Chapter 3

I turned to the media and grabbed a microphone, saying clearly and steadily, "Ms. Lloyd is indeed the perfect ex. She brought my husband broth at 2:00 am while barely dressed."

Angela paled as soon as the words were out of my mouth. Everyone knew she'd just publicly announced her engagement to some rich scion half a month ago.

"You can't just slander me because you and Jacob are having problems, Maisie!" she cried.

Jacob couldn't stand seeing the woman he loved being attacked. He rushed forward and pulled her behind him, shouting, "Angela has always kept to herself and has never coveted anything, Maisie. Don't go overboard!"

Satisfied with the scene in front of me, I calmly unlocked my phone and cast a video onto the banquet hall's central screen. The whispers in the hall hit a new boiling point, but the tide turned in an instant.

"Damn. One has a wife and a kid, and the other's got a fiance. Yet there they are, meeting at midnight and making out at the front door like no one's around. These two are such fakers!"

"Maisie's practically a saint. The mistress showed up at her doorstep to taunt her."

Michael and Ursula couldn't stand the humiliation. They begged me, for Tim's sake, not to air our dirty laundry.

Even Jacob, who was rarely one to lower himself to me, did it this time. "Turn off the video. I'll transfer the seaside resort to your name, and I won't pursue what you did today."

My goal was halfway met, so I smiled and turned off the screen cast. He seemed surprised that I was so cooperative. He immediately decided this was all about squeezing more money out of him.

He opened his mouth to try to get me to clean up the mess, but I ignored him and walked away. A botched banquet and a wave of gossip-hungry media weren't things I cared to face along with them.

…

Back at home, I was on the phone with Linda when Jacob suddenly stormed in and dragged me out, shoving me into his car. He ignored my anger, tossed his phone at me, and put the pedal to the metal.

On the screen, a video from Angela was playing. She was saying her "last words."

"Why did you share the video you played at the banquet online, Maisie? If anything happens to Angela, you and your son won't know a day of peace for the rest of your lives!" he snapped.

I laughed. "There were at least a hundred people in that hall, yet you're certain it was me?"

Even if he and his parents had later spent money to keep everyone's mouths shut, someone would still slip through.

"Only you would resent Angela for stealing me away!"

I shut my mouth, realizing that sometimes, talking to certain people was pointless.

In the end, it was on the Seaway Bridge where we found Angela, crying so hard she could barely breathe. The three police officers nearby looked relieved to hand this problem over to Jacob.

When she saw me, she clutched at Jacob and sobbed even harder. He glared at me and snarled, "You pushed her to the brink—are you happy now? How can a woman as vicious as you exist in this world?"

Angela looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I can't live with my head held high anymore. My engagement has been called off, and everyone is calling me a shameless homewrecker!

"I never even thought about taking Jacob from you, Maisie. That was why I forced myself to get engaged to someone else!

"But I can't do it now. I love Jacob, and I don't want a title or his money. I just hope you'll let me see him once in a while. I'll be a nanny or a maid—whatever you want."

Her brazen shamelessness left me speechless for a moment. Meanwhile, Jacob's heart ached for her. "Angela, she isn't worthy of you begging her like this!"

He turned to me, his gaze turning dark and vicious. "If you don't get on your knees today and beg for Angela's forgiveness, don't even think about setting foot in the Larkin residence again!"

Just then, Linda arrived in a hurry. I took the agreement she held out and handed it to Jacob. "Perfect. I'll step aside and give you two what you want!"

Angela stared at me in disbelief. Then, she coyly nudged Jacob to move things along.

However, his expression turned downright ugly. He gritted his teeth and looked me in the eye. "Are you pulling this trick again? Do you really think I'm scared of you? If we divorce, you leave with nothing!

"The kid, the house, and everything my family has ever given you—I'm taking it all back!"

"You're the one who's leaving with nothing, Jacob." A deep, steady male voice cut through his barrage. A pair of red-soled bespoke leather shoes stepped into view.