Mission: From Divorcee to Millionaire

Suddenly, she came to a halt.

Frowning, she tried to piece things together and realized that in recent months, there had been several nights when she woke up to find Everett missing. At the time, she'd just assumed he was burning the midnight oil in his home office. Plus, with her pregnancy making

her sleep foggy, she hadn't paid much attention to it.

After all, Everett had been nothing short of a model husband lately-always coming home on time, being sweet and attentive. Besides work, he seemed to orbit around her completely.

But the sudden realization that he might have been sneaking out at night made her stomach drop, and a chill crept up her spine.

Maybe he was just swamped with work. He had always been a workaholic, after all.

But then there was the other possibility...

Selena squeezed her eyes shut.

She didn't want to dwell on it, especially with their baby due any day now. Her grandfather was so excited for the little one, and if Everett kept up his current act, their child would be born into a world of love and happiness. He'd have doting grandparents, a caring dad, and a loving mom. Nothing would change.

Selena was usually brave, even as a journalist chasing down the truth. But right now, she felt a flicker of fear.

She finally got why some wives, even when they suspected their husbands of cheating, chose to live in denial.

Sometimes, believing your own lies is the best way to protect yourself.

Eventually, Selena put her phone back on the nightstand, inch by inch, and laid back down, pulling the covers over her, eyes shut tight.

Just before dawn, Everett slipped into the bedroom. His handsome face was tinged with a weariness that disappeared when he saw the small mound on the bed.

He headed to the dressing room, changed into pajamas, and slid into bed, wrapping Selena in his arms like clockwork.

He brushed a kiss on her cheek, nuzzled her hair, then closed his eyes.

Selena's eyes fluttered open.

She watched him sleep peacefully, her mind a whirlwind.

She knew deep down that if it was just work, he could've been upfront about it. The sneaking around screamed that it wasn't anything good.

But she couldn't figure out what Everett was playing at.

If he didn't care about her or the baby, why bother coming back every morning to hold her, acting like everything was perfect?

And if he did care, why the secrecy?

She wanted to shake him awake, to confront and yell at him, but she bit her tongue, refusing to make a peep.

She couldn't give him any reason to suspect.

Even if her fears were true, she needed undeniable proof!

For the next week, Selena pretended to sleep every night, waiting to see if Everett would sneak out again. But it was all for nothing, and she ended up with dark circles under her eyes.

Everett noticed and joked, "You're hitting the sack early every night, so why are you still so tired?"

Lately, she'd been climbing into bed by ten, even using her pregnancyzas an excuse to put a hold on their love life, which meant he'd been left high and dry. By rights, she should've been sleeping soundly!

Selena grumbled inwardly, It's all your fault, you sneaky man!

But she kept her thoughts to herself. Instead, she pretended to sip her medicine and came up with an excuse: "The baby's been a bit restless, messing with my sleep."

Everett frowned with concern. "Is it serious? Should we call the doctor?"