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The Entire Building Belonged to His Other Women
Novelix
new
Completed
When Oliver Hale promised me a home, I thought our marriage was finally finding its footing. Then I discovered that his childhood sweetheart lived upstairs, his first love downstairs, and his secretary across the hall—all in apartments he had bought. Everyone in the building belonged to a secret group chat that mocked me, including my husband. I found evidence that he had planned the arrangement before proposing. Instead of begging for answers, I contacted a divorce lawyer and left. But Oliver and the women he protected were not finished with me.c
Chapters (2)
Chapter 1
When Oliver Hale proposed, he promised me a home. Three years later, on our second morning in the luxury condo he'd finally moved me into, I discovered that his childhood sweetheart lived upstairs, his first love lived downstairs, and his executive assistant of seven years lived across the hall.
Oliver owned all four apartments. The others were deeded to the women. The one he called our marital home was still in his name alone.
The building manager assumed I belonged to a residents' group chat called *Oliver Hale's Family Floor*. His friends, our mutual acquaintances, and the concierge were all members. I wasn't.
Lily Summers asked for an air-conditioning repair. Brooke Foster asked which floor Oliver would dine on tonight. His assistant, Natalie Reed, uploaded a photo of Oliver asleep on her couch, covered with the blanket I'd knitted for him.
On the night I arrived, Lily had written: *The legal wife has moved in. Behave yourselves for a few days.*
Someone started a pool on when I'd discover the truth. Oliver's answer was worse than anything else.
*Don't give her too much credit. She was thrilled just to get an apartment.*
I called my attorney instead of confronting him. Then I booked a flight to Monterey.
On my way to the airport, Oliver called. "They're important women in my life. I can't just abandon them. You're my wife. What's mine is yours."
"Then why does each of them own her place while I own nothing?"
He sighed. "I'll transfer yours eventually. It's just an apartment."
"I don't want it. I want a divorce."
At the gate, I found a three-year-old video in the chat history. Oliver handed each woman a key, tossed the fourth onto the table, and laughed when Lily asked what would happen if his future wife found out.
"She won't," he said, taking an engagement ring from his pocket. "I have a proposal to make."
The home he'd promised me had been a joke before he even knelt down.
Chapter 2
I had barely landed in Monterey when the restaurant I'd booked for our housewarming called. Oliver had changed the event to Lily's celebration without changing the guest list or menu.
"She's bought new furniture," he said when I canceled it. "What difference does the floor make?"
"It was supposed to be the first time I invited friends into our home."
"I'll throw you another party when you stop sulking."
A designer posted photographs of Lily's finished apartment that afternoon. On the blueprints were notes I recognized from a list Oliver and I had written six years earlier, when we shared a cramped rental: flowers on the balcony, a cat after moving, grocery shopping together on Sundays, and a sunny bedroom for our future child.
Everything was finished. For Lily.
Oliver had also extended my hotel stay and requested my favorite breakfast. Even while he betrayed me, he remembered how I liked my oatmeal.
Then our shared travel savings account sent an alert. Almost $12,000 was gone. The itinerary covered fifteen days and four travelers: Oliver, Lily, Brooke, and Natalie. It followed the same route I'd planned with him for six years.
He had told me he would collect me after a business trip. The business trip was their vacation.
I sent the invoices, property documents, and screenshots to my attorney. I declined the hotel extension.
That afternoon, a waterfront events company offered me a position. I had applied before boarding the plane.
*I can start tomorrow,* I wrote.
