4: You Killed Him

"What? I never cheated on you! That's a lie!" Eva gasped, clutching her chest as if that could somehow ease the pain his accusations caused.

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Daniel snapped. "I was working my ass off, building a future for both of us, and what were you doing? Screwing the delivery man, the pool guy, even the damn butler." He laughed bitterly. "You have no class, no shame. I was so furious I had to fire the entire household staff. They all knew and they were laughing at me behind my back."

"No, that's not true," Eva cried. "Please, Daniel, believe me, I would never do something like that to you. I love you."

"Love me?" he sneered. "Yet you stand here lying to my face. How could you? I have proof of everything."

"Proof?" Eva shook her head, stunned. "That... that can't be. I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Viv, want to do the honours?" he asked, turning to his lover. Vivian smirked.

"With pleasure, babe," she replied, sauntering over to the tech manager stationed by the massive white screen. "Mind if I borrow this for a moment?" she asked flirtatiously as she plugged her phone into the computer.

Seconds later, the screen lit up with a slideshow with dozens of photos showing Eva in intimate positions with multiple men.

Eva gasped. "Wait! That's not me! That can't be me. I've never done any of that!" she cried, desperate to defend herself.

"Now you all see ladies and gentlemen," Daniel announced to the stunned crowd, his voice cold and proud. "This is the kind of woman I've been married to. When I found out, I was so broken I ran into the arms of someone else, into the arms of a woman who truly loves me. Someone loyal. Someone who would never betray me like this."

"But ... that's not me in those photos," Eva sniffled.

"Oh? So if that's not you in the photos, I guess the video isn't you either," Daniel shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Without missing a beat, Vivian began playing the video of Eva, unmistakably, on her knees before a dark-haired, muscular man, sucking on his penis.

The crowd gasped.

"What an indecent woman!" someone shouted.

"He has every right to leave her!" another chimed in.

"She's defiled her marriage!" a man yelled.

Daniel turned back to Eva, a smug grin on his face. "Now you see, dear wife, why I'm with Vivian. She's the one who deserves my love. Not a lying, cheating whore like you."

"Daniel... you know me. I would never do this to you," Eva pleaded, her voice cracking with emotion. "Someone's framing me. You can't just throw away everything we built... for her!" she spat, trembling with a mix of rage and heartbreak. "For a gold-digging socialite you barely even know?" She choked out a bitter laugh, uncaring that the whole world was watching them fall apart.

"I didn't just meet her. I've known her for a while. And I love her," Daniel admitted without flinching.

That word ‘love’ hit her harder than a bat to the chest. It felt like a sucker punch straight to Eva's heart.

Her eyes welled up with fresh tears. "Love?" she echoed, breathless.

"Yeah," he said simply, wrapping his arms around Vivian's waist and pulling her closer.

"But — but you're supposed to love me. What about our vows? Daniel, how could you do this to me? I gave up everything for you!"

His voice was cold and sharp as a blade. "You're not getting it. I could never love you again after what you did. I love Vivian now."

Eva's hands clenched into fists. For a second, she wanted to slap him, she’d do anything for him to snap out of this madness.

But that wasn't who she was. She was too gentle, too kind. She could never hurt a soul. Still, she couldn't just stand there and do nothing to try and keep her husband.

Desperate, she dropped to her knees and clung to Daniel's ankles.

"Please, Daniel. You're my everything. I can't live without you. Give us another chance. Give me time to prove my innocence. After all we've been through, you owe me that much," she sobbed.

"How dare you put your hands on my man!" Vivian stepped forward, her eyes blazing with hatred. She looked down at the broken woman on the ground and used the spike of her heel to shove Eva off of her man.

Eva flinched, falling onto her back. "This isn't about you. This is between me and my husband," she gritted out.

Vivian laughed. "Husband? Please. You don’t get to say that after you cheated on him so many times,” she scoffed. “Didn’t you wonder why he hasn't touched you in six months? He told me you don't excite him anymore. He couldn’t bear the thought of touching his cheating wife. He said he felt disgusted picturing his naked body against yours. And the way you carry yourself didn’t even help.”

Eva swallowed hard.

She'd wondered why Daniel hadn't touched her in so long. She'd blamed stress, exhaustion, work — anything but this. Never once had she thought it was because he no longer found her attractive. And for the first time in her life, she felt ugly.

"Six months, Daniel?" Her voice cracked. "That's how long this has been going on?"

Daniel couldn't meet her eyes.

Before he could respond, Mr. Boone rushed forward, clearly flustered. "Alright, enough! This is getting out of hand. If Mr. Rhodes were here — God help us — he would've fired us all. Thank God he's not. Mrs. Thomas, let's get you off the stage. You look like you could use a glass of water. You look like you're about to faint."

Eva didn't move.

"She should just save herself the embarrassment and go home," Daniel snapped, waving her off like garbage. Then he turned to Vivian, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Are you alright, my love?"

My love.

Eva's stomach twisted.

That used to be his nickname for her, and that was the same way how he used to tuck her hair behind her ear.

Something inside her snapped. Everything turned red.

Without thinking. Without breathing. She grabbed a champagne bottle from a nearby table. And before anyone could stop her …

Crash!

Glass shattered against Daniel's head.

The room froze. Gasps turned into screams. Daniel dropped to his knees, stunned, blood mingling with bubbles as the bottle rolled off the stage.

Eva stood over him, her hands trembling and her heart pounding.

Vivian dropped beside Daniel, gripping his hand.

"What have you done?" she screamed. "You killed him! You've killed Daniel!"