No Longer His Wife

Catherine's POV

My six-month business trip to Europe was finally over. I decided to surprise my husband Nathaniel by coming home early without telling him, bringing my six-year-old son Lucas straight to his newly opened upscale restaurant.

Lucas excitedly ran toward the children's play area while I scanned the restaurant for Nathaniel, eagerly anticipating our reunion.

Suddenly, a scream shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

I turned to see a woman in work uniform roughly shoving my son, snarling viciously:

"What the hell are you RUNNING around for, you little brat! Can't you watch where you're going?"

I froze. How DARE this woman treat my child like this in my husband's restaurant?

I saw red as I charged toward the woman.

"STOP!"

The woman spun around, and I caught sight of her name tag: Scarlett Hayes, Restaurant Manager. She looked about my age, blonde hair, blue eyes, caked in makeup, with one hand protectively cradling her slightly rounded belly.

"Mommy!" Lucas cried, rushing into my arms. "I said sorry! But she still pushed me!"

I knelt down and pulled my son close, checking for injuries while shooting daggers at this Scarlett woman. "What the hell happened?"

"This little BRAT nearly killed my baby!" Scarlett shrieked, loud enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear. "He was running around like a maniac and slammed right into my stomach! I almost miscarried!"

Lucas tugged at my dress, whispering, "Mommy, I really did apologize... but she was on her phone the whole time, she wasn't even watching..."

I took a deep breath and stood up. From what I could see, this was clearly an accident. And given what Lucas just told me, this woman shared the blame—of course something would happen if you're glued to your phone in a crowded place.

"What did you just call my son?" I said coldly. "He's just a child. This was obviously an accident."

Scarlett's eyes went wide. "You're BLAMING me? I've seen plenty of cheap single moms like you! Dragging your baggage around, trying to hook some sucker!"

I almost laughed at her audacity. "What the hell are you talking about? If you hadn't been staring at your phone while walking, none of this would've happened."

"Did everyone hear that?" Scarlett looked around, raising her voice even higher. "She's actually victim-blaming. A PREGNANT woman!"

She stepped closer to me, and that overwhelming cloud of perfume hit my nostrils. I wrinkled my nose—the scent was familiar somehow, but I couldn't place where I'd smelled it before.

She shook her head dramatically. "Some people just refuse to take responsibility for their children's behavior."

The gathering crowd started murmuring:

"Poor thing, being attacked while pregnant..."

"That mother should be ashamed..."

"Kids these days have no discipline..."

With Scarlett's deliberate manipulation, these people had gotten the story completely wrong. They thought Lucas had caused trouble and I was covering for him.

I was LIVID. Fine. I'd call Nathaniel and have him deal with his psycho employee.

I'd just pulled out my phone when Scarlett lunged at me.

"Gonna tattle?" She snatched my phone away, her eyes wild. "You think that's gonna work? Dream on!"

"Give it BACK!" I reached for it, but Scarlett had already raised the phone above her head.

"I'm the OWNER'S WIFE!" she screamed with maniacal laughter, then SLAMMED my phone onto the floor. "I have every right to throw trash like you out!"

My phone shattered into pieces.

I stared at the fragments in disbelief. This lunatic had just smashed my phone in front of all these people and claimed to be the owner's wife?

"Are you INSANE?"

Scarlett used her red high heel to grind the phone pieces into the floor, cackling with each stomp. "Insane? I'll SHOW you insane!"

After finishing her destruction, she looked at me triumphantly. "Now you know what happens when you mess with me! I RUN this place!"

The crowd started taking sides:

"Mrs. Hayes is right, can't let people like that cause trouble..."

"Yeah, she's the owner's wife, of course she has authority..."

"That woman's out of line—her kid hurt someone and she won't even apologize..."

I pulled Lucas closer, narrowing my eyes as I stared at Scarlett. "You're gonna REGRET this."

Scarlett sneered. "We'll see about that!"

She suddenly screamed: "SECURITY! Get rid of these two! Show them what happens when they cause trouble on MY turf!"