Ferdinand's expression was nothing short of murderous.
"Good for you."
"Why don't you just stay with your little boy toy forever?"
He slammed the door so hard the frame rattled. I watched his back disappear down the hallway, and a hollow ache spread through my chest. But I forced the feeling down.
It's fine. Just get through this. It'll all be over soon.
That evening, I went back to the office, planning to sort through the latest financial reports.
The door was kicked open without warning.
"I thought you were out with those pretty young models because you'd finally moved on." He stepped inside, his voice dripping with contempt. "Turns out you were here waiting for me all along."
"Georgette, did you really think you could get away with using these disgusting tactics against Mabel?"
I froze, completely blindsided. I pulled free of his grip.
"Ferdinand, what the hell are you talking about?"
He sneered and flung a photograph onto my desk.
"A group of men cornered Mabel this afternoon. If my people hadn't shown up when they did, she would've lost more than her dignity. She might have lost the baby."
"Tell me this wasn't you."
I shook my head, bewildered. "That wasn't me—"
"Enough!"
Ferdinand's eyes burned with fury as he glared down at me.
"Those men already confessed. They said you paid them. How long were you planning to keep lying to me?"
He closed the distance between us, his cold smile never wavering, and gripped my chin, forcing my face up.
"Georgette, I never would have imagined it. You used to be so innocent. So kind. What happened to you?"
"If you hadn't drugged Mabel."
"If you hadn't sent her into that private room full of men."
"I never would have crossed paths with her."
"So really, you brought all of this on yourself."
The blood drained from my face. I stared up at him, stunned. "What are you saying? What... I drugged her?"
"Is that what Mabel told you?"
So that was it. That explained everything. The coldness, the hostility, the way he'd looked at me like I was something rotten. All this time, he believed that at the birthday party, I had been the one who drugged Mabel.
That was why he'd treated me with such cruelty.
Ferdinand had been quietly hating me this entire time.
And the whole thing was absurd.
"You still won't admit it?"
"If I hadn't stepped in to clean up your mess, I wouldn't have had to personally act as the antidote and save Mabel myself."
"Come to think of it, I should thank you for playing matchmaker. You're the reason she and I ever met."
"So go ahead. Live with that guilt. Spend the rest of your life knowing what it feels like to lose everything."
He shoved me backward and strode out without a second glance.
I stumbled and hit the cold floor hard.
I watched him leave, turning his last words over and over in my mind, unable to make sense of them.
The next morning, my assistant called in a panic before I'd even finished getting ready.
"Ms. Pruitt, we have a serious problem!"
"Confidential files from your division have been leaked. We don't know by whom. The losses are catastrophic. Your father is furious. He wants this handled immediately."
"What?!"
Ferdinand. His name was the first thing that flashed through my mind.
Since the engagement, our two families had shared information freely as part of the business partnership. Things that were classified to anyone outside the company were things I'd never hidden from him.
I never thought he'd go this far. Not even for Mabel.
But if spending a lifetime with a man like that was the alternative, I'd rather take the loss. Tens of millions. Even a hundred million.
It would be worth every penny.
