Six hundred thousand annual salary. Fixed days off. Household expenses separate.
Every term clearly stated.
Naomi and the other academy students also came forward, confirming that my work involved elder care,
household management, and event floristry.
That was when the internet discovered the three–hundred–thousand payment wasn’t a gift.
It was a six–month salary advance.
Vivian saw the narrative shifting and released a second round.
An anonymous leak of a so–called “marriage agreement.”
The document cut out the marriage certificate section entirely.
All that remained were the monthly living expenses and termination clauses.
She wanted the world to believe I was never a wife.
Just a paid companion.
This time, Damon didn’t stay silent.
Ashford Corp’s official account posted the marriage certificate.
Damon released a personal statement.
[Sloane is my lawful wife. Lily is our daughter. Calling her a kept woman is an insult.]
The post went up.
His mother and sister panicked. But Damon had already sent legal after the source of the leaked video.
That night, he showed up outside the Hayes residence.
I didn’t let him in.
“I’ve publicly acknowledged you. No one will call you that again.”
I looked at him through the gate.
“You think I was waiting for a statement?”
“What else?”
“The thing I wanted most was for you to believe me.”
“I don’t need it anymore.”
I passed a file folder through the gate.
Damon opened it. Divorce papers.
I’d already signed the last page.
At the same time, Ashford Corp legal sent over their findings.
The person who’d first contacted the gossip accounts?
Vivian Price.
