What’s Done Is Done
(Jane’s POV)
I didn’t expect the law firm to look so… polished. Like wealth had sterilized the walls. Sleek. Quiet. The kind of place where lives got split in half, neatly and without fuss.
The receptionist glanced up when I stepped in, her face unreadable. “Hi. Can I help you?”
“I’m here to pick up some documents. And a box.” My voice sounded more composed than I felt. “It was arranged through Nathan Frank’s personal attorney.”
She tapped her keyboard, nodded. “Jane Frank?”
“For now,” I muttered.
She slid a clipboard across the counter. “Please sign here. You can wait in the glass conference room down the hall. Mr. Frank’s attorney, Mr. Gustavo, will be with you shortly.”
I nodded, inked my name, and followed the hallway lined with glass offices. All around me were men in suits speaking in hushed tones, tapping away at laptops, or pretending not to notice the woman walking toward the end of her marriage.
The conference room door was already open. I entered, closed the door, and discovered a tiny cardboard box on the table. It was taped shut and labeled:
- FRANK – PERSONAL ITEMS.
My heart elenched.
I didn’t sit. Not yet. My fingers brushed the edge of the box like it might bite.
Then the door opened behind me.
Nathan.
Not his lawyer. Not a clerk.
Him.
He looked… intact. That was the only word that came to mind. Tailored blue suit, cufflinks gleaming, the same air of power he wore like cologne. He paused by the door, adjusting the Rolex on his wrist as if he were still in one of those conference calls where stock numbers meant more than people.
“I didn’t think you’d show,” I said without turning.
“I had a gap between meetings,” he said, voice steady. “And I figured I owed it to you. At least to say something. In person.”
I turned then.
God, how was it possible to feel so full of someone and so hollow at the same time?
“Did your lawyer pack the box?” I asked, staring at the strip of tape across the top like it had something to say. Nathan stepped in and closed the door behind him. “Michael handled it. I gave him a list.”
I turned slowly, my eyes narrowing. “Michael? You had Michael do it?”
He nodded once, avoiding my gaze. “He knows the house. Knows what’s what.”
I let out a cold laugh. “Of course he does. He’s been with us for what- A year and a half? Helped us pick out the drapes, carried in our Christmas. tree, kept your scotch stocked, and kept my flowers fresh.”
Nathan’s jaw twitched.
“I never thought I’d see the day you’d make him box up my life like leftovers,” I added, voice low. “Tell me, was he supposed to leave out the memories too, or were those part of the list?”
I gave a cold smile. “Efficient. As always.”
He didn’t take the bait. “I didn’t come to argue.”
“Then why are you here, Nathan?” I folded my arms. “Because from where I’m standing, your workday seems to be running just fine without me.”
He exhaled and leaned against the glass wall, folding his arms too. “Maybe I’m here because I wanted to face the consequences. Not hide behind a lawyer.”
That made me laugh, quiet and humorless. “Facing consequences is showing up before the betrayal. Not “After you’ve dragged my twin sister into our bed…” My voice cracked, but I didn’t care. “How could you do that to us?”
Nathan looked at me like he didn’t recognize me. As though this pain, this betrayal, I was bleeding from–was an inconvenience.
“What manner of man are you?”
He flinched. Just slightly. But I saw it. He turned his head like the weight
my stare burned.
of
“I don’t owe you an explanation, Jane.”
My eyes snapped to his “You don’t what?”
“I said what I said.” He moved past me, brushing my shoulder, and sat down on the edge of the couch like he lived there without guilt.
“That’s nich. Nathan” I folded my arms. “After destroying everything we built our home, our trust. Me. You don’t owe me an explanation?”
He rubbed the bridge of his nose like I was just another problem in his overflowing schedule. This conversation isn’t going to fix anything. What’s done is done.”
“You sound so… resolved.” I laughed bitterly. “Tell me something. How long? How long has this been going on between you and Julia?”
Silence
“Answer me, dammit!”
Nathan looked up at me then, his jaw tense. “You want the truth?”
Always.
