Chapter 4

The whole divorce thing just kind of died off. I was about to file on my own when Matthew called out of nowhere. Then he texted me an address and said to come immediately.

I figured he'd finally made up his mind and was ready to end things. So, I grabbed my bag, jumped in a cab, and rushed over, only to find out he just wanted me to stand in for Melanie at some event.

"Mel interviewed those people a while back," he said, shooting a disgusted glance at the group in the private room.

"She helped boost their image, so now they're here with gifts to thank her. But she's busy now and didn't want to be rude by turning them down. Just do her this favor."

I shot Matthew a cold look, realizing I'd been way too easy on him.

"Yeah, no." I turned to walk off. "Unless we're talking about splitting the assets, don't ever call me again."

Matthew yanked me back and snapped, "Aurelia! What did Melanie ever do to you? She's just a sweet, harmless woman. Why are you so nasty to her?

"And me? I work myself to the bone every single day, and all I get when I come home are your sarcastic jabs. You should feel lucky I even asked you to stand in for Melanie. Show some damn gratitude.

"I'll be outside. When you're done, I'll take you home. Happy now?"

"Get your hands off me!" I said.

He didn't care. He just shoved me straight into the private room like it was nothing. Before I could get a word out, he went ahead and introduced me, snatched my bag, and locked the door behind me.

Every single person in the room was staring at me like I was their prey.

A frail-looking woman stepped up and handed me a foam box. "Ms. Reed, this is my gift to you."

The stench hit me right away. I didn't even get a chance to process what was in it before she started talking again.

"Thanks for your report, Ms. Reed. Because of you, my husband made me get an abortion. My relatives laughed behind my back, and the internet tore me apart relentlessly. The life you ruined is in this box."

I threw the box away, my legs buckling as I collapsed to the floor.

"No. You've got the wrong person. I'm not Melanie Reed. Whatever you have to say, say it to her when she gets here."

I barely finished talking when a brutal kick landed right in my gut.

The scrawny woman's eyes were bloodshot, burning with hate. She looked like she wanted to rip me to shreds.

"This is on you. If you hadn't spread those filthy lies about me hooking up with seven guys, my husband never would've doubted the baby was his. He wouldn't have forced me to get rid of the baby.

"And now? I'm never going to have kids again for the rest of my life."

Pain shot through my stomach like fire, my insides twisting up in knots. Before I could even catch my breath, someone yanked me up by the hair.

"Your article accused me of faking my academic record. Thanks to you, I lost my job, and now the whole neighborhood looks at me like I'm some kind of fraud! Did it even cross your mind what kind of mess you were creating?"

"You wrote that crap about me being a nightclub escort who sleeps around with clients. You ruined my reputation! And guess what? I've never even had a boyfriend. You pulled that out of thin air!"

They tackled me to the floor and started kicking and punching me.

I covered my head and shouted, "I'm not Melanie Reed! Don't you even know what she looks like?"

What they said after that crushed me.

"You hid your face in every interview with just your eyes showing! Did you really think we came here to thank you? Don't kid yourself. Someone like you deserves to burn in hell!"

By the time everyone had finished taking it out on me, I was covered in bruises and scratches. There wasn't a single spot on me that didn't hurt.

My clothes were torn to bits, and I was lying there, half-naked, on the floor. I yanked the tablecloth off a table and wrapped it around me, trying to pull myself toward the bathroom to patch myself up.

That was when I heard Matthew comforting Melanie nearby.

"Matt, they're not going to turn me in after all that, right? I swear I didn't mean for this to happen. I just mixed things up…" she said.

Matthew was reassuring her. "Relax, it's not on you. We had Aurelia take the hit this time. Just buy her dinner sometime and call it even. I'll deal with everything else."

My eyes widened, and my whole head felt like it was buzzing with static. I was shaking all over, burning with rage I couldn't hold in.

That was it. I finally saw things for what they were.

A peaceful divorce? A clean break? What a load of crap.

So Matthew wanted to play dirty? That was fine by me. I'd send him straight to hell!

I stepped in close, caught them off guard, and landed a slap on each of their faces. The sound cracked through the air.

Matthew reeled from the slap. He just stood there gaping, staring into my bloodshot eyes like he didn't even recognize me. Melanie's screech finally snapped him out of it.

Holding his cheek, red and throbbing, he yelled, "Aurelia! Have you lost your damn mind?"

I glared at him, my voice low and mean. "Buckle up, Matthew. You're about to lose that CEO title real fast."