Chapter 12

Elle’s POV

I picked up my phone to call Raymond. But it went straight to voicemail.

I tried again and the same thing happened.

“Meeting,” I whispered under my breath. He had mentioned it after dropping me off. Besides, his Tuesdays were always for top-level business reviews.

He was busy—and I didn’t want to disturb him. He had done so much for me already.

I couldn’t be the damsel in distress right now. Not now.

So I stood, collected my bag, and fixed my face in the mirror even though my hands trembled.

And then I left the office.

I didn’t wait to think. I couldn't. I was too furious to sit back and analyze things.

The headlines were still burned into my mind.

He had gone too far.

I took the next cab and headed straight for his apartment. The one I used to call home.

The ride felt longer than it should’ve. My fingers curled tightly around my phone the entire way, playing every possible scenario in my head. If he denied it, I would show him the headlines. If he laughed, I’d slap it off his face. But I wasn’t leaving until I got answers.

When I finally arrived, I marched up to the familiar door and knocked hard.

There was no answer.

I knocked again, and then again, but still, there was nothing.

“Of course,” I muttered. Just my luck that the coward would go and hide.

As I turned around in frustration, I noticed a man step out of the next apartment. He had messy hair, faded jeans, and a cigarette between his fingers. He glanced at me, squinting as if trying to remember where he saw me.

He looked new, not like someone I knew before I moved out of the apartment.

“You looking for Richard?” he asked, exhaling a puff of smoke.

I nodded, cautiously.

He chuckled. “Not here anymore.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

“Got kicked out last week. The landlord said he hadn’t paid rent in two months.”

My brows furrowed. “Do you know where he went?”

The man shrugged. “I overheard him talking on the phone the other day. He was telling someone about a new place… said something about Palm Heights. Apartment 406, I think.”

I blinked, shocked. Palm Heights was on the other side of town—cheaper, older, nothing like the apartment he once flaunted. He really had fallen far off.

“Thanks,” I muttered, already turning away.

“Hope there's no trouble,” the man called behind me, pulling my attention towards him. “Guy’s been acting real strange lately.”

"We'll see about that," I muttered as I walked away.

***

It didn’t take long to find Palm Heights. The building was…well...a lot different from what I remembered. Cracked walls, peeling paint, and an elevator that groaned every time the doors opened. But I didn’t care.

I climbed the stairs and stopped at Apartment 406.

The door was slightly opened.

I knocked once, cautiously, but there was no response.

I was about to knock again when I heard it—the sound of laughter and muffled voices. And then, a low moan.

I pushed the door gently, and it creaked open.

What I saw made my blood go still.

Richard was on a worn-out couch. He had his hands all over a girl in tight jeans and a crop top. Her back was arched and his lips were on her neck.

They were so caught up in the moment that they didn’t even hear me enter.

But she saw me first.

Her eyes widened in horror as she shoved Richard off her like he was a disease.

“Oh my God!” She exclaimed, scrambling to stand and pull her top down. “You said you were single!”

Richard froze, still half in shock.

I stepped forward slowly, keeping my expression calm. I looked at her, then at him.

“He is,” I said with a small smile. “Very single, in every way that matters.”

The girl looked from me to Richard, then back at me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know—”

“It’s fine,” I said, waving her off. “You’re not the one who lied. He is.”

She looked at Richard in disgust.

“You’re pathetic,” She spat out before grabbing her purse and storming out past me.

Silence fell on the apartment like a sheet of ice.

Richard stood there, shirt half-open, mouth agape, clearly unprepared for this version of me.

“Elle, I—”

I cut him off with a raised hand.

“Save it.”

My tone was icy.

“I came here to ask you one thing: Why? Why destroy my name? Why dig up lies and paint me as some desperate seductress?”

He blinked, trying to play dumb. “What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” I snapped, stepping closer. “The news, Richard. The headlines. The photos. You planted all of it.”

His jaw tightened, and the smirk I used to know so well crept up his lips again.

“You think you get to live the perfect life after what you did to me?” he said bitterly. “You think marrying Raymond erases the past?”

“You threw me away,” I said, voice shaking now. “You cheated on me. Used me. And now, because I chose to move on, you want to drag me down with you?”

He stepped forward, but I didn’t back away.

“I lost everything,” he hissed. “My job, Melody, and my reputation. While you’re out playing happy wife to the richest man in the company. How is that fair?”

“It’s not supposed to be fair,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s supposed to be just. And you’re finally getting what you deserve.”

His face contorted. “This is just the beginning, Elle. I’ll ruin you. I’ll dig into your past. All of it!”

I felt a chill creep down my spine, but I didn't let it show.

“I’m not afraid of you anymore,” I said, holding his gaze. “And you’re right—my past isn't perfect. But unlike you, I’ve grown from it. While you’re still the same bitter, jealous coward who blames everyone but himself.”

I turned to leave.

“You’ll regret this,” he shouted after me.

I didn’t look back, I just continued.

“I already regret wasting seven years of my life on you,” I said, closing the door behind me.