Chapter 8

Suicide?

Eliza slowly lifted her head and looked at the furious man in front of her. She found the entire situation absurd and ironic.

The corners of her mouth twitched, her voice flat and completely devoid of emotion. “First, I didn’t sell anything to the paparazzi. Second, she posted that video on her own public social media. If she was brave enough to post it, why is she scared of people talking?”

“You–” Connor was so enraged by her unyielding attitude that the veins on his forehead bulged. “Eliza! Will you only be satisfied once you’ve backed her into a corner? Sofia is sweet and too naive to play any manipulative games! All she did was share a post on her own account. It was you! You’re so wicked that you leaked that video! Now the whole world is calling her a homewrecker! How is she supposed to show her face ever again?”

Eliza looked at him coldly. “Is she a homewrecker or not? Don’t you know the answer to that better than anyone?”

“She and I are innocent!” Connor roared in a low voice. “I told you. Ever since that one time, I haven’t touched her! Eliza, just how long are you going to keep harping on this?

“This whole scandal has gotten way out of hand, and it’s destroying Sofia’s reputation. I’ve set up a press conference. You’re coming with me right now to apologize to her in front of the entire country! Otherwise, you can forget about ever getting this back!”

He pulled out his phone, brought up a photo, and held it right in front of her face.

It was an emerald brooch left to her by her late mother—a family heirloom passed down from her grandmother and her mother’s most cherished possession in life. It had always been kept inside a safe deposit box.

Connor’s voice was cold. “If you don’t go to the press conference and clear her name using the script I give you, then you will never see this brooch again. I mean what I say.”

Eliza stared at the familiar brooch in the photo, and a chill ran through her body.

Was he actually using her late mother’s heirloom to blackmail her? All for another woman?

“Connor…” Her voice cracked from the pain and shock she was feeling. “Are you for real?”

Connor looked away, though his tone remained unyielding. “The choice is yours. Apologize, and I’ll give the brooch back. Refuse, and you’ll suffer the consequences.”

Eliza looked at his cold profile. Staring at the man she had loved for half her life, the very last flicker of hope in her heart died, leaving behind nothing but a cold, empty void.

“Fine,” she heard herself say, her voice terrifyingly calm. “I’ll go.”

The press conference took place in the grand hall of the Hall Corporation headquarters. The room was packed with reporters, their camera lenses all aimed squarely at Eliza on stage.

She was dressed plainly, her face pale and her eyes hollow. Reading line by line from the script Connor’s assistant had handed her, she spoke into the microphone.

“Regarding the recent rumors circulating online about Miss Sofia Reyes, I would like to make a formal clarification here today. Miss Reyes is not a home-wrecker. She and my husband, Mr. Connor Hall, are merely ordinary friends.

“All of the rumors were caused by my own jealousy. I misunderstood their relationship and spread false rumors, which caused severe damage to Miss Reyes’s reputation.

“I am truly guilty for that, and I extend my most sincere apologies to Miss Reyes and her family. I hope everyone will stop spreading these untrue rumors and give her some peace…”

Her voice was mechanical and flat. It sounded like she was reading a court verdict that had nothing to do with her.

Flashes went off continuously below the stage, and the reporters shouted sharp, biting questions.

“Ms. Lowry, are you admitting that you framed Miss Reyes purely out of jealousy?”

“Is your marriage to Mr. Hall already dead in all but name?”

“Is this apology sincere, or are you doing this under pressure?”

Eliza kept her eyes down and gave no response to any of the questions, simply repeating the lines from the statement.

The press conference finally came to an end. Escorted by security guards, Eliza kept her head down and walked quickly toward the parking lot. However, the moment she stepped out of the building, the crowd waiting outside erupted into a frenzy.

“That’s her, the vicious wife!”

“She framed someone else as a homewrecker just because she’s jealous!”

“Disgusting! You have no shame!”

Rotten vegetables, spoiled eggs, and even small stones came hurling at her head.

Eliza stumbled backward under the barrage, her hair and clothes instantly covered in filth. She lifted her head and, amid the chaotic crowd, caught sight of two terrifyingly familiar little faces.

It was Leo and Maya. They were blended right into the mob, clutching objects in their little hands and throwing them at her with all their strength.

At that moment, Leo threw a sharp stone that struck Eliza dead in the center of her forehead with a thwack. A sharp pain hit her, and blood instantly oozed out, blurring her vision.

She stood frozen in place, staring at her two children not far away. Seeing their faces flushed with excitement as they hurled things at their own mother, the last piece of her heart finally died. They had severed even their last bond as a family with their own hands.

After that, her vision went black, and she collapsed limp onto the ground. When she woke up again, she was lying on the bed in her own bedroom. Gauze was wrapped around her forehead, which was throbbing with a dull pain.

Connor stood by the bedside, watching her wake up.

His face carried no expression as he said indifferently, “I hope you’ve truly learned your lesson this time. I won’t be home for the next few days. Sofia is mentally unstable, so I need to be at the hospital to take care of her.”

He paused before adding, “You owe her this. My going over to make it up to her is only fair.”

Then, without looking at her again, he turned on his heel and left.

Only Eliza remained in the bedroom, surrounded by total silence. She lay there quietly, shedding no tears and showing no anger.

Suddenly, her phone screen lit up. It was a text message from her lawyer.

[Ms. Lowry, the divorce proceedings have been finalized. The divorce certificate has been sent via express courier to the address you provided. You can expect it to arrive this afternoon.]

The heavy weight that had been crushing her chest for so long finally lifted. She slowly sat up, walked over to the window, and looked out at the bright, beautiful sunshine.

In the afternoon, the courier package arrived right on schedule. She opened the envelope to find the divorce papers. She picked up her copy and stared at the contents printed above her name alongside Connor’s, her fingertips trembling slightly.

Then, she gently placed Connor’s copy on the nightstand beside the bed. Right next to it stood her suitcase, already fully packed.

Today happened to be the last day of the month. It was the day she was scheduled to deploy to the war zone as a correspondent.

With no farewells or second thoughts, she picked up her suitcase and took one final look at the place that had held all her love and hatred. She turned around, stepped outside, and shut the door, putting her entire past behind her for good.