Breaking Point

​POV: Liora Vance

I withdrew my hand from the vase at the last moment and stood with my back to the cold wallpaper, my breath hitching in shallow gasps as the light from the study expanded over the hallway. I didn't wait for them to walk out and get me, I turned and ran for the back stairs with tears already blurring my eyes and making the hallway seem like a warped tunnel.

As I ran, I kept thinking back to three years ago, when Adrian wasn’t a billionaire and we lived in that tiny, claustrophobic apartment that perpetually smelled of cheap coffee and dusty books.

He used to hold me back then and tell me that we were a team, he would kiss my forehead while I did the first several lines of the algorithm and vouch that he would spend the rest of his life making me happy. I thought that man was real, I thought the way he looked at me with such heat and admiration was because of who I was, but now I knew he was only in love with the ladder I was building for him to climb.

I was so wrapped up in the recollection of that counterfeit love that I didn’t see Clara coming around the corner until I collided with her, causing the glass of juice she was holding to go all over the white rug.

“Are you blind as well as useless, Liora?” Clara shouted, pushing me so hard I fell back against the railing, “Look at this mess, you’re always hiding around corners like some kind of creep, were you spying on my brother’s private business?”

​"I was just going upstairs, Clara, I didn't mean to run into you," I said while wiping my eyes, but my voice was cracked from a sob I could no longer hold in.

“Oh, save the waterworks for someone who gives a shit,” she said sharply, regarding her stained dress with pure revulsion, “you’re a useless wife who can’t even walk down a hallway without causing a disaster, and honestly, I don’t know why Adrian hasn’t kicked you out into the street where you belong.”

"Let me guess, she messed up again" Evelyn said from the end of the hallway, as she emerged into the corridor, her eyes first meeting my flushed countenance, then moving toward the chaos at my feet.

She didn’t even ask what had happened, she just shook her head and then walked closer until she was right in my face, “You really are a disaster in every element of this marriage, Liora. You have no business at social events, you can’t keep your hands out of Adrian’s professional life, and you haven’t even managed to bring this family a grandchild after all these years.”

"Evelyn, that’s a personal issue for Adrian and me," I murmured.

“Privacy ended the moment it was evident you would never be able to produce an heir to the Kade line,” Evelyn said coldly, “you are nothing more than a hollow shell of a woman, and the sooner we can all finally stop pretending Adrian hasn’t wasted his best years on the daughter of a disgraced scholar, the better it will be for us all.”

I just couldn’t handle it anymore so I pushed past them and bolted up the stairs, I didn’t even bother to respond to Clara’s final parting shot that I should go back to the hole I came out of. I banged my bedroom door and locked it, and fell back on the edge of the bed and let loose with a loud, ragged sob that felt like it was ripping my throat open.

I wept until my eyes were puffy and my head was pounding, pondering how I had let myself become a ghost in my own house and finally, I stood up and tiptoed over to the window for some air.

The moon shone over the driveway and I caught a glimpse of Adrian’s silver car parked near the fountain, but my heart stopped when I noticed two people standing by the open door. It was Adrian and Elena, and they weren’t discussing business anymore, that much was clear, because he had his hands on her waist and she was leaning toward him with a smile I had never seen her wear in public.

He bent down and kissed her with such depth that it was the same kiss he used to give me when all we had were dreams and hunger, and I was so bitterly jealous it turned me queasy.

I didn’t think, I just spun around and barreled back down the stairs, driven by a sudden, fervent anger to face the woman helping my husband ruin me. I caught Elena right on the second floor, leaning on the railing of the grand staircase, peering at her reflection in a small mirror while Adrian was momentarily back inside his office fetching his briefcase.

"You need to leave him alone Elena, he’s a married man,” I said, my voice shaking but loud enough to make her spin on her heel with that bored look on her face.

"He’s married to a mistake, Lori, and we both know that is just a matter of time until he fixes it," she said, snapping her compact shut and coming toward me, "you think you’re so smart with your little coding hobby, but I’m pretty sure I could give him a run for his money." ‘

“I built his company, Elena. I’m the reason he has anything at all,” I said, moving forward because I wanted her to look me in the eye and see what I mean this time.

​Elena’s expression shifted instantly from boredom to a sharp, cruel smile, and before I could react, she grabbed my wrists and pulled me toward her, then she let out a piercing scream and threw herself backward down the first few steps. She landed hard on the landing, groaning in pain, and almost instantly, the doors to the study flew open and Adrian, Evelyn, and Clara came rushing out.

​"Elena! Oh my god, what happened?" Adrian shouted, sprinting past me and kneeling by her side while she pointed a shaking finger up at me.

​"She... she just snapped, Adrian," Elena sobbed, clutching her ankle and looking up at him with wide, tearful eyes, "I told her I was leaving, and she started screaming about the company and then she pushed me, I didn't even see it coming."

​Adrian stood up and looked at me, and I had never seen so much hatred in a human being’s eyes before, but before I could even open my mouth to explain that I hadn't touched her, he stepped up to me and shoved me with both hands. I wasn't expecting the force of it, and I went flying backward, my hip hitting the sharp corner of a pedestal table before I tumbled onto the hard marble floor.

​"Adrian, please, I didn't do it, she’s lying!" I cried out, trying to push myself up, but my hip was screaming in pain and I could feel a bruise already forming.

​"Shut up, Liora, just shut your mouth!" Adrian roared, turning his back on me to scoop Elena up into his arms as if she were made of glass, "If she’s seriously hurt because of your pathetic jealousy, I will make sure you regret the day you were born."

​"My leg, Adrian, it hurts so much," Elena whimpered, burying her face in his neck while Evelyn and Clara fussed over her, hovering around Adrian as he started carrying her toward the front door.

​"We’re going to the hospital right now," Adrian said, his voice hard and final, and he didn't even look back at me as I lay on the floor, struggling to breathe through the pain.

​"Adrian, wait, I need help, I think I’m hurt too," I called out, reaching my hand toward his retreating, but he didn't stop, and the heavy front door slammed shut behind them.