For five years, I was NFL superstar Gordon Ryder’s secret wife.
Then he went public with his new romance on Instagram.
TMZ painted me as a psycho. A "jersey chaser."
His fans crucified me all over the internet.
My cheating husband played the lovesick hero, while I was the villain.
Did he really think I was just some ordinary freelancer?
He’s forgotten who bankrolled the five million dollars that launched his career—the one that got him that Super Bowl ring.
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1
I had just wrapped up a quarterly company meeting when my phone started blowing up with calls from my family.
"Natalie! What the hell is going on?" The first to call was my younger sister, Ava Vanderbilt.
"Huh? What are you talking about? What's going on?"
Her frantic tone left me utterly baffled.
"Oh, well, if you don't know, never mind. As long as you're okay. I was just calling to check on your meeting." She seemed relieved to hear my confused voice.
The second call was from my best friend, Hailey.
"Natalie! Are you okay? Please tell me you're holding up." She sounded incredibly anxious on the other end.
"What?"
My confusion deepened.
"Oh, you haven't heard? Then... forget it!" she said quickly. "I was just calling to see how you were doing! You know, being on the other side of the world and all!"
Hailey then fumbled through a few bad jokes, her laughter a little too loud, before abruptly hanging up.
Then came a video call from my mom.
"Natalie! Are you okay?" she asked, her voice on the verge of tears.
"Okay, that's it. What on earth is happening?" I finally snapped.
My mom fell silent for a few seconds, as if startled by my reaction. Then, she exclaimed, "Natalie, you haven't seen it? Gordon and that model just went public! Someone dug up your info and is calling you some psycho trying to wreck their relationship!"
"The entire internet is ripping you to shreds!"
"Gordon Ryder?" I muttered, my brow furrowing. "He wouldn't dare."
"Natalie, you pay him no mind, you hear me? Your father, your brother, and I already have the legal team prepping a lawsuit!" my mom snarled.
I pressed my temples, feeling a wave of exhaustion. "Mom! Hold on, don't do anything rash. Tell Dad and Mason to stand down, too. Let me figure out what's going on first. I can handle this."
After a long talk, my mom finally promised she wouldn't interfere.
I opened X, and the trending topics instantly flooded my screen.
"Super Bowl MVP Gordon Ryder's Relationship Exposed!"
"'The Rocket' Finds True Love."
"Gordon Ryder Gifts Custom Jewelry to Savannah Monroe."
It turned out that Gordon had posted a photo earlier. The picture showed the back of a woman standing next to a magnificent bouquet of diamond roses. The caption read: "The brightest stars for the most brilliant you."
At the same time, Savannah had also posted a photo of them kissing on a yacht in Miami. Her caption was: "The stars are beautiful, but I think I love you more."