Chapter 1 

Elysia

The elevator dinged on the twentieth floor, and I stepped out clutching the chocolate cake I'd spent three hours perfecting. Derrick had always told me he didn’t care much for birthdays, but I knew better. Everyone deserves to feel special on their birthday.

"Hi, can I help you?" Lily, Derrick’s secretary voice cracked slightly as she looked up from her desk.

"Just here to surprise the birthday boy," I said, balancing the cake box carefully. "Is he in?"

Her face went pale. "Actually, maybe you should call first…"

"Since when do I need to call?" I laughed, already heading toward his office door. "It's me, Lily."

"Wait!"

Lily practically lunged from behind her desk, eyes wide with panic.

I barely stopped myself from bumping into her. "What the hell, Lily?"

"He's... he's in a very important meeting!"

I stopped, studying her face. Lily was many things, but a good liar wasn't one of them. Her left eye was twitching like it always did when she was hiding something.

"What kind of meeting?" I asked slowly.

"The... the very private kind?"

My stomach twisted. "Lily, what's going on?"

Before she could answer, I heard it.

A woman's laugh. Coming from Derrick's office. Followed by his voice, low and... intimate.

The cake box slipped from my hands, but I caught it just in time. My heart was hammering against my ribs as I reached for the door handle.

"Elysia, please don't…"

"Move," I said, my voice sharp.

"Elysia, just listen to me… "

I shoved past her and pushed the door open.

And my world collapsed.

There, bent over Derrick’s desk, was my stepsister, Kathy, wearing nothing but a ridiculous party hat. Derrick was behind her, thrusting into her, both of them lost in each other, so lost that they didn't even notice me standing there.  

My entire body shook as a wave of rage and betrayal crashed over me.  

"What...what the hell?" Both of them snapped toward me, and their movement stopped.

Then Kathy had the audacity to wave at me. "Oh, hi sis. Perfect timing."

"Two years," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the sound of my world crashing apart. "Two fucking years, Derrick."

He stepped forward, hands raised like I was a wild animal. "Elysia, let me explain…"

"Explain what? How you've been screwing my sister on the same desk where we planned our future?"

Kathy stretched like a cat, completely unbothered by her nudity. "Oh honey, this has been going on way longer than you think."

The words hit me like a physical blow. My vision blurred, whether from tears or rage, I couldn't tell.

"How long?" My voice was deadly quiet.

Derrick's silence was answer enough.

"HOW LONG?" I screamed.

"Six months," Kathy answered when he couldn't. "Maybe seven? You were always so busy with work, someone had to keep him company."

Something inside me snapped.

“You…” my vision blurred with unshed tears. 

Without thinking, I tore open the cake box and hurled it with all my might.

The cake hit Kathy square in the face, frosting smearing all over her skin and hair. 

"You crazy bitch" Kathy shrieked, stumbling backward. 

But I wasn't done, I grabbed the nearest stack of papers off Derrick's desk and threw it at them.

"You are fucking asshole, selfish bastard! How dare you do this to me?!" I screamed.

"Six months of looking me in the eye and lying!"

Derrick stepped forward, trying to stop me.

"Elysia, calm down. You're making a scene."

"A scene?" I laughed bitterly. "You're worried about me making a scene while you're fucking my stepsister on your desk?"

"Elysia, please," he said. "We both know this relationship hasn't been working."

My heart shattered at his words. "Is that the best excuse you could come up with for cheating on me?" I spat.

Derrick ran a hand through his hair. "I didn’t plan for this to happen, but… "  

“But what?” My voice wavered. "But you just fell into my sister?"  

Kathy rolled her eyes, picking bits of cake off her skin. “You’re being childish, Elysia.”  

"You're pathetic," I spat. "Both of you… 

Before I could say another word, everything went black, and I felt myself falling

___

I opened my eyes to find myself on Derrick's leather couch, Lily hovering nearby with a glass of water. Derrick sat across from me, now fully dressed, his face a mask of fake concern.

Kathy was nowhere to be seen, but I could smell her cheap perfume lingering in the air.

“She is waking up” I heard Derrick said 

"There you are," Derrick said softly. "You scared us."

"Don't." I struggled to sit up, my head still spinning. "Don't you dare pretend to care about me now."

"Of course I care…"

"If you cared, you wouldn't have been fucking my sister for half our relationship." I stood on shaky legs, using the couch arm for support. "If you cared, you would have had the balls to break up with me instead of making me look like a fool."

"I'm sorry, Elysia," Derrick said, his voice laced with insincerity as he tried to touch me. 

I pushed him away, the pain and anger still raw. "Don't touch me," I hissed.

Derrick looked taken aback, but he didn't try to touch me again. Instead, he stood up and offered me his hand. "Let me help you up," he said.

I ignored his hand and struggled to my feet, my eyes blazing with anger. "You're disgusting," I spat, my voice trembling with rage.

Derrick's face fell, and he took a step back. "Elysia, please understand..." he began.

"Understand what?" I said, laughing bitterly. "That you just threw away two years like they meant nothing just to get laid"  

Derrick’s face twisted like he wanted to argue but couldn’t.  

As I walked toward the door, my phone buzzed. A text from HR.

Your employment has been terminated effective immediately. Please return all company property by the end of the day.

I stared at the screen, my hands shaking. They were firing me. Of course they were. Derrick probably had me blacklisted before I even left his office.

"Really?" I held up my phone. "Really, Derrick?"

He had the decency to look ashamed. "I didn't... I wasn't thinking clearly."

"No, you were thinking very clearly. Destroy my career so I can't cause problems for you and your new girlfriend."

I laughed bitterly as I walked away. "Congratulations. You win."

Lily looked at me with guilt as I walked out but I didn't care. I just wanted to get away from everything and everyone. 

The elevator ride down felt like falling into hell. By the time I reached my car, the tears had started, and I couldn't make them stop. I sat in the parking garage for twenty minutes, sobbing until my chest ached.

When I finally looked up, Derrick was watching me from his office window twenty floors above.

I flipped him off and drove away.