Chapter 2

I put the divorce papers back in my bag. "I'm not done yet."

"What do you mean?" Julian asked.

I turned and headed for the door. "I'll be satisfied when you finally sign those papers."

I couldn't leave the hospital.

Peggy had the bodyguards stationed at the elevator, and Owen advised me not to force my way through.

"Ma'am, Mr. Longston's really upset right now. Why don't you just go back to Longston House and stay there for a couple of days?"

I looked at him. "Owen, who made sure that DUI record got changed three years ago?"

Owen's throat tightened, like he was choking on his words.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

He hugged the file bag tighter.

"Ma'am, I'm just here for the paycheck."

"So you've been hiding the truth for three years."

He looked down, refusing to meet my eyes.

The elevator doors dinged open.

Clara stepped out, with her agent, Mandy Holt, trailing behind her.

Mandy was decked out in bright red, her earrings practically dancing. When she spotted me, she shot me a mocking grin.

"Ms. Shaw, you're still hanging around? After what you pulled, I thought you'd be too embarrassed to show your face."

I looked at Clara. "Did you bring reporters here?"

Clara shook her head quickly.

"No, I didn't. I was just worried the stuff online might affect Julian, so Mandy came to help me handle it."

Mandy crossed her arms. "Handle it? Shouldn't you be the one who needs to be dealt with?"

She took a step forward, deliberately raising her voice.

"Your husband gets stabbed and you just stand there. Now the internet's blowing up, calling him heartless. Evelyn, you really take the cake."

Everyone in the hallway—nurses, patients' families—started staring.

Clara tugged at Mandy's arm. "Mandy, that's enough."

Mandy shook her off. "You're just too kind.

"She stole the man you love, snatched the title of Mrs. Longston right out from under you, and now she's out to wreck your reputation, too."

I looked at Clara. "Stole from you?"

Clara's eyes welled up with tears right away.

"Evelyn, I met Julian before you ever did. If I hadn't gone abroad for treatment that year, he never would have married you," she sobbed.

Mandy jumped in. "See? You totally took advantage when Clara was out of the picture."

I shot back, "The day Julian proposed to me, you were overseas, getting engaged to someone else."

Clara's face went pale.

Mandy frowned. "Don't make stuff up!"

I pulled out my phone and tapped open an old photo.

In the shot, Clara was in a white dress, a ring on her finger, with some guy holding her close by the waist.

The hallway went dead silent for a moment.

Mandy reached out, trying to snatch my phone.

"Who gave you the right to take secret pictures of Clara's private life?" she snarled.

I pulled my phone back.

"Don't blame me for it. It wasn't some sneak shot—you're the ones who posted it yourselves."

Clara's voice trembled, barely above a whisper. "You got it all wrong. It was just a misunderstanding."

"Oh, really? You call throwing an engagement party just a misunderstanding?"

She bit her lip, looking flustered.

Owen glanced at the photo, his expression turning awkward and uneasy.

Mandy spun around and snapped at him. "What are you staring at? Call security and get her out of here already!"

Owen didn't move.

I looked at him.

"Owen, you said you're just here for the paycheck. Tell me—does your salary buy you a conscience?" I asked.

Julian had Owen escort me back to the hospital room.

He'd already had his bandages changed, but his face was still ghostly pale.

Clara stood beside him, her eyes swollen from crying.

Mandy was lounging on the couch, looking like she'd just won a battle.

Peggy slammed her phone down on the table. "Evelyn, did you leak those old engagement photos of Clara to the media? What the hell are you trying to pull?"

I replied, "I didn't leak it."

Mandy let out a mocking laugh.

"Seriously? Who else would do it? You just whipped out that photo in the hallway, and now it's already blowing up online."

Clara whispered, "Evelyn, if you hate me, just take it out on me. Please, don't drag Julian into this. He really can't handle another blow right now."

Julian looked up at me. "Evelyn, delete it."

"I told you, it wasn't me," I insisted.

"You've got the photo on your phone."

"Just because it's on my phone doesn't mean I leaked it."

Then, Mandy grabbed her phone and pulled up a short video.

"Here's the proof. Someone filmed you in the hallway, showing that photo to Clara and using it to threaten her. Still going to play innocent?" she asked.

The video only showed the tail end.

It conveniently skipped the part where Mandy was tearing me down in front of everyone.

All in the video was me showing the photo, with Clara looking like she was about to fall apart.

Peggy was shaking with rage, shouting, "You're rotten to the core!"

Julian closed his eyes, exhaustion etched across his face. "Apologize."

I looked at him. "Who do you want me to apologize to?"

"To Clara."

I sneered, "She owes me the bracelet my mom left me, the art studio I gave up for her, the reputation she ruined, and three years of my life as his wife. And now you expect me to apologize to her?"

Clara covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.

"Evelyn, I promise—I never tried to come between you and Julian. Who he loves that's not up to me."

Mandy cut in, "Seriously? If he doesn't love you, that's on him, not her. Why are you taking it out on Clara?"

I looked at Julian. "Is that what you think, too?"

Julian was silent for a few seconds. "You can't make someone love you, Evelyn."

Those words cut deeper than any knife ever could.

I nodded. "Fine."

Peggy frowned. "What are you trying to pull now?"

I grabbed the fruit knife lying on the table.

The people in the room all went pale, their faces draining of color in an instant.

Julian barked, his voice low and urgent. "Evelyn, put it down!"

