IT COULDN'T GET ANY WORSE

A moment later, they were standing in front of her, and this time the smiles on their faces were more visible.

“Hey Lena, how are you doing?” Sophie spoke first.

Lena stood still as she met their eyes without flinching. “I'm good, as you can see,” she forced a smile. “What do you both want?”

“Oh, I came to give you something and also to take something from you.”

What on earth was this bitch blabbering about?

“I don't need anything from you and your so-called fiancé, and what the hell do you still want to take from me?” she scoffed. “You have already taken him.” She pointed her middle finger towards Ethan, who stood beside her. “Or do you also want to take my life? You're not always satisfied, are you?”

Sophie turned her head around, scanning the building. Everyone eyes were fixed on them, and the whispers grew louder. This was what she wanted: people's attention, just so she could drag Lena's ego down. Of course, she wasn't yet satisfied. She wanted more.

Emma, who had been dozing on a chair, woke up when the noise coming from the building disturbed her. Her eyes scanned the building. Everyone's eyes seemed to be fixed on one spot, and when she walked towards where their gaze had been directed, only then did she realize they were staring at a scene farther away from there.

Lena was in the middle of the crowd.

OMG!

And what the heck were Ethan and that little witch Sophie doing here?

“You're correct, I'm always not satisfied, and I think you need to keep your voice down. And just so you know, I'm not the one being dragged here.” A smug expression tugged at her lips. “Lena Carter the gold digger, Lena the low-budget prostitute. That’s your damn new name on the internet. That suits you right?”

“Don't you dare call her that.” Emma stepped forward, her expression hardening toward Sophie. “You know what? I think the real person who should be called that name is no one else but you, because that is exactly what you are.”

“Enough, Emma, you weren't called, so stay out of it.” Ethan warned, his finger pointed firmly at her.

This time, eyes weren't just fixed on the scene; phones were also raised to capture the heated argument. This was what Lena had always avoided. She was so sure that any moment from now, the press would arrive. That would be so terrible.

“Well, I would start with what I want to take from you,” Sophie paused before continuing. “Remember the necklace Ethan gave you as a present on your birthday? I want you to give it back to me right now. I'm his fiancée, remember, and not you.” Sophie tilted her head, a wicked smile playing on her lips.

She wasn't sure what she had done to Sophie to deserve such hate. That necklace was fucking precious to her, even though she wasn't with Ethan anymore. But regardless, she would give it back.

“So you want to take the necklace too?” Lena lowered her gaze as she tried to hide the pain in her eyes. Ethan scoffed as he took a step toward Lena. She could bet that Ethan enjoyed how she was being treated. “Next week is my marriage to Sophie; I want you to be present. You're invited.” Ethan spoke in a barely audible voice as he tried to squeeze the invitation card into Lena's hands.

Those words hit her hard. She would never even think of going.

“Is this how far you can go, just so you could see Lena hurt, embarrassed, and mocked?” Emma demanded, her voice laced with anger. “How did Lena ever end up with someone like you?”

Lena stood silently, her jaw tight as she fought her tears back. Breaking down wouldn't solve anything now.

“Take this damn envelope out of my fucking face and leave here right now.” Lena's voice cracked as she flung the paper aside.

“It hasn't been up to a month since we broke up, and now you're trending all over the Internet as Noah Hayes' girlfriend.” He smirked, clearly enjoying her reaction. “You couldn't even wait for up to one month; instead, you threw yourself at Noah. You know those names you've been called are true. You're just with him for his money and fame, a pure gold digger.”

Lena's face tightened as those words hit her. This was the man she had planned to spend her entire life with.

Fuck, she should have known better. One more word, and she wasn't sure she would stay still if she was called that bloody name again.

“Screw you, yes.” Her voice came out sharp and loud. “Fuck the rumor, I’m in a relationship with Noah Hayes, and so what? Are you jealous?”

“I would never be. I'm just saying, you’re fucking desperate,” Ethan whispered, and without another word, he took Sophie by her arm, gave Lena one more glance, and left.

“Get the fuck out of here!” She turned toward the crowd, who continued to stare at her, and pointed at them as they left.

“See the damn lunatic you all are dragging me for? He cheated on me with my fucking childhood best friend. They both betrayed me, and now you guys have the guts to judge me for being with Noah Hayes.” Lena spoke through pain as she yelled. “Fine, we are in a relationship; I'm his girlfriend.”

Tears streamed down her face; she could no longer hold back. “And yes, feel free to call me all kinds of names: a gold digger, a prostitute; I am all of it and more.”

She dropped to the ground as she covered her face with her palms. This was what she had wanted to do all this while: cry out loud, talk shit to Ethan's face, and vent her anger at no one in particular. Unfortunately, she did it in public.

She knew within seconds that this scene, which had just occurred, coupled with the statement she made, would be all over the Internet, with people probably dragging her online and giving her another bloody nickname. But that didn't matter to her anymore; she had seen better days.

“Lena, everyone is watching. Let's get the hell out of here before the press arrives,” Emma's voice came out low as she helped Lena off the floor, and together they walked slowly out of the building, their gazes down at the floor.

Thirty minutes later, when Lena and Emma got home, her eyes were already swollen from all the crying. She didn't sit down, nor did she take off her clothes; she just quietly strode down to the bathroom.

Emma couldn't stop hoping for all this scandal to come to an end because Lena was really going through a lot.

“Thanks, Emma, for being there for me,” Lena's voice cut through her thoughts. She had changed into an oversized T-shirt and black shorts. “I ended up dragging you into my problem, but I promise I'm going to end this.”

"You don't need to make a decision when you're not in your right state of mind. How do you intend to stop all this? I guess you just have to live with it, and sooner or later, the public will forget all of it. They have better things to pursue."

“No, the only way to end this bullshit is to agree to be in a six-month relationship with Noah Hayes. If that's what it takes to have my peace after all this, I would accept it for real.”

"How are you so sure about it, and what's this new talk about being in a fake relationship?"

Lena exhaled slowly. “His PR manager proposed it to me, and after what had just happened back there, Olivia is right.”

“Oh hell.” Emma jolted up from the couch she had been sitting on. “She did what? You can't do this, Lena. Think before you act…”

Just then, her phone rang, interrupting Emma mid-sentence. Something inside her recognized that call as another problem waiting to happen.

They both turned to each other. Lena picked up her phone, which she had thrown earlier on the couch, and glanced at the screen.

It was Mr. Reynolds, her boss. This wasn't funny anymore. How could she have forgotten that her job was on the line, and her boss had given her a condition if she wanted to keep her job?

“Fix this scandal and your job stays; if not, you lose it.” Those words replayed in her mind.

“Lena, are you sure you want to answer this?” Emma's eyes had already softened with concern.

“I need to face my fears.”

She hesitated for what felt like a second but answered the call anyway. Whatever wanted to happen should happen, even though losing her job wasn't part of it.

“Hey, Lena.” Mr. Reynolds' voice came through the phone, calm and dominant.

“ You're fired.”