Aretha Hawthorne: The Rise Of The Phoenix

A/N: Wanted to clear this up before you start the story. Selena and Aretha are the same person. She changes her name from Selena to Aretha later on in the book. Thank you!

𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒂

“Mrs. Berfield, I must say you look quite stunning tonight.” The umpteenth business partner Daniel has introduced me to tonight says, shooting me a smirk but he may as well be talking to my cleavage just like most men here had done. 

Today is supposed to be one of the happiest days of my life, but the lecherous stares from men and judgmental glares from their female companions are making it difficult to enjoy the moment. The atmosphere in the extravagant events hall is filled with joy and anticipation as both the Winthrop and Berfield families gather to celebrate multiple milestones—my husband's 30th birthday, his induction as CEO of his family business, and my personal favorite surprise for him: the news of my pregnancy.

After three long years of marriage and struggling to conceive, I’m thrilled to finally give Daniel the heir he’s always wanted, hoping it will bring him happiness and mend the strain in our marriage. Although I’m aware of his infidelity, I hold onto the hope that this news will bring us closer. Yet, standing beside him and feeling the waves of anger and displeasure rolling off of him, alongside the unwanted attention from others, makes it hard to hold onto that optimism.

“Stunning?” The woman accompanying the man who'd spoken just now scoffs, not trying to tone down her voice or hide her disdain for me. “More like a cheap whore flaunting her assets for some attention.”

I wince at her harsh words, regret flooding me as Daniel's grip on my waist tightens painfully—one of the consequences of allowing my foster sister, Stella, to choose my outfit. She’d insisted my usual plain-Jane style wouldn’t suffice for the wife of Berfield Finance’s new CEO and convinced me to wear one of her revealing, flashy hand-me-downs. While I should have refused, seeing my husband's jaw drop as I descended the stairs back at home made it seem worth it.

For the first time in ages, I'd felt truly seen by him, his desire evident as he admired me throughout our drive to the venue. At that moment, it'd been exhilarating to finally hold Daniel's attention after overhearing him label me as ‘boring’ to his friends before. But now, under the scrutinizing stares of others, the thrill has turned to discomfort, making me regret my decision.

“If you would please excuse us, Mr. and Mrs. Roy. Do enjoy the party in the meantime.” Daniel says to the couple before dragging us away, his grip on my waist growing more painful, it's sure to leave a mark. My husband strides across the huge rented hall, tossing quick responses to greetings from the guests, his pace quick and hard to keep up with in my heels as he guides us to a secluded corridor. 

Gripping my hand, he yanks me forward roughly until I’m standing before him, trying to regain my breathing after the unexpected workout he’d just put me through. I gauge Daniel’s expression as he levels me with a harsh glare, making me swallow nervously.

“Did you purposely dress like a whore to seduce every man in this room tonight?” He spits at me, his words like a punch to my guts. Instinctively, I shrink back from him, raising my hands to try to cover my exposed shoulders and chest as a wave of self-consciousness overwhelms my senses.

“I-I— Daniel, that’s not—”

“And why wear something so flamboyant? Do you think you’re a model like Stella? As my wife, you should be blending into the background and not trying to outshine me on my special day. What fucking stunts are you trying to pull, Selena?” he seethes.

“None! Daniel, none at all. Please, it w-wasn't my intention to outshine you tonight. I-I—It was just Stella who—”

“—tried to warn you.” A new voice cuts in and I turn towards it to see my foster sister in question approaching us. 

Her words make me frown in confusion. “What?”

Stella shrugs nonchalantly, coming to stand beside Daniel. “Don’t pretend as if I didn't try to warn you about your choice of outfit, Selena. I told you that not only is it overly provocative for a married woman like yourself but also that wearing the same dress I’d worn to the premiere of a popular movie would surely cause PR problems for Danny and his family.”

My eyes instantly widened as I finally realized why the dress had looked so familiar when she brought it out. Stella had worn the vibrant stained glass dress to the premiere of the hit movie starring a popular actor, Jared Molloy. My sister who had coerced me into wearing this dress was now putting the blame on me and doing it right to my face. 

