Ch 001: Boy, Bye!

CHAPTER ONE - BOY, BYE!

ZOEY

———

“Chuck, you son of a bitch!”

I screamed at the top of my lungs as I flung a flower vase across the room. It missed his head by just an inch, shattering loudly against the wall. Ceramic pieces flew everywhere.

Chuck’s eyes widened in horror like he was staring at a mad woman—which, honestly, I probably looked like at this moment. Behind him, his naked side chick, Daisy Ferguson, clung to him for dear life. Her eyes were just as wide.

“I swear, I’ll kill both of you!” I grabbed another vase and threw it. Then another. They kept ducking, barely escaping. Both of them held onto each other’s bodies like passionate lovers who were prepared to die together. Adulterous Romeo and Juliet.

My chest rose and fell with rage as I scanned the room for another weapon. My hands were shaking and my heart beat like a drum. But there were no more vases left.

Shit!

In my moment of distraction, Chuck seized the opportunity and ran, grabbing Daisy by the wrist and rushing past me. I turned to chase them, but not before catching a glimpse of Chuck’s pathetic, dangling penis flopping between his legs, and Daisy’s ridiculous boobs bouncing as they scrambled down the stairs like two naked clowns.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” I shouted, grabbing a baseball bat from behind the door and chasing after them.

I chased them down and around the spiral staircase, then through the long corridors of the mansion. My grip was tight on the bat, and my rage gave me energy even as my legs begged me to stop.

I’d always known about Chuck’s year-long affair with Daisy who was the new ‘it’ girl at our production house.

I wasn’t stupid. The signs were always there—the late nights, the smell of expensive feminine perfume, the lipstick stains on Chuck’s collars, the used condoms disposed carelessly in his car, the tiny lace panties I found in his pocket…

Plus, I’d seen him acting sneaky with Daisy several times at the production house.

But I never thought he’d have the guts to bring her into our house!

To our bedroom!

To screw her on OUR BED!

“Chuck freaking Gilbert!” I screamed. “You are so dead!”

“Leave us alone, you crazy witch!” Chuck snapped over his shoulder, still running like the coward he was. “I’ll make sure you’re blacklisted from all of damn Hollywood!”

Now he was at the kitchen window, trying to help Daisy climb out. I paused, mascara-streaked tears painting my face, the bat still tight in my hand.

“You idiot!” I cried. “That’s two stories high! You’ll kill yourselves!”

As much as I wanted to make them suffer, killing them was the last thing on my list.

“Crazy woman!” he spat, still gripping Daisy’s hand. “I’ll see you in court!”

The next second, they jumped together.

I gasped in horror and rushed to the window, my heart stopping for a beat. I expected to see two broken bodies in the driveway.

But nope. They’d landed in the thorny shrubs.

Chuck got up, helping Daisy to her feet. Both of them limped a little, scratched and dirty, but alive—thank God.

Chuck looked up at me with the smuggest expression on his face, and flipped his middle finger at me before getting into his car, driving away with her.

“AARRRGHHHHHH!” I screamed, rage and betrayal pouring out of me as I dropped the bat and stumbled back.

My body finally crashed from the adrenaline high, heavy sadness overtaking me. My back hit the cold kitchen wall and I slid down to the floor, my knees tucked to my chest.

I broke into a wild sob, clutching my chest as though that could help me hold my bleeding heart together.

It hurt. Oh, God, it hurt.

I blamed myself for my misfortune. For staying despite knowing Chuck was cheating on me with her. Because, well… “It’s a man’s world,” they said. So I kept quiet and tried to manage it all while still struggling at the production house.

I cooked, cleaned, smiled through clenched teeth and served him like a maid while he got to do whatever the hell he wanted.

I let out a shaky breath and buried my face in my palms, crying into them. I gave my whole life to this man and this was how he paid me back? God, I was such a fool.

My phone buzzed in my jeans pocket. For a second, I thought of ignoring it, but the ringtone was insistent. I sniffled, reached into my pocket and pulled it out.

The name on the screen made my throat tighten and a little sob escaped my lips.

Camille Vincent—my best friend. She always called right when I needed her most.

“C-Camille.” I choked out the moment I picked up.

“Zoey? Are you crying?” Her concerned voice came. I could hear background noises—beeping monitors, footsteps, someone calling for a nurse. I could tell she was still at work in the hospital.

All I could do was sob, unable to form a word.

“Okay, babe, listen. Deep breath. Just take a deep breath for me, okay?” Camille’s voice softened. “In and out. Come on. With me.”

I closed my eyes and did as she says. We inhaled and exhaled together over the line for about a minute. It helped calm the chaos in my chest, even if it didn’t touch the ache in my heart.

“Good. Now… what happened?”

I told her everything. How I left the studio early because I’d forgotten an important script. Only to come home and walk straight into that pornographic scene.

Chuck on top of Daisy, her legs thrown up like she was doing some yoga pose for Playboy while Chuck moaned like a man who had just tasted the seventh heaven.

By the time I finished talking, Camille was practically fuming on the other end.

“That lowlife piece of shit! I always knew Chuck had trash energy, but this?” she snapped. “In your bed? After everything you've done for him? That asshole has no soul!”

“What do I do, Camille?” I whimpered. My body shook with every sob. “What the hell do I do?”

There was a pause on her end, before her voice came again. “Divorce him.”

I paused at once. The tears slowed down and my brows knitted together. Divorce him? Had she lost her mind?

“Divorce him, Zoey.” She repeated.

“You’re joking, right?” I gave a dry, cracked laugh.

“I’m not.”

“I CAN’T DIVORCE HIM, CAMILLE!” I snapped, the anger bubbling back up, overtaking the grief. “You know what that means! You know exactly what will happen if I try!”

She went quiet, then sighed deeply. “I can’t believe you’re still trapped in his damn web, Zoey. He has poisoned your mind so bad, you actually think you need him. You’re afraid that if you leave him, you’ll lose your dreams and everything you’ve worked hard for. Is that it?”

I began to sob again, my heart clenching as though the things I dreaded the most were already happening.

I had worked too hard to get where I was now. Used every connection and asset I had to break into the movie industry, all thanks to my share of the inheritance I received from my late step-father. I couldn’t afford to have it all crumble just because I decided to walk away from a cheating scumbag.

I had survived three years of hell already. I could survive more.

Camille sighed again.

“You let that bastard run your mind and your whole life, that you seem to have forgotten who you are, Zoey Anderson.”

She was the only one who still called me by my maiden name.

“Do you trust me?”

I tightened my grip on the phone. I knew exactly where this was going, and it scared the hell out of me.

“Zoey.” Her voice lowered. “Do you trust me?”

I swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes.”

“Good.” Her voice lifted a little with relief. “Then you’re coming with me to my lawyer’s office tomorrow. First thing. We’re filing the damn divorce papers.”