Chapter 2

My back was perfectly straight, the red dress flaring with every determined step. My four-inch heels clicked sharply on the polished marble floor, each step echoing like a slap across Abby and Josiah's faces.

I didn't need to look back to sense the chaos erupting behind me.

Josiah instinctively took a step forward, as if he wanted to chase after me.

"Honey, she's lying. Don't go. She's just out for revenge." Abby's panicked voice rang out as she latched desperately onto Josiah's arm.

For the first time, I heard Josiah speak with a tone dripping with impatience and icy loathing as he shook her off. "You know exactly what's true."

The whispers from the higher-ups, the shocked gossip among my colleagues, and people pointing at Abby. All these voices surged behind me like a tidal wave.

I didn't look back. I pulled open the heavy doors to the banquet hall, leaving all the noise and chaos behind me.

When I stood alone in the empty hallway, the calm I'd been clinging to shattered in an instant.

It was like an invisible hand clenched around my heart, sending a jolt of pain through me.

I leaned against the cold wall, taking deep breaths, trying to steady myself.

That old, familiar ache of betrayal and humiliation came crashing back over me.

I blinked back the tears threatening to spill, telling myself. 'Emily, don't cry. This fight is just getting started.'

The air in the underground parking lot was cold and stifling, the harsh white lights casting long, ghostly shadows.

I found my car, hit the unlock button, and the lights blinked twice.

Just as I was opening the door, a blinding set of high beams suddenly flooded over me.

A black Bentley swerved in front of my car, blocking my way with an arrogant finality.

The door swung open, and Josiah stepped out, his presence icy and imposing.

He strode up to me, the scent of alcohol from the banquet hall still clinging to him. His handsome face looked even more shadowed under the harsh white lights of the parking lot.

"Emily, what exactly are you trying to do?" Josiah demanded, his voice rough with barely contained anger. "Did you have to make things so ugly?"

I looked at him, and suddenly couldn't help but find it ridiculous.

"Ugly?" I let out a cold laugh. "Is this uglier than your wife standing up and spreading rumors that I'm some sugar baby? Josiah, who are you to question me right now? The investor's rep, or Abby's husband?"

Josiah choked on my words, his face growing even darker. "I..." he started, but couldn't get the words out.

"Honey." Abby came running, her voice shaky. She nearly tripped in her heels, mascara streaked down her cheeks, looking both desperate and a total wreck.

Abby flung herself at Josiah, clinging to his arm, tears pouring down her face. "Honey, don't listen to her.

"She's just jealous of me. She still hates us for what happened back then. That's why she said all that at the party tonight, just to tear our family apart."

As she sobbed, Abby shot me a look full of pure malice, like I was the evil witch out to destroy their picture-perfect family.

Josiah stared at his wife, tears streaming down her face as she clung to him, and for the first time, his eyes were filled with doubt and annoyance I'd never seen before.

Josiah tried to push her off, but Abby only clung to him harder.

Watching their pathetic tug-of-war, I felt a wave of disgust rise in me.

All those years of heartbreak and resentment that gnawed at me in the dead of night. At that moment, it all turned into the bitterest irony.

I couldn't be bothered to waste another word on them. I opened my purse and pulled something out from a compartment.

It was a neatly folded piece of paper, its edges yellowed with age and creased from years of being tucked away.

I strode up to Josiah and, right in front of Abby, flung the paper onto his expensive suit like it was nothing but garbage.

"Mr. Wilcox, do you remember this?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Josiah froze, instinctively catching that old slip of paper.

He unfolded it, and in the dim light, that check was right there in front of him, impossible to ignore.

The amount, the flourished signature, and that date burned into memory, all were painfully clear.

150 thousand dollars. Signed by Josiah's mother. The date was eight years ago. It was the day we broke up.

Josiah's face went even paler than Abby's. His fingers trembled as he held the check, like it was burning him.

I looked at his stunned, speechless face, and that old scar I'd buried deep inside was ripped open, raw and bleeding.

But there was also a twisted sense of satisfaction, like I was finally getting my revenge.

I spoke slowly, my voice icy and emotionless."Abby just asked at the party how much I was worth per month.

"Aren't you the numbers guy? Why don't you crunch the numbers for me?

"Was that 150 thousand dollars to keep me as your college mistress for three years, or was it just a one-time buyout for my dignity?"

My words cut straight to his deepest wound, no mercy.

Josiah's lips moved soundlessly, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he couldn't get a single word out.

He stared at me, pain and shock written all over his face, like I was someone he'd never known before.

Meanwhile, Abby just stood there with her mouth hanging open, totally floored by the sight of that check.