Instead, the pregnant wife was still sitting at the kitchen island.
The house wasn't legally his.
The divorce hadn't even been formally completed.
And the man standing beside her was suddenly unable to explain why he'd lied about something so fundamental.
She shifted the baby in her arms.
"Where are we supposed to live?"
Her husband looked toward her.
"We'll figure it out."
She stared.
"You said this was figured out."
He clenched his jaw.
"Not now."
Her voice rose.
"No. You don't get to tell me 'not now.' You brought me here!"
The infant began stirring again.
The mistress instinctively lowered her voice.
Then looked toward the silver suitcase.
For the first time, the expensive dress, perfectly styled hair, and confident expression seemed like part of a performance she no longer knew how to maintain.
Naya watched quietly.
She wasn't suddenly sympathetic to everything the woman had done.
The slap was real.
The insults were deliberate.
And the mistress had been willing to help force a pregnant woman out of her home.
But Naya could also see that her husband had deceived her about important facts.
There was no need to pretend only one woman had been lied to.
The difference was that Naya hadn't brought a suitcase to another woman's house and announced she was taking over.
Her husband reached toward the legal folder again.
"This agreement doesn't change our marriage."
Naya looked up.
"No."
He seemed encouraged.
She continued.
"It documents the property and financial arrangements you voluntarily acknowledged. The marriage is a separate matter."
He stared.
Then leaned forward.
"So you can't make me leave."
Naya nodded.
"I'm not claiming a magic piece of paper gives me permission to ignore the law."
For a moment, he looked confused.
She reached for her phone.
"But you also cannot threaten me, force me to sign papers, or make another woman physically intimidate me."
His expression hardened.
"Who are you calling?"
"My attorney."
He laughed.
"Of course."
Naya looked directly at him.
"You brought divorce papers to a woman who's seven months pregnant and demanded she leave immediately. Did you expect me to handle that without advice?"
He stared.
For several seconds, she held his gaze.
Then dialed.
Her attorney answered almost immediately.
Naya explained that her husband had arrived with another woman and an infant, demanded that she sign divorce documents, and ordered her to leave.
She also described the slap to her hand.
The attorney listened carefully.
Then asked whether Naya felt physically safe.
Naya glanced toward her husband.