All Chapters of She Confessed, I Clapped: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

At our engagement party, my fiancée, Rachel Levine, looked lost, tears shining in her eyes.A friend stepped in to smooth things over. "Micah, did you upset Rachel? I'll let it slide today, but after the party, you'd better apologize."I looked at Rachel, worried.She was pale. I thought she might not feel well and was about to tell her to go back to her room and rest.Then a man appeared at the entrance.I hated the way he looked at her. The second Rachel saw him, her eyes lit up.She set down her wineglass and turned to me. "Micah, there's something I have to tell you. Even if I marry you, my heart will always belong to Jude."You love me so much. You want me to be happy, don't you? You won't mind... right?"The room went dead silent.A friend forced a smile, trying to defuse it, but before he could speak—Rachel cut him off."I'm serious. I'm grateful Micah is willing to marry me, but the only person I'll ever love is Jude."Jude Erwin was Rachel's first love.The certa

Jude showed up a month ago.The night he came back, Rachel got wasted.She stumbled home with a bottle in her hand and broke down the second she walked through the door.I'd never seen Rachel cry like that.She hadn't cried when we were in danger.She hadn't cried after we were rescued.The only time I'd seen her cry was when I woke up in the hospital.So seeing her sob like that scared the hell out of me. I thought someone had hurt her, and I completely panicked.I gently comforted her and took the bottle from her.Instead, she wrapped her arms around me and kissed me.In the three years we'd been together, I'd barely touched her.Rachel always said she wasn't interested in sex or physical intimacy.So no matter how much I wanted her, I held back. I never wanted to make her uncomfortable.She'd never been like this with me before.I was completely caught off guard.But just as I started to lose myself in the moment, Rachel clung to me and whispered,"Jude... I love you

Rachel cursed at me, then pulled a bank card from her pocket and threw it in my face.The edge grazed the corner of my eye, leaving it burning.I watched Rachel and Jude walk away before crouching down to pick up the card.I thought that was the end of it.I figured once my heart healed, I could finally move on.But while my friend Colin was keeping me company, trying to help me get through it, Rachel's brother, Peter, showed up at my door.The second he saw me, he threw a punch without a word."You bastard! How dare you treat my sister like that!"I clutched the spot where he'd hit me.Thea Thurman, the young woman Colin had brought, rushed overColin stepped in front of Peter, furious.Seeing Thea treat me so gently only made Peter angrier."Micah, who the hell do you think you are? You lived off Rachel, spent her money, and still had the nerve to kick her out? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"I motioned for Colin to take Thea outside."I need to talk to Peter al

I didn't want to deal with Rachel and Jude.They made me sick.After I told my family what happened, I followed my dad's plan and started at the bottom at Aurea Corp.Then, somehow, Thea was there too.A new intern.She looked just as shocked when she saw me. Then she covered her mouth and grinned. "I'm so happy to see you!"Thea hesitated, then stopped herself.I knew what she was about to say.That I'd finally started moving on. That I was ready to live my life again.I didn't explain.The truth was, I still hurt.I was just making myself let Rachel go.Thea and I exchanged contact info on our chat app.Her profile picture was a cat.After work, Thea took me to a seafood spot near the office.She smiled the whole time, cracking crab legs for me, passing me lemon wedges, setting melted butter by my plate.It was the kind of care Rachel had never given me.Back then, I was always the one taking care of her.Thea picked up a piece of lobster from the platter, smiled, a

Rachel walked off looking smug, and Thea broke down.I pulled her into my arms. "I'll fix this at tomorrow morning's meeting."She smiled through her tears, then told me not to do anything reckless or go up against Rachel.Rachel was clearly headed for management. We were nobodies.Losing our jobs would be bad enough.Getting blacklisted would be even worse.I just smiled.The next morning, department head Luther Kovac called Thea and me out by name.He accused us of stealing Rachel's work and announced we'd be formally disciplined.Rachel watched us with a satisfied smile.Thea gripped my hand hard.The more ridiculous Luther's accusations got, the tighter she held on.Finally, she stood."But Micah and I made that proposal together. Rachel stole our work."Rachel's voice went cold. "Where's your proof?"Thea's shoulders dropped.She was right.We didn't have proof.Luther got bolder after that, his words sharper by the second.A smile tugged at Rachel's mouth, like