"And YOU!"
"Homewrecker extraordinaire—acting like you've actually accomplished something!"
My coworker jabbed a finger at the designer necklace glittering around the girl's throat.
"Unless my eyes are deceiving me, that little trinket was bought with MY friend's money!"
She was seething now.
"Take it off and give it back to her!"
She lunged forward. The girl shrieked in terror, but Roger grabbed my coworker's wrist and hurled her aside. She crashed into a table, sending everything scattering across the floor. Then I heard him roar:
"Lorraine!"
"Is THIS how you were raised?!"
The girl cowered in Roger's arms, tears streaming down her face like rain on pear blossoms—the picture of wounded innocence.
"Roger and I are truly in love!" she sobbed.
"He stopped loving you ages ago!"
"Lorraine! He doesn't love you!"
My coworker was still sprawled on the ground, but that didn't stop her from screaming: "I'll beat you both to death—you shameless cheater and your pathetic side piece!"
She scrambled to her feet, ready to tear into them again. But suddenly... I felt nothing. No rage. No desperation. Just a hollow calm.
I walked over and pulled her behind me, positioning myself between her and Roger. His expression shifted to wariness.
"Apologize to my friend."
Roger stared at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Roger." I'd expected this moment to shatter me—to feel my heart being crushed until I couldn't breathe. But watching someone else burn with fury on my behalf, watching someone fight for me... it cleared my head instead. "Apologize to my friend."
"You've gone insane!"
The words barely left his mouth.
I swung my purse and cracked it across his skull. Then I seized the girl by her hair and slammed her face into the corner of the table.
"Roger Simmons."
My voice was ice.
"I won't let this go."
Then I turned, took my coworker's arm, and walked out of the restaurant.
She'd only been at the company six months. I'd trained her myself, mentored her from day one.
Now she sat in my passenger seat, face creased with worry. But I just stared at my phone, perfectly calm, as Roger's messages flooded in:
[Lorraine! You went way too far today!]
[Do you have any idea—someone filmed your little scene at the restaurant and posted it online! If this spreads, how is Judy supposed to show her face?!]
[Post something immediately to clear this up. Do that, and I'll pretend nothing happened.]
[Lorraine, don't forget—your parents are retired. Your entire family depends on ME now. I'm not the man I used to be!]
Then a friend request popped up.
From the girl Roger had been so desperate to protect.
Judy Fox.
She sent videos. Photos. And a message:
[Lorraine, Roger stopped loving you a long time ago. Staying with you was just obligation.]
[Since we're all done pretending now...]
[Why bother hiding anymore? So what if public opinion destroys me? The brave get to enjoy the world first!]
[The more people attack me, the more your husband loves me. The better my odds. Believe it or not!]
I watched the video she'd sent.
Roger, already making arrangements to transfer assets. His voice on a phone call, giving instructions:
"Separate everything from my marriage to Lorraine—including my overseas holdings. Transfer it all into Judy's name. Make it seamless. Lorraine has zero tolerance for deception, so I need to prepare for the worst."
"Understood, sir."
"If Lorraine can accept this situation, admit she was wrong, and make room for Judy... then fine. She stays Mrs. Simmons."
"But if she refuses to know her place?"
"Then I'll make sure Lorraine ends up with nothing."
I stared at that familiar face on my screen.
A chill seeped through me, settling deep in my bones.
The man I'd shared a bed with for years—the moment I caught him cheating, his first instinct wasn't fear. Wasn't remorse.
It was demanding that I clear his mistress's name.
