For a moment, she felt a weary sadness.
The mistress continued.
He said you knew about me before the baby was born.
Naya closed her eyes.
She'd suspected as much.
But reading it still hurt.
She replied that she hadn't known the full circumstances until recently.
Then she asked the woman not to contact her about the relationship again.
Any financial or child-related issues involving the husband should be addressed through appropriate channels.
The mistress apologized once more for the slap.
Naya read the message.
Then put down the phone.
She didn't offer friendship.
She didn't promise forgiveness.
And she didn't take responsibility for rescuing the other woman from promises her husband couldn't keep.
But she also refused to treat the infant as an enemy.
That child deserved stability.
Just as Naya's unborn daughter did.
The temporary court hearing took place several weeks later.
Naya attended with her attorney.
Her husband sat across the room beside his lawyer.
He looked tired.
His burgundy sweater had been replaced by a dark suit, but the arrogance he'd displayed at the kitchen island remained visible in the way he avoided looking at her.
The court reviewed the immediate issues.
The property documentation.
The parties' living arrangements.
Their financial circumstances.
And the evidence relevant to Naya's request for temporary exclusive use.
The judge didn't conduct a complete divorce trial that morning.
The purpose was to establish workable arrangements while the case proceeded.
The husband's attorney argued that the home had been the marital residence and that his client had contributed to household expenses.
Naya's attorney acknowledged that the court could consider legally relevant facts without treating title as the only issue.
Then she presented the premarital purchase records, the property acknowledgment, and the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.
The judge asked questions.
Both sides answered.
Naya listened carefully.
She was frightened.
But she also felt something she hadn't experienced for months.
The process wasn't controlled by whichever person spoke loudest.
Her husband couldn't simply demand a result.
He had to explain his position in a setting where evidence mattered.
The temporary order granted Naya exclusive use of the residence during the pending proceedings, subject to the terms established by the court.
The husband's personal belongings would be collected through an agreed arrangement.
The order also addressed temporary financial responsibilities and established expectations for communication while the case continued.
The decision didn't settle every question of property division.
It didn't resolve the full financial accounting.
And it didn't determine the final parenting arrangements for their unborn daughter.