Ruined

VANESSA

(Flashback)

Candice and I were on our way to the club when she called her friends to meet us there. As soon as we arrived, we showed our membership cards. The receptionist looked at us in the system and later said I could not go inside. 

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Donovan. It says here your membership has been canceled, and access to benefits has been frozen,” she mentioned. 

“There must be a mistake. I recently bought it, and I haven’t canceled it.”

“I know, but Mr. Donovan did, and you may not come in. I’m sorry.”

He had done it. I knew he would do it. 

He had threatened me to make my life a living hell in any way possible.

Candice pitched in and invited me in as a guest. It was embarrassing, especially when the ladies wouldn’t stop talking about it. I just sat there, hearing them chat about random topics while I looked at the menu, trying to decide what to eat. 

“Well, I have to say, Vanessa. We are really sorry this is all happening to you, but you should have thought about it before cheating on that handsome husband of yours. You should be ashamed.” One lady accused me. I didn’t have the energy to argue with anyone, but I regret coming here—judgemental pricks. 

“You better stop that, Elaine. You don’t know what happened, and instead of judging her, ask yourself what really went down.” Candice defended me. I held her arm, trying to make her stop. It was not worth it.

The affair didn’t last long, and when it was time to pay for our meals, the server came back with my card to tell me they had declined it. With a confused frown on my face, I called the credit card company, and they confirmed they had canceled all my cards and they froze my accounts.

“Just great,” I whispered, taking cash out of my purse and paying for my meal. Candice’s friends were giving me the side-eye, and one of them tossed the napkin on the table before she got up, putting her fancy white gloves on. Her friends did the same. 

“We can’t hang out with someone who can’t be responsible enough to take care of her business the way she is supposed to. I can’t blame Alex for leaving you.”

They all walked out, and Candice held my hand, giving me an apologetic smile. 

“I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what came over them. They’re not usually that way.”

“Well, my divorce with Alex has gone viral, and you know that’s not well seen in our social circle,” I replied, putting the napkin and getting up myself.

“Why don’t we go to your condo and spend the rest of the day there? Maybe eat some ice cream and binge-watch TV?” she suggested, and I was grateful for that.

Thank you, Candice. You are a lifesaver; I thought.

We spent the short ride home in silence, and when we arrived, there was a big red note taped on my door. I had a bad feeling about what it meant as I grabbed it and read on the top… 

Eviction Notice.

Now this bastard was accusing me of cheating on him when he was the one who sinned. We stood in front of the judge who would divorce us, my heart pounding angrily inside my chest while I heard my husband’s side of the story.

“Your honor, I just can’t believe after all these years loving my wife that she would do this to me, and with one of my employees no less. I get she wants to feel young, and I have been neglecting my duties as her husband because of my job, but I loved her and never failed her.”

He turned his back to the judge and looked at me with a victorious smile as he kept making me look bad in front of everyone in the courtroom. I had no proof that he was cheating, and none of his employees would come forward to clear it out. They were all saving their jobs, and I couldn’t say I blamed them.

I was losing this battle.

The last thing he did was bring his security guard. He stepped forward and shamelessly confirmed my supposed affair with him. Alex never believed the guard tried to have his way with me in the elevator, stopping it in the middle of the ride and kissing me forcefully on my lips while his hands roamed over my legs, lifting my dress. 

As much as I tried to defend myself, the guard was stronger. The video feed in the elevator had probably been altered, leaving me without a way to prove my innocence.

My marriage was officially over. I was losing everything. 

All I had was my job at my father’s engineering company, and it was the sure way I could survive and find a new place to live. As if reading my thoughts, Alex leaned against my table; the hate in his eyes bigger than his love. 

“By the way. Mr. Harper has told me that his daughter is no longer part of the company, and he wanted a restriction order against her,” Alex added, making me open my eyes in shock.

“What? You’ve got to be kidding me. My father wouldn’t fire me. I have done nothing to call for a restriction order!” I shouted, trying to keep my tears at bay. “What did you tell him to make him get rid of me like that?”

“It’s not what I told him. It’s what you did. Your father doesn’t want a floozie for a daughter. It’s tainting the family name. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

I had no words worth coming out of my mouth, and I was glad the hearing didn’t last any longer. Why did my brain betray me like this? I wanted to say so much. 

They all walked out, and Alex approached me, leaning down to be at my level. 

“I told you I would make your life a living hell.” 

He walked out with a victory in his hands. As much as I loved him all these years, now I hate him with all my heart.

He had ruined me.

Candice sat next to me and invited me to get a drink, but I was too tired. I wanted to get home and pack my things so I could forget about this nightmare. I wasn’t sure where I would live, and now my family has turned their back on me.

Words of wisdom. Sometimes trusting your family can be your downfall.

“Why don’t you stay at my house? I have an extra room that you can use, at least until you get back on your feet.” she offered. I hesitated, thinking of somewhere else I could stay instead, but there was nowhere in mind. 

We packed some of my things, leaving the furniture at the condo since it had come with it. The landlord had already found some buyers, and he had given me just a few days to vacate the premises. 

Candice and I arrived at her lavish house on Long Island. It was beautiful and modern, with all the commodities she needed for her, her husband and her special needs son, not to mention how close it was to the beach.

I was looking forward to breathing that salty air and walking over that golden sand while I tried to get my life together again.

I guess I deserved it after all I did. If only I had worked for my things and not depended on a rich man to make my life easier, this wouldn’t have happened. 

“Are you sure this is not an inconvenience?” I asked, but she held my hand and squeezed it in reassurance.

“ It’s not, but if you feel that way, why don’t we sit down and look for houses together? I don’t want you to live in my home uncomfortably, but you can’t be homeless. Besides, John won’t mind, you know he likes you, and you are family.” 

“Thank you, but finding one would be for the best,” I replied.

We spent hours house hunting. Candice served me tea and some cookies while we kept looking on the computer for nice places I could afford. I was lucky I had some money saved, and we finally found a cute country manor in Alabama. 

“That looks beautiful. It’s well taken care of, and look at that! An amazing garden!” Candice said excitedly. “Maybe you can learn to be a green thumb!”

I would have to learn to do anything other than drink and look pretty.

“I don’t know. Country lifestyle? I don’t think that’s my thing.”

“It may not be, but you need peace and a clear mind. I heard living in the countryside does wonders for someone’s mental health. Why don’t you check it out?”

“No need. You sold me on it. I will just go there and buy it at once, but it is cheap, don’t you think?” I asked skeptically. A manor this cheap couldn’t be accurate, but it was in my price range, and I was actually pretty excited to see it. I was really doing this. 

Leaving everything behind to start a new life.