Chapter 3

It turned out that I wasn’t living a nightmare, it was all my reality. I spent the past two days locked up in a hotel room, bawling my eyes out.

 No doubt, I was on the front cover of the newspapers and TV stations. A lot of demeaning and disgusting words were used on me. I deactivated all my social media because I knew my DMs were going to be filled with the vilest comments. 

 I tried to reach out to mama and papa but neither of them were speaking to me. Some people left horrible reviews online about mama’s restaurant, while some reported the restaurant as being unsanitary, which was untrue. 

All my life, I’ve been a model daughter. I got straight A’s, I never snuck out to see a boy, I had a blossoming career, and I was dedicated to retiring my parents.

But none of that matters now. To everyone, I was the jealous slut who ruined a wedding.

 I scrolled through the news headlines until my chest hurt. 

     Home wrecker exposed at luxury wedding

     

The headline was screaming at me. I didn’t recognize myself in the pictures posted, I looked guilty. 

I shot Nathan one more text before putting my phone away. I had sent him a thousand texts, but he replied to none. I thought Nathan knew me, I thought he’d defend me, but he didn’t. It was heartbreaking that the man I was supposed to get married to in a year had abandoned me.

 As for Zac, I wasn’t sure what his motive was. Maybe he had actually lost his mind. Or maybe it was some twisted revenge for something I don’t know I’d done. 

I hated him. I hated Zac for what he did to me, for ruining my reputation and making my loved ones turn their backs against me. It was just like we were in high school again. I was getting bullied because of him, and he did nothing about it.

  I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t think straight. I was worried about Papa’s health, news like this would shatter him. Every minute, I was hoping some sort of miracle would happen. Maybe Zac would tell everyone the truth, and we’ll forget this happened, but nothing came.

 I forced myself out of bed. My eyes were swollen, my throat sore and my entire body felt heavy. 

I told myself I needed to work. There was an ongoing case of data leak at the office, and I was leading the investigation. Maybe if I buried myself in work, it would distract me from my pitiful life. 

  The ride to the office felt longer than usual. I kept my sunglasses on, hoping that no one would recognize me, but who was I fooling?

The stares started even before I reached my desk. Conversations stopped mid-sentence and harsh whispers began. 

My chest tightened as I forced myself to sit down, to open my laptop and act like I couldn’t feel eyes boring holes into me.

  “Miss Ackerman?” It was Natalie from the reception. “Mr Carlton wants to see you in his office. Now.”

My stomach churned.

 Slowly, I made my way to his office. 

When I knocked softly, his voice came from the inside, the tone of his voice told me that it was going to be good.

   “Come in.”

Each time I came to Mr Carlton's office, he always had a smile for me. He sang my praises to anyone who wished to hear, but the stern frown on his face broke my heart. He was disappointed in me.

  “Sit down, Jane,”

I obeyed.

  

 “The data leak you were investigating,” he began. “We traced it back this morning. It leads to a shell company. And that company is owned by Mr Zac.”

   “What?” I asked in disbelief.

How was that possible? 

   “Yes, the same man who publicly declared his love for you at his wedding,” he said grimly.

    

   “Mr Carlton, I can assure you that I have nothing to do with this,” my voice broke. “I’ve worked with you for years, and you know I would never have a hand in such a thing.”

   

 “Jane,” he interrupted, his voice colder. “We’ve received multiple reports suggesting that you shared confidential information with him. Some of your system logins were used to access restricted files around the same time the shell company that belongs to your lover acquired the data.”

  

My heart dropped. “You have to believe me sir, I’m being set up, and he’s not my lover!”

He sighed. “I really want to believe you, Jane, but I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

His words cut deeper than expected. I always looked up to him but hearing the doubt in his voice was a punch to my gut.

   “Can you give me some time to sort this out? I can prove I’m innocent.” I begged desperately. 

  He rubbed his temples, avoiding my eyes. “Miss Ackerman, the board has decided to let you go. You’ve seen the news, clients are calling, asking questions. We are going to keep news of your termination private because we do not want further drama. You’ve done more than enough damage to our company.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “You’re firing me?” I asked, my voice barely audible.

  “HR will send you the necessary documents. Please pack your things and leave quietly and leave through the back entrance. Do not make this harder than it already is.”

I sat there, numb, staring at him as my world shattered. My job was the only thing I had left and that was taken away from me.

I nodded slowly, fighting the lump in my throat. “I understand, sir.”

Zac had taken everything from me in less than a week. My peace, my reputation, my lover, my parents' trust and now my job. Zac destroyed me completely and the worst part was I still had no idea why.