I put the knife in the fruit bowl and started slicing an apple.

The blade hit the porcelain plate with a clear, ringing sound.

"Relax. I'm not going to stoop to your level." I set the apple in front of Clara.

"Go ahead, eat it. All that crying must've left you hungry."

Clara's face kept shifting from pale to ashen, her expression flickering with panic and embarrassment.

Owen, standing by the door, suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Longston, we found the source of the video."

Julian looked at him. "Who was it?"

Owen shot a glance at Clara. "It was from the studio owned by Ms. Hayes's agent."

Mandy shot to her feet. "That's bullshit!"

Owen handed the tablet to Julian.

"The account was registered under one of the studio's employees. And just half an hour before the video was posted, Ms. Holt called him," he went on.

Mandy's smug expression instantly shattered.

Clara quickly grabbed the edge of Lucian's quilt.

"Julian, I really didn't know anything about this! Please believe me—Mandy must've just wanted to help me keep things under wraps, but she totally screwed it up."

Mandy immediately jumped in. "Yeah, I was just trying to help Clara.

"I thought if I posted some old photos, people would realize she's had her own history and stop fixating on tonight's drama."

I looked at her. "So you helped her by dumping all the dirt on me?"

Mandy snapped back, stubborn as ever, "Nobody told you to show that photo. So don't blame us. You brought this on yourself."

Peggy's face was dark with anger.

She wanted to tear into me, but couldn't find anything to blame me for, so she took it out on Owen instead.

"Why didn't you look into this sooner?" Peggy snapped.

Owen mumbled, "We just found out."

Julian tossed the tablet onto the bed.

"Mandy, get out," he said coldly.

Mandy froze. "Mr. Longston, I was just trying to help Clara!"

"Get out," Julian said, his voice cold and final.

Clara was begging, her voice shaky and full of tears.

"Julian, my agent Mandy's been with me for years. She means well—she's really not like that."

Julian looked at her. "Clara, I'm really too tired for this right now."

Clara's hand froze on the blanket.

She shot me a look—her eyes were bone dry, not a single tear, just burning with hate.

Without another word, I turned and walked out of the hospital room.

This time, no one tried to stop me.

By the time I made it to the hospital entrance, the rain was still coming down hard.

Suddenly, an umbrella popped up over my head.

It was Owen.

He passed me the umbrella.

"Ma'am, about what happened three years ago I shouldn't have helped Julian cover it up from you," Owen said, his voice low and full of regret.

I took the umbrella from him. "Just three years ago?"

Owen's face went even paler.

I glanced at the file bag in his hand. "What's in there?"

Owen hesitated, uncertainty flickering in his eyes.

"It's the stuff Mr. Longston had me pull together for damage control," he said quietly.

"Hand it over," I said, my voice calm but firm.

"Ma'am, I'm really not supposed to," Owen muttered.

I gave the umbrella back to him.

"Go on, keep pretending you only work for the money," I said, my voice icy.

Owen stood there, clutching the umbrella handle. After a long pause, he finally handed me the file bag.

I opened it up.

The first thing inside was a statement Julian was about to release to the public.

It claimed that tonight, out of jealousy for Clara, I just stood there and watched him get stabbed, and afterward, I even paid off some accounts to smear him online.

I folded the paper up.

Owen said quietly, "This one hasn't been sent out yet."

"It'll be sent," I replied.

"Mr. Longston might not be so willing," Owen said.

I looked out at the rain.

"It was never me," I said.

The statement was released the next morning.

The Longston family's PR team pinned all the blame on me.

By the time the online backlash started to die down, I was already at the entrance of the city hall.

Julian didn't show up.

Instead, Peggy and two lawyers arrived.

Peggy stayed in the car, wearing sunglasses and refusing to get out.

One of the lawyers handed me a new divorce agreement.

"Ms. Shaw, Mr. Longston has agreed to the divorce. But you won't be taking any of the Longston family's houses, cars, or shares with you," the lawyer said.

I flipped to the end of the document.

"Anything else?" I asked.

The lawyer replied, "You'll need to issue a public apology, admitting that everything that happened last night was because you were jealous of Ms. Hayes."

I closed the agreement.

"Did Julian send you here?" I asked.

Peggy finally rolled down the car window.

"Julian's too soft-hearted, so I'm the one being the bad guy for him. Evelyn, if you want a divorce, then sign it," she said.

"What if I don't sign?" I asked.

Peggy slowly removed her sunglasses.

"That little courtyard your father left you—it's still in your name, isn't it? The Longston family has been keeping the demolition contract on hold for your sake. If you refuse to sign, I'll send someone over today to get things moving," she said.

I looked at her.

"That's my father's house," I said.

"Your father's gone. Why are you still clinging to that old place like it means anything?" Peggy sneered.

The paper in my hand rustled noisily in the wind.

The lawyer shifted awkwardly and pretended to check his watch.

Peggy went on, "And that little studio of yours—haven't landed a real job in three months, have you? The Longston family just has to say the word and nobody will dare to work with you."

"Are you done?" I asked.

Peggy scoffed coldly.

"Don't pretend to be tough. Once a woman gets divorced and her name's dragged through the mud, where could she possibly go?" she sneered.

Suddenly, a black car pulled up at the curb.

As the door opened, a woman in a gray suit stepped out.

She approached me and handed me a document.

"Ms. Shaw, the witness you requested has arrived," she said.

Peggy fixed her gaze on her.

"Who are you?" she demanded.