“No! No, no, no!” Diego wailed, his phone violently vibrating in his pocket with a barrage of automated text alerts: Master Checking: Closed. Corporate Liability: Transferred. Net Value: Zero. He fell back against the clinical counter, tears of absolute panic and public humiliation pouring down his face as the entire scaffolding of his double life turned to ash in front of the medical staff. “Laura, please! It was a misunderstanding! Paola told me the vasectomy was clear! She told me you were trying to ruin my reputation!”
“You ruined your own reputation the second you posted a photo with your lover to call my pregnancy a lie, Diego,” I whispered, stepping down from the examination table with my posture perfectly straight, my head held high. “Your mother has exactly sixty minutes to return the two black bags of clothes and clear her personal belongings from my property before the private security detail locks the gates for illegal trespassing.”
