Chapter 1

I guessed I'd married into a rich family.

While I was pregnant, my husband, Fernando Greene, took a mistress.

She was a cosmetic specialist. And she was stunning.

I tried to talk things out with Fernando, complained to his parents, and kept it together.

But Fernando's affair just kept going, and his parents turned a blind eye.

Furious, I filed for divorce, and while I was at it, I blasted their affair all over the internet.

That totally embarrassed Fernando.

As a result, I got sued.

Fernando accused me of defamation, saying I'd ruined his reputation.

He demanded I make a public apology.

*****

The judge didn't hesitate. He ordered me to apologize publicly for fifteen days straight.

I smirked. A public apology by law? Honestly, I was more than happy to play along.

On the day the verdict was announced, I went live with my apology on major platforms.

I said, "Fernando, this is my official apology. You cheated on me during our marriage, and you weren't a saint, but I shouldn't have aired your dirty laundry and made you look bad."

The hype about their affair had faded, but the moment my apology video went up, the internet exploded all over again.

Netizens were going wild in the comments.

[Apology? This is a challenge disguised as an apology. Matilda, tell us what "cheated on me during our marriage and wasn't a saint" meant.

[Is that just a polite way of saying "I made the same mistake most powerful men make"?]

[Terrible apology. Who are you even apologizing to? It's like you're performing without props.

[Matilda, next time, drop the names. That's the only way this apology will count.]

["Made you look bad?" Seriously, who's the embarrassed one here? The guy who cheated on his pregnant wife? The mistress who knew exactly what she was doing?

[Or the wife forced to apologize in public? This apology is hilarious. So satisfying.]

[Technically, Matilda is just following the court order. But socially? This is a second round of public shaming. Brilliant move. I'm following this drama.]

Fernando called, his voice full of rage. "After everything we've been through as husband and wife, do you really have to put me through this?"

I replied coolly, "Wasn't it you who wanted a public apology? The judge made the call, so I'm just doing what the law says."

Fernando's mother, Faith Greene, and his sister, Jane Greene, were blowing up my phone, taking turns lecturing me.

Faith said, "Matilda, don't make such a scene. Men are all the same. Only men with real ability can pull this off.

"Honestly, you should be glad Fernando did this. It means he's outstanding. You had good taste, snatching him up before anyone else could."

Jane tried to talk me down, too. "Come on, Fernando still likes you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have married you. He only sued you because you made him lose face.

"Men are all about their pride. Just help him save face, and things will settle down. Don't let it turn into a real mess.

"Women should be a little more gentle and considerate."

But when Jane was fighting with her husband during their divorce, they literally busted each other's heads open.

I didn't see all that gentleness and consideration she talked about.

I just shot back, "If you've got time to lecture me, why not spend it convincing Fernando to sign the divorce papers?"

I asked for the divorce, but Fernando wouldn't agree.

He even tried to play it off, saying, "You're the only one in my heart. I just strayed a bit. My mind and body wandered for a moment."

He thought I was some idiot he could mess with.

If I were really the only one in his heart, he wouldn't have been out there hooking up with another woman.

Not even an idiot would believe that.

He just wanted to keep me under control, especially since I was carrying the Greene family's baby.

It was not like I could just lose the baby. Even if I wanted to, it'd have to be an induced abortion at this point.

But honestly, I couldn't go through with it.

I couldn't even let go of my own kid, but I wouldn't be hung up on the guy.

It just showed how little they got me.

I was having a blast scrolling through all the comments and taking everyone's advice to heart.

I went ahead and dropped Katie's name in my apology the next day.

I said, "Fernando, this is my official apology. You cheated on me with Katie Hebert, and both of you were seriously lacking any decency.

"Even so, I shouldn't have put you both in the spotlight and embarrassed you."

After my last video, everyone was camping out for the next update.

As soon as I posted this one, it racked up tens of thousands of likes in no time.

One netizen replied: [Katie Hebert? Seriously, that name is as generic as it gets. Your apology is so vague.

[It's like you're just yelling into the void. Totally ineffective. Thumbs down. Start over. We need specifics.

[What company? What department? Employee ID number? We want a precision-guided apology, not some half-assed, scattershot excuse.]