"Why would you try to hurt her?" Victor shouted back. His voice was cold towards me, as he held onto Lily's hand. "So you're just going to believe her over your own wife?!" I fired back. Victor ignored my words and drew his attention to Lily and the broken glass. I watched as he carefully collected the pieces and threw them away. "Are you hurt anywhere? Did the glass get you?" Victor asked softly, giving her hand a light squeeze. "No, no. I'm okay now that you're here." Lily's smile was small. "Please don't leave me alone with her again..." **** I, Emelia Russo, once thought I was a woman who had it all—a successful career, and a loving husband. But when a "childhood friend" by the name of Lily Marino re-enters my husband's life, everything takes a turn for the worse. All of a sudden, my once faithful and loyal Victor was lying for her, favoring her, and trusting her word over mine. I became the outsider in my own marriage. When I finally had enough of his secrets and mistreatment of me and called for a divorce, he begged me to stay. "Please, let's go back to how the way things used to be! I'm begging you! Don't leave me!" Victor pleaded. But what happens when I tell him "It's too late."?
Lihat lebih banyakI was totally confused when my best friend, Alexis, texted me and said that she saw my husband and I at a restaurant.
Because I was at home currently. On the sofa. In a robe with a mask on my face.And my husband, Victor, was supposed to be at work. At least, that was what he texted me a few hours ago.
Ding!
Alexis: I see you and Victor in the restaurant :P You two are just the sweetest couple!
Me: Um, you might wanna get your eyes checked, bestie. :P I'm at home right now!
I sat my phone down and laid back against the sofa while I let my face mask settle. But my phone kept buzzing anyway.
Ding! Ding!
Alexis: I know what Victor looks like! But if that woman turning the back on me isn't you… there might be some trouble!
Alexis: OMG!! Listen to this NOW!!
Ding!
It was an audio message. That made me sit up on the sofa immediately. I pressed play without hesitation.
"Oh, Victor, I know you still think of me.” The unknown woman's voice chimed in.
“I have always been thinking of you.” Victor's voice came through as clear as day.
"You're so kind, just as you always have been. It's like you're the only person who tries to understand me, and who really does."
"And you say I'm kind?" Victor laughed and it sounded so musical.
The woman giggled. "Because you are! Even though you used to always treat me like a child, it's because you were worried about me. I always felt so safe when I was around you back then—and even still now."
Her voice almost sounded… flirty… the way she said that, too.
“Madam,” another voice came through. It was perhaps the waiter. "If you don’t mind, may I ask how long have you two been married? You two have such good chemistry together!"
“Wow, so you think we're sweet?” The unknown woman sounded like she really enjoyed his question, “our relationship is as always.”
The audio cut out with her loud laugh, before I caught the response from Victor.
Hearing how he spoke to her... It made me feel conflicted.
Our marriage wasn't something that came out of love. We were introduced by his grandfather, and set to wed that same week.
While it was odd living under the same roof with a stranger who was meant to be my husband, it wasn't awful. We spent time getting to know each other and in time, I fell in love with my husband.
Victor had always been so thoughtful. He was a man of few words, but I could feel how much he cared through his actions.
But now...why Victor so...treasured her? Even his laugh was so carefree and happy that I had never heard before.
How long had they known each other? How come I've never heard of them before?
A sense of doubt made my skin crawl.
It took me years to build something intimate with Victor, and he'd never spoken to any other woman the way he was speaking to this one.
I had to know what was going on. Or at least get to the bottom of who this person was.
I clicked on Victor's number out of my Favorite Contact list, and he picked up after the fourth ring.
"Hey, Emelia. Is everything okay?” Victor greeted me in a rushed voice.
I took a deep breath and pretended nothing was wrong. “Hey. Yeah, I just wanted to know when you'd be home for dinner? Are you still at your office?”
“Yeah, I'm busy at a work meeting right now. Now's not a good time.” Victor stated.
Liar.
"I'm sorry." I kept my voice steady and even as I tried to find out more details. "You usually call me when you're going to be late at the office, and I thought you'd be home by now. Is everything okay? Why didn't you call?"
Instead of acknowledging anything I said, or even giving me some type of "call you later," he hung up on me.
Just like that. He hit the end button on his phone and completely ignored everything I had to say.
What the hell was that?!
