Mattie crumpled to the floor, groaning in agony as he clutched himself, his face twisted in pain.
“Bastard! You swore you’d be loyal to me. Was our eight years of marriage just a game to you? A joke?!”
Still writhing on the ground, Mattie managed to gasp, “Becca, you…you’re misunderstanding. She sprained her ankle, I was just helping her. If you don’t believe me, check the security cameras.”
I let out a hollow, bitter laugh. The cameras? Did he really think I had not tried that before?
That I had not spent sleepless nights going through footage, only to find that somehow, he had managed to erase every shred of evidence?
I had caught him cheating before, again and again. And yet, he always had an excuse.
This time, I did not cry. Instead, I pulled out my phone and shoved the screen into his face. “Then explain this!”
Mattie’s face paled as he looked at the receipt for the diamond ring.
His lips parted, but no words came out at first. Then, he stuttered, “Becca, you… you know me, right? I never do anything without a reason, especially when it comes to the talents I sponsor.”
I raised an eyebrow. Here we go. Another excuse.
“A week ago,” he continued, his voice forced into a calm tone, “Cam broke up with her boyfriend. She was devastated. You know how emotional she gets.
“I bought her the ring to comfort her—if she’s too stressed, she might stop streaming. Can you imagine the loss that would bring to our company?”
Unbelievable. How dare he make an excuse again that time?
Before I could snap back, my phone rang.
“Ma’am, where are you? We have to leave for a meeting with a client in ten minutes,” my secretary said.
Damn it. Bad timing.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mattie sigh in relief, as if he had just been handed a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Not so fast.
I tightened my grip on my phone and met his eyes with a glare so cold he visibly shuddered. His hand instinctively covered his groin, as if terrified I might kick him again.
“Fine,” I said into the phone. “Wait for me in the lobby. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The call ended, but I was not done with Mattie.
I stepped closer, my voice low and sharp as a blade. “This is the last time I believe your excuse—that you don’t love the women you sleep with, that it’s just business.”
I let out a bitter chuckle before I continued, "After all, you’ve been with Cam for almost three years, so that excuse doesn’t hold anymore.
“Mark my words, Mattie Randolf. If you disappoint me again, if I catch you with her one more time, the next thing you’ll be facing is a divorce.”
I turned on my heel and walked out, leaving Mattie in surprise, as if he had never expected me to fight back, never expected me to know.
He thought I was still the same innocent, naïve wife who turned a blind eye to his betrayals.
But after eight years of marriage—ten if I counted the years we had dated and fifteen if I included the time since I first met him at the University of Pennsylvania—I had learned everything about him.
Every lie, every excuse, and every carefully calculated move. So, my focus was no longer on saving my marriage anymore. That man was dead to me.
At that time, my only concern was living happily with my daughter, Kenneth.
I inhaled deeply, willing my rage to settle as I made my way to the lobby where my secretary was waiting.
But just as I passed the livestream talent room, a sound made me stop in my tracks.
A high-pitched, sugary voice made by Cameron.
The door was slightly ajar, and my body moved before my mind could stop me.
Inside, Cameron sat under the bright glow of ring lights, her phone propped up, live-streaming to thousands of fans.
"Oh my god, guys, look at what my baby got me!" she squealed, holding up the ring to the camera.
The same marquise diamond ring from the receipt.
My world tilted and my hands clenched into fists as I slammed the door. The sound made her flinch.
"Enjoying yourself, Cam?" My voice was ice.
Her head snapped up, surprise flickering in her wide eyes before she immediately turned off the livestream. The second the screen went dark, her entire expression shifted.
She smirked, leaning back in her chair, crossing her long legs like she was entitled to this moment.
"Oh, Mrs. Randolf," she drawled, voice dripping with mockery. "Didn't see you there. What brought you here?"
I ignored her fake pleasantries. My eyes were locked on the ring still glittering on her perfectly manicured finger.
I pointed at it. "That’s mine." My voice was firm. "Mattie bought it for me."
Cameron let out a light, airy laugh—as if I had just told the funniest joke she had ever heard.
She stopped pretending.
"Excuse me, Ma’am," she cooed, tilting her head like she pitied me. "Mattie bought this for me. Maybe you should check your messages. I think your gift was supposed to be, oh, I don’t know… a blender?"
Something inside me snapped.
My blood burned through my veins, my nails dug into my palms, but I forced myself to stay calm.
"You think this is funny?" My voice was dangerously low, trembling with suppressed rage.
Cameron did not flinch. Instead, she stood up, deliberately slow, stepping closer as if she wanted to provoke me further.
"Oh, Mrs. Randolf," she murmured, voice barely above a whisper, "I don’t think it’s funny. I think it’s pathetic."
"You," she continued, "still pretending to be his wife, when we both know who gives him pleasure every day.”
Her words were gasoline to the fire already raging inside me. So, I snapped and slapped her hard.
For a split second, Cameron froze, her hand flying to her cheek in shock. But then, to my absolute disgust, she smirked.
She let out a low chuckle, tilting her head as if she was amused.
"There it is," she murmured, rubbing her cheek. "Took you long enough to fight back, Becca."
She straightened up, eyes glinting with something dangerous.
"But good," she continued, her lips curling into a slow, cruel smile. "Let me show you how much Mattie loves me."
Cameron’s sudden, high-pitched scream sliced through the air, echoing beyond the half-open door.
Footsteps rushed in unison—not just the staff, but also Mattie who drew instinctively to the sound he knew too well.
How could he not? Mattie indulged in her every day, reveling in her pleasure and the spoiled cries of pain that came with his every thrust.
"What the hell is going on here?" His voice sliced through the tension like a knife, sharp and furious.
"Mrs. Randolf, she attacked me," Cameron whimpered, voice trembling with perfectly executed innocence. "She said I should cut off my finger because I dared to wear the ring you gave me."
A collective gasp rippled through the employees who had gathered outside. The whispers started.
"Did she really say that?"
"I knew she was jealous, but this…?"
"The COO is insane!"
Their voices tangled together, a suffocating noose tightening around me.
But Mattie, the one person who should have known me better than anyone, believed her.
His expression darkened and his hands curled into fists as he strode toward me.
"Becca!" he snarled, his voice a low growl and his hand hanging in the air, going to slap me.
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the sharp, humiliating sting.
But before his hand could make contact, the sound of shattering glass exploded through the air.
A gunshot.
