PART 14 - "The Ex-Fiancée Clause"
Scene: Back to Reality… Or So We Thought
Fresh off the Paris jet, the diamond on my finger was causing more stir than a company-wide layoff.
Emails stopped mid-sentence when I walked into the office.
Women stared at the ring like it slapped them across the face.
I didn't even take my coat off.
I wanted them to see it.
Wanted them to choke on the silence when I sat down in the Monday morning board meeting with Devon at my side - both of us glowing like billionaires fresh off vacation sex and engagement bliss.
That's when the door opened.
Her.
Scene: Enter the Ex-Fiancée
Long legs. Baby bump. Designer coat.
And that same smug little smirk I'd seen in a tagged photo on Devon's Instagram… from three years ago.
"Sorry I'm late," she purred, sliding into the seat directly across from me.
The entire room held its breath.
Devon sat up straighter, jaw flexing.
"Kimber," he said coolly. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I'm a consultant now," she said, resting her manicured hand on her bump. "Surprise."
Oh, it was a surprise all right.
Especially when she turned her head toward me and said,
"Congratulations on the ring. Hope your ring came with a paternity test."
Scene: HR Went Silent
Kimber laid out her "business plan" in front of the board like she didn't just toss a grenade on the table.
"I'm helping launch the company's new family support initiative," she said sweetly. "Since mine's growing."
Devon was stone.
I was lava.
Her pregnancy wasn't about a child.
It was about territory.
Scene: The Confrontation - Ladies Room Showdown
I cornered her near the mirrors, the click of my heels echoing like warning shots.
"You really flew in with a bump and a bold mouth, huh?"
She smirked. "That man was mine first."
I leaned in. "Baby, he's not a time share. He's a kingdom. And queens don't beg for thrones they got dethroned from."
I watched her eyes flicker.
"By the way," I added, reapplying my lipstick, "we got engaged in Paris. On the balcony. Right after he made me scream his name three times under the Eiffel Tower."
She didn't respond.
Didn't have to.
Her silence was louder than her shade.
Scene: Devon's Apartment - Storm Breaks
"I didn't know she was pregnant," he said, pacing shirtless in our apartment. "She ghosted me after I broke things off. Never responded. Never told me anything."
"She's not here for closure," I snapped. "She's here for chaos."
He dropped to his knees in front of me, hands on my thighs.
"I don't want her. I don't even want to breathe the same air as her. I want you."
And then he lifted me onto the kitchen counter and showed me exactly how true that was - over and over again.
Scene: Paternity Test Drop
Two days later, a manila envelope slid across the boardroom table.
Kimber opened it… and paled.
"Not the father."
I sipped my iced coffee.
Devon exhaled.
HR thanked her for her "consultation" and handed her a folder labeled "Termination."