The Day I Quit Him (Autumn and Mars) novel Chapter 8

The two of them swaggered out the door. The maids finally let out a collective sigh of relief and went back to their work.

After being admitted to the private hospital under the Bennett Group, Autumn Lopez had fallen into a deep sleep.

She finally woke up around dinnertime.

The nurse watching over her saw her stir and immediately approached with a warm smile. “Mrs. Lopez, you’re awake! Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

Autumn shook her head.

She had slept incredibly well and felt completely relaxed.

“Are you hungry, then?”

Autumn touched her stomach. She was, in fact, a little hungry, so she nodded.

The nurse quickly pressed the call button. “Please send up dinner.”

She thoughtfully brought Autumn a glass of warm water to soothe her throat and adjusted the bed so she could sit up comfortably.

Dinner was a private patient meal prepared by the hospital’s nutritionist–perfectly balanced and generously portioned.

Only after she’d eaten her fill did Autumn pick up her phone and turn it on.

A flood of messages poured in, nearly causing her phone to freeze.

She waited quietly for a moment until the notifications stopped, then picked it up to look.

Most were messages from work.

There were also countless calls and texts from unknown numbers.

And finally, messages from Lydia.

She was certainly persistent, having sent several hundred messages all by herself,

Autumnn tapped open the chat and scanned a few messages, finally understanding what Lydia’s latest drama was about.

The sky restaurant was a place Autumn had booked for a date with Mars,

She had planned it to celebrate her pregnancy and had even hired a photographer to capture the joyful look on Mars’s face

when he found out he was going to be a father for the first time.

Instead, she had waited alone at that restaurant for hours, until they were about to close. Only then did Mars’s call finally come through.

He said he was working overtime at the office and had lost track of time.

But in reality, he had been with Lydia, taking her on a ferry ride and selling off romantic fireworks for her.

Autumn stared at the photo of Lydia and Mars huddled closely together, looking incredibly intimate. She let out a soft, scornful laugh and, with a flick of her thumb, blocked Lydia’s number.

It was her own fault, really, she thought. She’d remembered to turn off her phone but had completely forgotten to block

her

Chapter 8

Autumn had only just blocked Lydia and Mars when her phone buzzed.

It was an unknown local number. A flash of recognition crossed Autumn’s eyes; she had a good guess who it was.

She let it ring, setting the phone aside as she waited.

The call went to voicemail, but the person on the other end was relentless, immediately calling back a second time.

Then a third.

Autumn waited patiently. Soon enough, their pallence ran out, and a barrage of calls and texts began.

[Autumn, stop playing dumb! Answer your phone!]

[You actually blocked me and Lydia? What the hell is your problem!]

[Answer the phone! Or you’re gonna regret it!]

Autumn calmly watched Mars lose his mind. Only when the thirtieth call came through did she finally pick up.

The Mars on the other end of the line had run out of steam, his voice laced with exasperation. “Autumn, how long are you going to keep this up?”

Autumn let out a cold laugh. “Oh, so you do know how to talk like a normal person.”

Mars felt like something was caught in his throat, choking him. It was an awful feeling.

“My patience has a limit. It’s one thing for you to throw a fit at me, but blocking Lydia? What was that about? Do you have any idea she’s been crying this whole time because you blocked her? She’s your sister! How could you be so cruel to her?”

Autumn seriously wanted to crack open Mars’s skull and see what kind of crap was rattling around in there.

“You took her to that rooftop restaurant, didn’t you?”

Mars, who had been getting more and more worked up, suddenly fell silent, like a rooster with its neck wrung.

1. 1. 1.

He hesitated, trying to come up with an explanation.

Autumn went right for the jugular, exposing Lydia’s game. “Lydia already sent me the pictures. Hundreds of them. Looks like you two had a great time.”

“I’m in the hospital because you hit me with your car, and the two of you have the time of your lives going out to eat. Since you obviously don’t care about the baby in my belly, I might as well schedule an abortion.”

*You dare!”

“Autumn, how can you be so heartless? Isn’t that your child, too?”

Autumn raised an eyebrow, her tone chilling. “Is it, really?”

Mars was stunned into silence.

It took him a long moment to find his voice again, which came out shaky and defensive. “Wh–what’s that supposed to

mean?”

“If it’s not your child, whose could it be?”

Autumn didn’t say a word.

That was enough to make Mars’s confidence crumble. His attitude did a complete one–eighty. “Okay, okay, we’re all family here. Why do we have to make things so ugly? Just unblock me and Lydia, alright? Are you really going to stay mad at us forever? Can you be any more childish?”

“Which hospital are you at? Send me your location, I’ll come see you.”

“I swear, I don’t know what to do with you. You’re a grown woman, still getting jealous and fighting with your own sister

for attention.”

As Mars rambled on, Autumn listened, her expression completely flat.

Mars was always like this. The second he felt guilty, he’d try to sweet–talk her, as if a few nice words could patch

everything up.

Before, when Autumn was deeply in love with him, she would let his coaxing placate her, telling herself that at least he

was willing to put in some effort.

But now, free from the filter of her own self–delusion, Autumn could finally see their relationship for what it was.

And she could finally be sure: Mars didn’t love her.

If he was done with her, then she was done with him. After all, no one in this world has ever died just because someone

else left them.

Right now, Autumn was just thankful the baby wasn’t Mars’s. Otherwise, she’d never be able to get over everything she’d

sacrificed.

“Autumn? Autumn, are you listening?”

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Mars’s patience always ran on a three–minute fuse. When Autumn didn’t respond, he started getting annoyed again.

Tired of wasting her breath, Autumn simply said, “I already told you my terms. An apology and compensation. I want to see you’re sincere by the end of the day. Otherwise, I’m calling the cops.”

Then she hung up.

Her phone buzzed again. She knew her words had infuriated him. She blocked his number again.

Then she waited.

An hour and a half later, Autumn received a text alert. Five million dollars had been deposited into her bank account.

A small smile touched her lips as she immediately transferred the money to her private account

Autumn and Mars had founded Cloudbreak Corporation before they were married.

She had been with him every step of the way, helping him climb to the very top until he became the celebrated genius of the business world, hailed as a dark horse who came out of nowhere.

She had sacrificed the interests of the Lopez Group to help Cloudbreak soar

Her plan had been for Cloudbreak to support the Lopez Group once it reached its peak

But she never imagined Mars’s appetite would be so much bigger than she thought.

Under pressure from Cloudbreak, the Lopez Group was on its last legs, a crumbling empire on the verge of collapse.

And as for Cloudbreak, which was their premarital asset, she had only received a minority stake due to certain arrangements they’d made back then.

When she first found out Mars was just using her as a surrogate, Autumn had been so furious she’d almost lost her mind,

thinking only of divorce to get away from that scumbag and his bitch.

But now, she had a clearer head. She wouldn’t give up a single thing she was owed.

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