"I didn't do any of—"
My voice came out thin, barely there.
The charges were fabricated. Every last one. But Hubert never bothered to investigate. He took Clarissa's word as gospel, no questions asked. He really did love her that much.
A bitter laugh echoed somewhere inside my chest.
What followed was six hours of beatings. By the end, my vision went black and I lost consciousness entirely.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital bed.
Hubert sat beside me, his gaze flat and cold. "Stop going after Clarissa. Unless you want more of the same."
I said nothing.
During the two years he'd schemed to strip me of everything in the divorce, I'd swallowed every kind of suffering there was. This time, I was going to carve out a future of my own.
Hubert looked at my bruised, swollen face. Something unreadable flickered in his eyes. Then a phone rang, and his attention snapped away.
I glanced over without turning my head. The caller was Clarissa.
The moment he picked up, his brow softened. His voice turned gentle.
All things that used to be mine.
Back then, he'd been the notorious troublemaker at Crestfall High, and I was just a girl who'd gotten lost and stumbled onto him beating someone up.
That one encounter was all it took. He latched onto me after that, impossibly tender and attentive with me while staying vicious toward everyone else. It didn't matter if they were women. He never spared them a second glance.
When he proposed in that grand, over-the-top spectacle, practically everyone said Hubert Stephens was head over heels for me.
We became Crestfall's golden couple. Media outlets tripped over themselves to cover our high-school-sweethearts love story. The comments sections were full of people calling us a fairy tale come to life.
Too bad fairy tales always end at the wedding. And what came after, for Hubert and me, was everything those stories never bothered to tell.
"Something came up at the office. I need to handle it."
Hubert stood and headed for the door. Just before it closed, I heard him murmur into the phone, "Whatever my girl wants, I'll get it for her."
I pulled my gaze back, picked up the phone on the nightstand, entered the passcode, and switched to the second operating system.
There was only one number in the contacts. I stared at it for a long time before I finally made myself dial.
He picked up almost instantly. A warm, rich voice came through the speaker: "Vinnie. You finally decided to call me."
My heart stuttered. Heat flooded my ears. I turned the words over in my head, then forced them out through clenched teeth: "Could you... could you take me away? You mentioned a position at your company before. I can do the job."
He didn't hesitate. "Of course. I've been holding that spot for you. When do you want to come?"
I pressed my lips together. "One week. Once I've settled things here, I'll be there."
His voice was steady, sincere. "All right. I'll come pick you up."
After the call ended, I finally let myself exhale.
Three days in the hospital. Hubert didn't visit once. Meanwhile, the trending headlines were wall-to-wall coverage of him and Clarissa.
SHOCKING! Crestfall's Richest Man Bids on Every Single Lot at Auction Just to Make His Secretary Smile!
BREAKING! Stephens Group Heir Takes Secretary Wedding-Dress Shopping — Big Day Approaching!
On my very first day in the hospital, I'd received a friend request from Clarissa.
Over the next three days she sent me Hubert's full itinerary, message after message. I forwarded every single one to my private investigator and told them to move fast.
Ding.
Another taunt.
Clarissa had sent a photo, smug as ever. It was a cemetery plot.
When I made out the names on the headstones, my pupils contracted to pinpoints.
Clarissa called. My fingers were shaking as I answered.
She let out two soft laughs, her tone laced with venom. "What do you think about me bulldozing this place and putting up a nice public restroom?"
My mind went blank for a split second. I ground my molars together. "What the hell do you want, Clarissa?"
Hubert had bought that plot for my parents. He'd stood beside me in the rain that day and whispered, "From now on, I'm your only family. Wherever you are, that's home."
Promises from another lifetime. Punchlines now.
Clarissa's voice kept coming, relentless: "You saw me in bed with him, and you still had the nerve to crawl back. Shameless."
"I was this close to marrying him. I'm the one who should be Mrs. Stephens!"
"You ruined my life, you worthless little tramp. So don't expect me to make yours easy."
She hung up without waiting for a reply.
I sat frozen for a beat, then scrambled to check myself out. The billing desk told me my account had insufficient funds.
I stared. I hadn't expected Hubert to go that far.
I twisted the diamond ring off my finger and slid it across the counter. "Put this toward the bill."
I was leaving soon anyway. None of these things mattered anymore.
By the time I reached the cemetery, it was nothing but level ground.
Clarissa was already there. Her eyes swept over me, dripping with contempt and spite. "Oh, silly me. I forgot to dig out your parents' ashes first."
"Then again, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I'm sure they're rotting in the lowest circle of hell by now."
"So really, ashes or no ashes, what's the difference?"
I was shaking from head to toe.
A calculating gleam crossed Clarissa's eyes, and her lips curled into a cruel smile. "Tell you what. Get on your knees right now and knock your head on the ground a hundred times. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be generous enough to leave your parents' urn in one piece. If you refuse..."
I glared at her, cutting her off. "In your dreams."
Clarissa scoffed.
Then, without warning, she seized my wrist and yanked me forward. The next second she toppled backward, stiff as a board. Behind her, a cement mixer was already pouring concrete over the flattened ground.
Clarissa's face went white. "Mr. Stephens, save me—"
Before I could process what had happened, a shadow streaked past the corner of my vision. Hubert hauled Clarissa out.
He didn't give me a chance to speak. His face was stone. He drove his foot into my stomach and sent me skidding three yards across the dirt.
His voice was low, thick with fury. "Lavinia. I gave you a chance."
"Take her to the basement. She comes out when she apologizes. Not before."
Bodyguards dragged me to a car. As they pulled me away, I watched Hubert guide Clarissa into his vehicle with exquisite care, one hand hovering at the small of her back.
Two cars of very different worth drove off in opposite directions.
Just like the distance between Hubert and me. Growing wider with every passing second.
