The Viral Post That Exposed My Husband’s Five Women Chapter 04
Ryan ended the call and hurried over to me.
“Babe, did you sell our house in the hills?”
I turned and smiled at him. “Yeah. Too many strays kept finding their way inside. The place felt dirty, so I didn’t want it anymore.”
He stared at me, completely baffled.
“You…”
“How could you sell it without even asking me?”
I laughed in disbelief. “Ryan, I bought that house before we were married. Why would I need your permission to sell it?”
His mouth opened, but he had nothing to say.
His phone was still buzzing.
He glanced at it several times before letting out a sigh. “There’s a last-minute meeting at work tonight. I won’t be home.”
“You go ahead and get some sleep.”
Without another look at me, he turned and left.
I laughed to myself.
It wasn’t just the house he had promised Lauren. I’d sold the Rolls-Royce he planned to give Kelsey too.
With that many mistresses to placate, I was curious how he planned to keep them all happy.
The next evening, Maya and I quietly took seats in a back corner of the year-end gala.
At the table reserved for the Excellence Award recipients, Brianna, Kelsey, Lauren, Alyssa, and Chloe were all there.
They were all dressed up, each more glamorous than the last.
Alyssa was touching up her lipstick when she asked, “Kelsey, where’s that Rolls-Royce your man gave you? I didn’t see you arrive in it.”
Kelsey laughed. “He insisted on waiting until after I get my award tonight. Then he’s picking me up in it. Jealous?”
Alyssa put away her lipstick and gave her a dismissive look.
“Jealous of what?”
“My man is transferring five percent of his company to me tonight. We’ll see who’s jealous after that.”
Lauren smiled as she listened.
“Remember that house I told you my man bought me? I told you the renovations were almost done, right?”
“His mom suddenly sold it last night. She said the place had bad energy and insisted he’d pick out an even better one for me tonight—bigger than the old 3,200-square-foot place.”
Brianna rolled her eyes. “Is the house in your name? Is the car in yours? And have you even verified that stock-transfer paperwork is legitimate?”
“If you ask me, cash is the only thing you can count on.”
“My man is giving me a year-end payout equal to two full years of salary. After the gala tonight, he’s taking me shopping. With money in hand, I can buy whatever I want.”
The others immediately frowned.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Your whole bonus isn’t even a quarter million, and that’s enough for you?”
“Please. You’re just jealous because you got less than the rest of us.”
“Exactly. Look at you acting smug over a couple hundred grand. That’s not even a tenth of what we’re getting.”
“You—!” Brianna’s face went bright red.
Chloe gently placed a hand over hers. “Why get worked up over them?”
“If I were you, I’d do what I did and get pregnant sooner rather than later.”
“Once you have his baby, everything he owns will end up yours eventually, won’t it?”
“My man told me that once I take home the Excellence Award tonight, he’ll have the perfect surprise waiting for me and the baby.”
As she spoke, her hand drifted to the slight curve of her belly, and she looked utterly pleased with herself.
I listened in silence, then suddenly laughed.
It was loud enough that all five women turned toward me at once.
Kelsey frowned first. “Who are you? This is our company gala. If you don’t work here, you need to leave.”
Alyssa stood and snapped at the security guards by the entrance. “Are you blind?”
“You just let anyone walk in here? If she causes trouble and Mr. Mercer comes down on you, are you going to take responsibility?”
I was about to answer when the lights went out across the room.
Ryan walked onto the stage in high spirits, microphone in hand.
“All right, everyone, it’s time for our Excellence Awards!”
“Please settle down!”
Beside me, Maya lowered her voice. “Ms. Ashford, ready?”
I nodded and smiled, though there was no warmth in it.
The five women still had no idea what was coming. They immediately returned to their seats, watching the stage with bright, expectant faces.
Ryan raised the microphone again.
“Let’s congratulate our first recipient, Brianna Cole from Finance!”
The large screen behind him lit up.
A second later, the room erupted.
“Look at the screen!”
“What is that?!”
