"But Brendan, I just have feelings for you."
Cindy's eyes were rimmed red as she glared at me. "I fell in love with you, Brendan. That's why I got jealous. I was jealous that she had your love, jealous of how good you are to her. It's all my fault!"
She whipped her head toward me, her face dripping with contempt. "Debbie, you win. Go ahead and slander me all you want. The truth will come out."
With that, she burst into tears and ran out.
Brendan stood frozen for a long moment, then swept the room with a cold stare. His voice carried an unmistakable threat. "Cindy has already been fired. Anyone who keeps pushing this is making an enemy of me, and don't blame me when I show no mercy."
Then he rushed out after her, as if terrified she might slip away.
The entire room went silent. Nobody could make sense of what had just happened.
"Wait, I thought Cindy was Mr. Sanchez's girlfriend? Now he's in love with Ms. Henson?"
I cleared my throat and gave my assistant a look, brows pinched, signaling her to explain.
She stepped forward with a crisp smile. "Brendan Sanchez and our chairwoman, Ms. Henson, have been secretly married for years. But as you all just witnessed, he's been having an affair with Cindy Pruitt. Ms. Henson is filing for divorce, and effective today, the board of directors has voted to strip Brendan Sanchez of all positions within the company."
"What?" The guy with the acne stared blankly. "You're the chairwoman? Then why didn't you say so earlier?"
"If she had, would you have shown your true colors?" The assistant let out a cold scoff. "Security, escort these people out."
"It's over. We're actually fired. I worked so hard just to land this internship!"
Someone broke down crying. "Ms. Henson, please, give me one more chance! I know I was wrong!"
"My parents are counting on me to make something of myself. I really can't lose this job at Henson Sterling!"
"This is all Cindy Pruitt's fault!"
"Exactly! She's the homewrecker, and she used us as her attack dogs against the real wife. She owes us compensation!"
I heard later that the whole group actually tracked Cindy down and squeezed a hefty payout out of her.
My assistant suddenly spoke up. "Ms. Henson, you finalized the divorce a few days ago, right? Well, those properties that went to Brendan in the settlement? He sold every single one of them to cover Cindy's damages."
"Honestly, just imagining the look on Cindy's face when she finds out Brendan is completely broke now gives me a thrill I can't even describe!"
I stared at her, incredulous. "Since when did you develop such a wicked streak?"
She dodged the question with a grin. "Heh. Anyway, there's a contract this afternoon that requires your signature in person."
When I arrived at the meeting location, I spotted two painfully familiar faces.
"Debbie." Brendan saw me and instinctively started toward me, then forced himself to stop.
"Let's talk about getting remarried in a few days. Right now Cindy doesn't even have a place to stay..."
I blinked. "Who said anything about getting remarried?"
"If you're not here to chase after us, then what are you doing here?" Cindy sneered. "At the end of the day, you just can't let go of the Sanchez family fortune."
"Drop the act, Debbie." Brendan's tone was strange, almost pitying. "I know you've had people keeping tabs on me these past few days. I'll admit, agreeing to the divorce was me being impulsive. But if going through all this helps you reflect on your own behavior, then maybe it was worth it."
I laughed in disbelief.
I was about to fire back when a wave of scorching heat slammed into me. Someone screamed, "Fire!"
I turned to run, but with a deafening crash, flames engulfed the ceiling beams. A wooden cabinet toppled and smashed down onto my foot.
I choked back a cry, my face draining of color. "Brendan, help me up!"
Brendan pulled me to my feet without hesitation. Then a wail came from behind us. Cindy was sitting by the doorway, paralyzed with fear. "Brendan! Save me!"
Brendan looked at me. Then went quiet.
Dread pooled in my stomach. "Brendan, don't tell me you're going to rescue her. She's right by the door. She could crawl out in two seconds. Even if she just sat there and did nothing, she'd be perfectly fine..."
"I'm sorry, Debbie." His voice was hoarse. "Cindy has no one else to rely on but me. You're strong. Holding on a little longer won't be a problem for you. I'll come back for you."
"Trust me, Debbie. You're my wife. I would never let you get hurt. But I have to save Cindy first."
He let go of my hand without a second of hesitation and walked away.
The fire raged at nearly two hundred degrees, but in that moment, I felt like I'd been plunged into an ice cellar.
I watched Brendan scoop Cindy into his arms and carry her out. I watched Cindy glance back at me, then go limp, faking unconsciousness the second they cleared the door. Brendan didn't think twice. He hailed a cab and left with her, never once looking back, never once remembering I was still inside.
The world blurred as I collapsed to the ground. Through the haze, I saw firefighters rushing in.
