Chapter 1
The second I appeared, the entire office fell into dead silence.
My assistant looked at me with a mixture of pity and awkwardness she couldn't conceal. "Ms. Blake, Mr. Grant is in trouble again."
I calmly slipped off my heels and switched into a pair of flats by my desk. The paparazzo was already waiting at the door with an obsequious grin.
Skipping the pleasantries, he cut straight to the chase: "I've got photos and videos of Mr. Grant hooking up with a C-list actress on a yacht. Pretty explosive stuff. Want a preview, Ms. Blake?"
I gave him an icy glance.
Seeing my uncharacteristic coldness, his smile faltered. "Standard rates. 100 thousand per photo, 300 thousand per video.
"But I can't guarantee this is exclusive. Add another 1 million, and I'll investigate. I will make sure these never leak."
I looked at him as if he'd just told the world's funniest joke, a mocking smile playing at my lips. "You rake in money that even bank robbers can't touch, and you make it look effortless. Honestly, I'm a little envious."
Just then, that familiar knock sounded at the door.
Nathan Grant lounged against the doorway, totally unfazed. "Babe, who are you jealous of? I've got first-hand photos and videos right here. I'll sell them to you for three bucks. Can't get a better deal than that, huh?"
Seeing me act like I couldn't care less, the paparazzo started to panic. "Whatever game you two are playing, I don't give a damn. But if there's no cash, you'll be front-page news tomorrow. Bank on it."
Nathan and I both replied at the same time, "Whatever."
Nathan flashed me a grin. "My wife's the most easy-going. She doesn't give a damn if people see us together. Go ahead and leak whatever you've got. It's your job, and I respect that."
The paparazzo muttered under his breath as he walked out, "What the hell? Did they both take crazy pills or something?"
After the paparazzo left and Nathan had gone, I got up to close the door, but I overheard Nathan's trademark confidence. "Just wait a bit. She's mad right now.
"I know my wife better than anyone. She loves me to death. There's no way she'd let anyone else see me like that. She'll definitely come to you and pay a fortune for those videos before sunrise.
"By the way, how much have you managed to squeeze out of Vivian? Enough to buy a house in Kingsford, huh?"
After closing the door, I gathered up all the tapes, discs, and photos, piling them into an iron box.
The fifty-inch box was packed full of all the tabloid stories and dirt videos on Nathan from the past few years.
I grabbed my lighter and torched all that ridiculously expensive junk I'd bought over the years.
Sparks flew, thick black smoke stinging my eyes and leaving them glistening, like our turbulent, burning love.
My phone chimed with a message from the paparazzo.
It read: [Ms. Blake, you sure have a temper. How many times has this happened, and you still haven't gotten used to it? Come on, send the money. Pay up and save yourself the headache.]
I smirked, shut off my phone, and went home.
The moment I flicked on the lights, the room was flooded with dyed-blue roses. Nathan stood there holding a mother-of-pearl box, a single black pearl inside catching the light with an odd, muted sheen.
He said, "Babe, I dove a hundred feet down to find this pearl for you."
In the past, I would've felt special. But now, all I could feel was irony. "Compared to all the money I've spent cleaning up your mess with the paparazzi over the years, this pearl is nothing."
He frowned. "Vivian, when are you going to stop being such a buzzkill?"
As he was talking, his phone rang. He picked up, and his face turned stormy with anger.
He gave me a look I couldn't read, then rushed out.
I suddenly thought of something and checked my phone, only to find myself flooded with thousands of messages.
Early the next morning, Nathan stumbled in, reeking of booze and looking rough with a scruffy beard.
He gave me a long, silent stare, but I couldn't care less.
As I walked past him, he grabbed my arm, his grip so tight it hurt, making me instantly break out in a cold sweat. "Don't you have anything to say to me? Yvette attempted suicide yesterday."
I smirked. "Why didn't you join her?"
He stared at me in disbelief. "Vivian, who do you think you are, acting like this? "If my family hadn't taken you in, you'd have nobody. Even your own mother cut you off.
"If I hadn't kept you around, the whole city would've been pointing fingers at you by now."
His words left me completely numb, my mind blank.
That was downright cruel.