CHAPTER FOUR: Disgraced.

~MAREN~

“I… I—" Sandra stammers, lips parting and closing as she scrambles for a sentence. 

Nothing works.

Caleb doesn't give her a second to breathe. He steps into her space, shadow falling over her. "Tell me the truth, Sandra. Are you really sleeping with him?"

"Caleb, please. Not here." Her voice comes out thin, stripped of its usual bite.

"Did you sleep with him?!" Louder now, each word bitten off.

Her panicked eyes dart across the room before landing on me—pleading, like I owe her a lifeline after everything she just did.

 I look away.

Kade chuckles from a few feet away, unbothered. "Come on, Sandy. Tell him what happened in the staff room an hour ago. Tell him how you were begging me not to stop.”

Another gasp tears through the room. The murmurs explode into a roar. I press both hands over my ears, elbows tight to my ribs.

"Kade, shut the fuck up!" Sandra snaps, composure cracking wide open.

Caleb's brow furrows, like he's forcing pieces of a puzzle together that refuse to fit. "An hour ago?" His eyes flick between them, the math wrecking him in real time. "At our engagement party?"

"Babe, he's lying," she rushes out, lunging for his hand.

Caleb recoils, snapping his arm back like her touch would burn him.

"He's trying to ruin this for us," Sandra cries, voice pitching into a shriek. "You know how he is. You said it yourself, Caleb—he’s always wanted whatever belongs to you—"

"Don't," Caleb cuts her off, voice cracking with raw heartbreak. "Don't you dare turn this on him." His eyes go cold. "Get out of my sight. I don't want to look at you right now."

I force my hands down and scan the room. Phones are up everywhere, screens glowing. Somewhere, someone's already streaming this live. If I don't stop it now, Caleb becomes tomorrow's headline—his reputation, his company, everything he's built, gone by morning.

My feet move before I think it through, carrying me out of the shadows and into the light at the edge of the stage. I swallow the lump in my throat and take a deep breath.

"Caleb," I call quietly.

He snaps his head toward me, and God, the look on his face nearly breaks me. The same boy who used to wait for me after late shifts, who held my hair back when I was sick, now looking at me hurt, confused, still—stupidly—hoping I'm about to tell him this is all a misunderstanding.

"Tell me the truth, Mari. Did Kade really sleep with my fiancée?"

This is my chance. I could confirm it right now, watch him walk away from her for good, and finally claim the man I lost. My mouth opens, the truth pressing hot against my teeth—but I force it shut. 

If I confirm Kade's words here, in front of every recording phone, the scandal tears Caleb's world apart before dawn.

I won't destroy him just to get what I want.

I exhale slowly, holding his eyes. "Kade's lying to you, Caleb. Sandra's been with me this whole hour, helping me clear my head. He's just trying to wreck your night out of spite."

The second the words leave my mouth, I almost want them back. But it's too late now. I just hope it doesn't cost me later.

"You bastard." Caleb's attention snaps back to Kade, the doubt in his eyes hardening into fury.

Kade's smirk vanishes. His eyes lock onto mine—dark, unreadable, heavy with something like a warning.

"Security!" Caleb points a shaking finger. "Get this lunatic out of here."

Three guards move in fast, grabbing Kade by the arms. He doesn't resist. A dark, satisfied smile curves his mouth as they pin his arms back and haul him toward the exit. Despite how roughly they handle him, he stays calm—like none of it touches him at all.

A pang of guilt hits me watching him go, knowing it's my lie that put him there. I look away and find Sandra instead.

Her eyes are wide with disbelief. She lets out a shaky breath and gives me a small, grateful smile, nodding a silent thank you.

I avert my eyes, disgust rolling through me. If she thinks I saved her out of friendship, she's delusional. I didn't do this for her; I did it to protect Caleb. And one way or another, I am getting him back.

Once the doors slam shut behind Kade, the tension thins. Caleb steps down and stops in front of me.

"Thank you," he whispers.

I give a single, stiff nod, forcing a small smile.

He turns to the crowd, straightening his jacket. "Everyone, please—ignore that. Just an old score somebody decided to settle tonight. Enjoy yourselves. Music, please."

The band kicks back into a high-energy track. A few murmurs and whispers linger, but things settle back to normal.

I watch the artificial joy with a sinking heart. Feeling isolated, I grab a glass of white wine from a passing tray and retreat to the safety of my pillar.

I lean against the cold stone, watching the room celebrate, wishing it were me up there. Hell, it would have been me—if Sandra hadn't poisoned the well in the first place.

I let out a long sigh, taking a slow sip of wine.

The air behind me shifts. I feel a warm presence too close to my shoulder. I turn, finding a young man in a tailored slate-blue suit.

"Can I help you?" I ask, guard up.

He shakes his head, easy smile in place, hands raised. "Not at all. Just looking for a hideout. These cameras are getting on my nerves. Do you mind if I take a spot here?” 

I glance at the empty space around my pillar, then back at him. "Okay."

"Thanks," he says, leaning against the pillar beside me, shoulder an inch from mine. He sips his drink, eyes scanning the floor before settling on me. "So… you and my cousin's fiancé used to date, huh?"

I look at him more closely—sharp jaw, familiar blond hair. "You're Sandra’s cousin?"

"Guilty.” He extends his hand. “ I’m Zayn.” 

I force a smile but don’t take the hand. “ Maren.” 

He smiles and awkwardly takes his hand back. “ You don’t look too happy for your best friend. Do you still want Caleb?”

Did Sandra send him to ask me this? 

Before I can respond, the MC cuts through the music. "Attention, everyone! The happy couple is taking the floor for their official first dance. Please clear the center and give them a round of applause!"

Against my better judgment, a pull in my chest drags my eyes toward the center of the ballroom.

Caleb and Sandra step into the spotlight. As the music swells into a slow ballad, they pull each other into an embrace—dancing close, suffocatingly close, like the rest of the room has ceased to exist.

 The way she clings to his neck, the way his hand grips her waist—it looks less like a first dance and more like they're trying to devour each other right there and then.

And the most painful part—they keep stealing glances my way, making sure I'm watching.

The guy beside me says something. I don't catch a word of it.

I swallow hard, trying to force the bitter taste of jealousy down, but it won't budge. Before I can look away, Sandra dips him slightly, and they kiss in front of the whole room.

The sight makes my chest tighten until it feels like it's cracking apart. I can't bear to watch this for another second.