She returns my look of disbelief with a completely innocent expression yet the dark emotion swirling in her eyes is one I’ve neither seen before nor can I decipher, but it's potent enough to send a shiver down my spine.

I open my mouth to speak up but before I can, an outburst from my husband draws my attention to him. Daniel looks livid with his face flushed bright red and I cautiously move another step away from him, still attempting to pacify him. “Honey, that’s not—”

“You’re wearing the same god-damned dress Stella wore to a movie premiere?! Are you trying to ruin the Berfield family name, Selena? Next thing you know, the media is making assumptions about the business secretly going bankrupt if you can't even afford to buy a new fucking outfit for your own husband's birthday rather than recycle something of your sister's. Fucking hell, Selena!”

I flinch in fear and embarrassment when I realize what Stella had tricked me into doing and how I'd played right into her trap like a fool. I struggle not to smack myself across the face but Daniel’s next words succeed in doing just that.

“Tell me, Selena, is this your way of getting some attention from the public? If so, I can’t believe I married someone so fucking selfish and stupid.”

Tears well up in my eyes as I shoot Stella a betrayed look, earning a triumphant smirk from her, before quickly returning my focus to my husband, trying to explain myself and hoping he hears me out but we’re once again interrupted by the presence of another person—Melinda, my foster mother.

Blind hope blooms within me as I turn to her for help in this matter but before I can even manage to speak, she shoots me a death glare, traversing her gaze up and down my body with a disgusted expression on her face, and my stomach bottoms out ominously.

“What have you done, Selena?” Melinda says, her voice heavy with rage and contempt.

“M-Mother. I promise it’s not like that. Stella—”

I'm abruptly cut off by a sharp, painful slap across the face, making my head whip to the side due to the force of it. The sound rings out loudly in the corridor and a surprised gasp follows after but I'm in no mood for Stella’s theatrics as I turn my stiff neck back to face my foster mother, overwhelmed by the shock of what she’d just done to me. 

My loved ones had just turned against me because of something as trivial as my outfit.

I palm my cheek in hopes of suppressing the sting there but regardless, the tears that filled my eyes due to Stella’s lies, Daniel’s insults and now, the hit from Melinda, still overflow and begin trailing down my face. Blinking repeatedly, I try to speak, to defend myself but I can only manage to let out a whimper.  

I watch as Stella grips her mother’s arm, feigning concern for me when she's the one behind this in the first place. “Mother, you shouldn’t have done that. That’s too much punishment for her simple mistake. Selena hadn’t meant to wear something like this. Perhaps she’d done it to impress Danny since it’s his birthday tod—”

“I could care less about what the whore chooses to wear!” Melinda yells, making me flinch at her choice of words while Stella gasps again. “How dare she attempt to tarnish the reputations of the Winthrop and Berfield families by committing adultery?!” 

Once again, I’m filled with shock and confusion by my foster mother’s words yet I’m too frozen by the sequence of events to refute their accusations.

Melinda takes a threatening step forward, most likely intending to hit me once more but she is quickly stopped by my husband and Stella who are more interested in hearing what she has to say than my safety. 

“What, Mother? What do you mean?” Stella asks and Daniel echoes the question.

“Yes, Melinda. What do you mean by ‘adultery’?”

Breaking out of their hold, Mother walks to the entrance of the corridor leading back to the party and gestures outside. “Come, see for yourselves.”

Without delay, Stella and Daniel move toward the entrance and I follow shortly after them, curiosity winning out but I make sure to give some space so as not to get slapped in the face again by Mother. The first thing I notice when I look out to the hall is that the party seems to have slowed to a halt, the gentle background music now replaced with quiet murmurs as everyone in the room is now focused on something at the front.

Confused by what is going on, I follow everyone’s gaze to the front and my heart drops quite literally to my feet when I take in the huge projector that’d initially been showing a slideshow of my husband, the celebrant, but is now showcasing something totally different for everyone to see.

It’s a slideshow of my own pictures, but not just any picture of me—risque and incriminating ones featuring me in bed with an unfamiliar man who, although his face has been blurred out, it is quite evident in his hair color and body features that he isn’t my husband. 

A violent shudder rakes through my body yet only one thought crosses my mind repeatedly: why are such pictures of me being displayed? And completely fake photos at that.