Chapter 2: The Final Straw

​Iridessa’s POV

​I stood in the center of the bedroom for a long time after the door slammed, staring at the indentation on the pillow where Slade’s head had rested just an hour ago, and the silence of the room felt like it was crushing my chest. I eventually walked over to the vanity mirror and looked at my reflection, but the woman looking back had sunken eyes and a pale, tired face that didn't belong to the vibrant girl who had graduated top of her linguistics and tech classes three years ago. I reached into the back of the walk-in closet and pulled out the battered canvas duffel bag I had brought with me on the day I moved in, and I began throwing in my old cotton shirts and the few books I actually owned, leaving the silk gowns and the diamond necklaces Slade’s grandmother had gifted me untouched on their hangers. My hands were shaking as I zipped the bag, because even though I had spent years trying to make this house a home, I was leaving with exactly what I started with, plus a broken heart and a reputation they had dragged through the mud.

​I slung the bag over my shoulder and opened the bedroom door, hoping to slip out through the back servants' entrance so I wouldn't have to face anyone, but as soon as I stepped into the hallway, I saw Maya and Malani standing near the top of the stairs. Malani was holding a tray of tea and looking toward Slade’s study with a worried expression, while Maya had her arms crossed and a smug look on her face that told me she had heard every word of the argument Slade and I had earlier.

​"Going somewhere, Iridessa? Or are you just taking your trash out to the curb where it belongs?" Maya asked, stepping directly into my path so I couldn't pass, and Malani put a hand on Maya’s arm, saying in a fake, sweet voice, "Maya, don't be so harsh, she’s probably just upset because Slade told me how much he regrets what happened last night."

​I looked at Malani, seeing the subtle triumph in her eyes, and then back at Maya, who was sneering at me with pure hatred. "Move out of my way, Maya, I’m not in the mood for your games today," I said, my voice low and tight, but Maya didn't budge, instead she leaned closer and hissed, "You think because you saved me from that lake that I owe you something, but I wish you had just stayed on the shore because I’d rather have drowned than spend three years watching you leech off my brother's hard work."

​Before I could even process the cruelty of her words, Maya’s hand swung out and caught me across the face with a loud crack, the force of the slap sending a stinging heat through my cheek and ringing in my ears. I stumbled back, my hand flying to my face, and I saw Slade standing at the end of the hallway, his expression completely flat as he watched his sister strike his wife without saying a single word.

​"Maya, stop wasting your energy on people who don't matter, she isn't worth the effort of a conversation, let alone a fight," Slade said, his voice cold and dismissive as he began to walk toward us, but something inside me finally snapped after three years of being everyone’s punching bag.

​As Maya and Malani turned to walk away with satisfied smirks, I dropped my bag and grabbed Maya by her shoulder, spinning her around and delivering two sharp slaps across her face before she could even scream. Malani’s eyes went wide and she tried to interfere, but I caught her chin and gave her the same treatment, the sound of the four slaps echoing through the hall while Slade froze in shock.

​"Don't you dare move, Slade, or I will make sure the press finds out exactly what goes on in this house," I warned when he tried to step toward me, and then I turned my gaze back to Maya, who was whimpering and clutching her red cheeks. "I stayed because I felt sorry for you, but looking at you now, I realize I should have left you in that water because you aren't a human being, you’re just a spoiled brat who doesn't deserve the air you breathe."

​I turned toward Malani, who was trembling and backing away toward the edge of the stairs, and as we ended up in a frantic scramble of pushing and shoving, she suddenly went limp and let herself tumble backward down the first few steps. She landed at the bottom of the landing with a dramatic cry, and Slade immediately rushed past me, his face full of panic as he knelt beside her and checked her for injuries. He looked up at me with a look of pure loathing, and before I could even explain that she had thrown herself down, he stood up and struck me across the face, the first time he had ever laid a hand on me.

​"You are a monster, Iridessa, and I will make sure you have nothing left by the time I'm done with you," he roared, picking Malani up in his arms and walking toward his room without looking back at me even once.

​I stood at the top of the stairs, the metallic taste of blood in my mouth and my vision starting to blur, but I didn't beg for him to stay or try to explain the truth like I always did. I pulled my phone from my pocket with trembling fingers and dialed a number I had memorized but never used, and when the voice on the other end answered, I whispered, "It's over, come and get me, and tell the legal team to prepare everything because I'm taking back every line of code and every cent I ever gave them."

​The hallway began to spin, the adrenaline finally leaving my body and leaving a hollow, freezing cold in its place, and as I heard a maid scream my name from the end of the corridor, the floor seemed to rise up to meet me. My eyes flickered shut just as I heard the distant sound of a heavy car pulling into the driveway, and my last thought wasn't about Slade or his hatred, but about the fact that I had finally stopped waiting for a love that was never going to come