Chapter 2 The Ring

I was packing my bags when something on the TV caught my eye.

Melissa and Nathan were all over each other in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of a hotel suite.

…

A few minutes later, a tabloid reporter called me.

"I want 30,000 per photo, Mr. Fraser. Wait much longer, and they'll be all over the internet."

They knew exactly how this worked. Melissa would blame me for failing to contain the scandal if those incriminating pictures and videos went public, and then she'd cut me off.

Before, a call like that would've sent me into a panic.

I would've begged them to keep everything quiet and paid whatever it took to make the photos and videos disappear.

After all, I couldn't risk Melissa finding out and cutting me off.

Plus, I needed every dollar she gave me.

Now, I just stared at the video of her kissing Nathan and replied, "They're not my problem anymore."

I hung up and went back to packing.

The scandal exploded online.

Their faces had been blurred, but anyone who knew Melissa and Nathan could tell exactly who they were.

Melissa called me less than three minutes later.

"Did you pay to make this trend?" she snapped as soon as I answered. "Is that why you wanted something expensive from me earlier? So you could turn around and spend the money on this? I told you to keep an eye on this stuff and make sure nothing got out!

"What the hell have you been doing?"

She kept yelling while I kept packing, barely listening.

Nathan appeared in the doorway minutes later, looking wounded. To my surprise, he even dropped to his knees in front of me.

"Are you mad because I've overstayed my welcome, Mr. Fraser?"

I stared at him without answering.

Nathan lowered his eyes. "What happened at the hotel wasn't my idea. Ms. Mills wanted to do it in front of the windows. I told her we shouldn't because I knew you'd be upset, but..."

He hesitated, almost embarrassed. "She wouldn't take no for an answer."

Melissa walked in behind him before I could say anything.

The second she saw Nathan on his knees, she rushed over and pulled him to his feet before turning on me.

"My mother was right about you. You can take someone out of the gutter, but you can't take the gutter out of them."

Her eyes were cold as she pulled Nathan closer into her embrace. Your mother is lying in a hospital while we pay her bills, and this is how you repay us? You take our money and turn around and humiliate my family? You're not worth even a single hair on Nathan's head!"

I was about to tell her I had nothing to do with the story when her mother's assistant walked in and announced, "Mrs. Mills says Mr. Fraser has broken the family rules and will be punished accordingly."

Three security guards followed him into the room, each carrying a thick wooden paddle. Melissa's expression shifted slightly, but she made no move to stop them.

My heart sank.

"I'm not part of the Mills family anymore," I blurted quickly. "So, you can't punish me under your family rules."

Melissa's face darkened. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I—"

"You're making up lies now just to avoid taking responsibility?" she cut me off brusquely. "Do you really think I won't stop paying your mom's medical bills?"

She barked out a derisive laugh. "I've clearly let you get away with too much. You've forgotten your place."

She glanced at the guards, and that was all the permission they needed.

Two of them grabbed me and forced me to the floor. Before I could fight back, the paddle came down hard across my back, sending pain tearing through my body.

"It wasn't me!"

Another blow came down.

Then, another.

My screams echoed through the house, but Melissa simply covered Nathan's eyes.

"Don't look," she murmured. "It's ugly."

I could barely move by the 20th strike. The guards finally let go, leaving me crumpled on the floor like a piece of trash. I could taste nothing but metal on my tongue, and every breath I took felt like broken glass tearing through my chest.

Melissa stood over me without a trace of sympathy. "I froze the 250,000 in your account. Maybe once you have nothing, you'll finally learn to behave and remember exactly where you stand."

Then, she slipped an arm around Nathan and led him away.

Melissa had looked into my account balance.

She knew that 250,000 was all I had left.

I'd endured years of humiliation for my mother's sake. Now that she was gone, the only thing I could still do for her was give her the funeral and burial she deserved.

Still, where there was a will, there would be a way. I would find a way to make it happen.

I dragged myself back to the bedroom and pulled open the bottom drawer. There was the custom diamond ring Melissa had given me when she proposed.

I still remembered that night clearly. She'd cried as she held the ring out to me, her shoulders trembling while she promised that I would be the only man to ever wear it, the only man she would ever call her husband.

Over the years, I had turned down every jeweler who offered to buy it no matter how desperate I became. I couldn't bring myself to sell the one thing that still reminded me of a time when I believed Melissa had truly loved me, even when I desperately needed the money.

Alas, that belief was gone now.

Without that faith, the ring meant nothing.

I placed it under the light, took a few clear photos, and sent them to a jeweler for an appraisal.

…

A few minutes later, my phone rang.

The jeweler sounded uncomfortable. "Mr. Fraser... I'm not sure how to tell you this."

My grip tightened around the phone. "What?"

There was a brief silence.

Eventually, he sighed and said wearily, "The diamond is fake."