He stood up slowly, walked toward the window, and stared out like the view would soften what he was about to say. “It didn’t just happen overnight. It’s been months.”
My chest caved in, like my ribs gave up on holding it all together.
“You knew she was back. You knew she was in town and you let me walk into that house like everything was normal?”
Still, no eye contact.
“You let me love you while you were screwing my sister behind my
back?”
1024
“I didn’t plan for it to happen,” he muttered.
I stared at him, disgust curling inside me. “Don’t insult me with that line.”
He turned around sharply. “You think this was easy for me?”
“Easy for you?” I took a step forward, heat boiling in my veins. “Nathan, you had options. You could’ve walked away. Asked for a divorce. But instead, you fed me lies while you shared my bed–and hers.”
He bowed his head and his eyes were clouded. “I was going to tell you.”
“Save it,” I yelled, my voice shaking beneath the strain of controlled wrath. “You were going to tell me after you’d destroyed every ounce of dignity I had left?”
Right then, the door creaked open behind me. I turned sharply.
A tall man in a blue pinstriped suit walked inside. He was polished and graying at the temples, carrying a leather briefcase under one arm. His presence created an uncomfortable cold in the room.
“Mrs. Frank,” he began, his tone sharp and professional. “I’m Gustavo Reigns, legal counsel to Mr. Nathan Frank–your soon–to–be ex–husband.”
I blinked, steadying my voice. “Could you just get to the reason why we are here.”
Nathan didn’t look at me. He didn’t have the guts.
Mr. Reigns opened his briefcase and pulled out a thick file. “Per my client’s instructions, I’ve come to present you with the terms of your divorce.”
“Terms?” My breath hitched. “So that’s what this is now? A transaction?”
“I suggest you sit,” the man said, ignoring my tone.
I didn’t move.
He cleared his throat and began to read, monotone and unaffected, as though he were dictating some property agreement–not tearing apart a marriage.
“As outlined in these documents, Mr. Frank seeks to dissolve the marital union on grounds of irreconcilable differences. You are to collect any remaining property that truly belongs to you in the marital residence Avithin seven business days. There will be no claim to assets accumulated during the course of the marriage. A non–disclosure clause has also been included regarding Mr. Frank’s personal and professional dealings…”
My knees went weak. I grabbed the back of the sofa to steady myself. “No claim to assets?” I asked, heart hammering. “You’re cutting me off?” Nathan finally looked up, eyes vacant. “You’ll be fine.”
“You think this is about money?” I hissed. “You think a penthouse and a car could make up for the years I gave you? The life I built around us?”
“I’m protecting what’s mine,” he said, cold now. Distant. The man who once held
my face in his hands like it was made of glass had vanished.
“Protecting it from me?” My voice trembled. “You cheated, Nathan. You lied. You desecrated our vows–and now you want to throw me out like trash?”
“I didn’t want this to get ugly,” he muttered, jaw clenched.
Mr. Reigns slid the document across the glass table. “You’ll need to review and sign by Friday. Otherwise, we’ll proceed with court filing.”
bes
I stared at the papers, every word blurring into the next. My skin felt too. tight for my bones.
Nathan moved to stand, but I raised my hand.
“Tell me,” I said, voice low, “was she worth it?”
He hesitated.
“Was Julia worth everything you’ve just burned to the ground?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
Mr. Reigns gathered his things and started toward the door. “We’ll await your signature, Mrs. Frank.”
I stared at the man who had once been my everything. He looked at me like a stranger now, like I was a business risk that needed
managing.
The lawyer paused at the doorway and glanced back. “One more thing.”
I didn’t respond.
He looked at Nathan. “Your… arrangement with Ms. Peterson–she’s made certain requests regarding your shared future. You’ll want to review the clause about paternity claims and financial provisions.”
My heart dropped.
“What?” I whispered, not breathing.
Mr. Reigns nodded politely and left.
Nathan didn’t speak.
He didn’t have to.
Because in that moment, I knew.
Julia was pregnant.
With Nathan’s child..
