But the moment the door opened, I froze on the spot.
The room was in chaos.
The baby clothes I had folded neatly were gone, and the little toys I had arranged on the shelf had vanished too.
My first thought was that a thief had broken in.
I quickly called security to ask what had happened.
The security guard’s voice sounded unsure.
“Ma’am… this… it wasn’t someone from outside.”
“It was Mr. Payne… he had people take everything away.”
I stood frozen, a loud ringing filling my ears.
After hanging up, I opened Maeve’s social media and scrolled through her posts one by one.
Soon, in a few photos that looked casual, I spotted something I knew too well.
The dog in Maeve’s house was wearing the tiny outfit I had bought for my baby.
The once soft fabric had been chewed out of shape, soaked with spit.
On the carpet, torn into pieces, were the toys I had gotten for my baby!
I clenched my teeth so hard that my chest was sore to the point I could hardly breathe.
If these were things I had bought at random, maybe it wouldn’t have hurt this much.
But they weren’t.
Those clothes were ones I received by asking favors, borrowed from the children of respected people in different fields, and they were hand-me-downs from their kids.
I fixed each piece bit by bit, washed, dried, pressed them, pouring into them my hopes and wishes for my baby’s days ahead.
The toys came from old friends and family, each one was a heartfelt gift they handed me when they learned I was pregnant.
And now, Zion had personally taken them away.
To hand them to his mistress’s dog!
I lost all calm, held my belly, and rushed straight to the company.
The front-desk assistant stopped short when he saw me, then quickly stood up in alarm. “Ma’am, Mr. Payne can’t see anyone right now—”
I ignored him and walked right inside.
The assistant rushed after me, stepping in front of me, lowering his voice with clear intent to stop me.
“You really can’t go in right now.”
Before I said anything, sounds came from the slightly open office door at the end of the hall.
A woman’s forced, shaky breaths, mixed with a man’s low, suggestive chuckles, and the faint thuds of furniture being bumped, all reached my ears at once.
A wave of heat rushed to my head, then drained in an instant, leaving my arms and legs cold.
I didn’t look at the assistant again.
I lifted my hand and pushed the door open.
The door hit the wall hard.