Emelia's POVA tightness coiled itself inside of my chest to the point that it was almost making it hard to breathe. I didn't feel like this because his sorrow was making me feel bad.No.This was just sheer discomfort.If anything, I only pitied him because he'd held onto this for so long. I thought two years would've been more than enough time to get over us; especially, given the distance between us. I wanted him to move on in the same way I did; to find happiness elsewhere since he clearly hadn't found it in our marriage.But to hear him beg and plead for another chance… To hear the anguish and regret in his voice…It was saddening.Too bad it wasn't my problem to fix."I have to go…" I finally broke the silence after what felt like forever. "I need to go. I want to go, Victor. There's no point in me staying here any longer."Victor couldn't even bring himself to meet my eyes. His lips parted, but then closed again. He knew there was nothing else he could say to keep me in this roo
Emelia's POVThe ambulance whizzed its way through rush-hour traffic to get Victor to the hospital. I sat in the back with my eyes mostly fixated on the small back window, but every so often, my gaze would drift back to him.The initial shock of everything that happened and he was more or less asleep. I was told that his vitals were stable, and that the wound didn't appear too deep or serious, but he still needed to be seen by the doctors anyway.As for Lily, they never found her. The shift manager for the store sent me a text and told me the police were still searching. How she managed to evade them was beyond me, but I honestly didn't care.Once all of this finally settled, I was going to pursue legal action anyway. Lily was going to pay one way or another; and she couldn't go far without Victor's money.The emergency personnel took us to Greenport Mercy Hospital. I thought to myself that once Victor was settled, I'd go check up on my dad since I was here. Luckily, it didn't take us
Emelia's POVThe feeling of being put on the spot was nerve-wracking. Every muscle in my body tensed up, and my heart stopped beating for only a split moment. All the yelling and chaos was reduced to nothing but a distant hum since there were only two things in my mind that played on repeat.One: "Lily… I want a divorce."Two: "Emelia… Does this make us even now?"I couldn't find the words to respond as I stood there with my mouth agape. Some imaginary spotlight shone down on me and it was making me hot. But that was probably just the feeling of everyone's eyes on me while they waited for some kind of response.What the hell was I supposed to say?And what did he mean by making us even?There was nothing to keep score of!This wasn't a game—this was simply life moving forward after facing the consequences of one's actions.If he thought that this was supposed to magically fix things between us, then he sure as hell thought wrong!"I can't believe it…" Lily's soft voice rose from the si
Emelia's POVI had to shake my head to force myself out of the shock of Lily's wrath. Once I'd come to my senses, all I saw was red. The flames of my own rage fanned in my chest, but I had to exercise some caution.Lily could do whatever she wanted to dig her hole deeper, but I needed to handle this like an actual adult.No matter how much I wanted to slap the absolute hell out of her."I hope you're ready to pay for all of this." I stated coldly. "Everything you've broken, and all the slander you've attempted against my employees and company—I'm pursuing legal action for it all."Lily thrashed against the security guards who held her arms. "If anyone's paying, it's YOU!" She shouted. "I am Victor Russo's WIFE! Do you think you can get away with mistreating the wife of the most powerful and influential CEO in all of Greenport? No one treats ME like this! I WILL RUIN YOU!"Extra security had come in at this point as they formed a barricade between us and the rest of the crowd. Their mur
Emelia's POVMy head began to pound from all of Lily's yelling, which didn't help things since I already wasn't feeling good. What kind of game was she playing at making a scene like this?Did she not learn her lesson from the other day?Oh, who was I kidding?She never seemed to learn any of her lessons because that would require an ounce of accountability!I took a deep breath, and rolled my shoulders. The headache was coming quickly, but I needed to get Lily out of my store."These clothes weren't produced by this company," I stated flatly. "Even if they were, you refuse to show me the order receipt. So, unless you tell me the truth and cooperate with me, you won't be getting your money back at all."Lily's eyes narrowed as her nostrils flared. "How dare you! Who do you think you are talking to me like—""You were never even here."Lily and I looked around to see another one of my employees who came up to the desk. He wore a tired, but irritated expression while he placed the counte
Emelia's POVMy dad took my hand and his and gave it a tight squeeze. Before any words could come out of his mouth, he coughed. Once, twice, and then a concerning amount until he lost his wind. After a few deep, stabilizing breaths, he finally offered a weak smile. "Of course your grand opening was a success..." His voice was hoarse but filled with pride. "You're my daughter—success runs in the family! I'm so proud of you, my sweet girl." "You were always meant for great things." My mom wiped a tear from her cheek as she pulled me in for a hug. I had to hold back a few of my own, but it was inevitable while I melted into the loving embrace of my parents. "It m-means a lot to have you both in my corner to support me." "We wouldn't be anywhere else, sweetie." My mom smiled.I was truly fortunate enough to have parents who supported me unconditionally.They put me through college, even though it meant that they both had to work full-time jobs. They volunteered as models for some of my
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