As if on cue, a dreadful premonition seized me. I fumbled for my phone. One glance was all it took. My body started to shake, a cold sweat breaking out all over. An infinite, terrifying dread washed over me, as if I had been cast into a bottomless hell, helpless
and utterly alone.
“I don’t understand. Why can’t you just read books, tend to the garden, and attend high–society parties as Mrs. Bonerz? Why do you have to be out there, slaving away for your so–called career? What’s so wrong with me providing you with a life of leisure?”
Ethan’s voice was filled with genuine confusion as we.stood outside the courthouse after the divorce hearing.
I gave him a cool, sideways glance.
“Is that your justification for hiring a troll farm to slander me? For letting the situation spiral out of control until my firm fired me? For threatening every other firm in the city so that I was completely blacklisted from my profession?”
Ethan froze, speechless.
Iwould never forget that day. After Ethan’s chilling words, I had opened my phone to a tidal wave of insults and accusations. My first time ever trending online was for headlines like “NYC Lawyer’s Incompetence Leads to Client’s Suicide” and “Charlotte Hayes,
The Homewrecker.”
The video of Anna crying and calling me a homewrecker had gone viral. My dead client’s family was on the news, filmed at the hospital, decrying my incompetence and lack of integrity. The public outcry was deafening. My law firm, eager to distance itself, immediately announced my termination, which only served to confirm the public’s suspicions: I was a terrible lawyer with a bankr-
upt moral compass.
A friend from the bar forwarded me a message from a group chat: A heads–up from Mr. Bonerz. Any firm that dares to hire Charlot-
te Hayes makes an enemy of Bonerz Corp.
No one would risk angering the Bonerz empire to pull me from the fire.
I was marooned on a desolate island, utterly alone.
Ethan had watched my hysterical breakdown with cold, indifferent eyes. After a long silence, he had said, softly, nonchalantly, “Cha- rlotte, if you had just agreed to quit the bar earlier and not compete with Abby, I wouldn’t have had to take it this far.”
Even though I thought my heart could break no further, I collapsed, the pain seeping into my very bones. The relentless onslaught of betrayal and humiliation made me scream like a madwoman.
“Ethan, you’re my husband! Why would you do this to me?”
“Because you insisted on going against Abby.”
“Because she’s Abby Monroe.”
Looking at his enraptured face, I realized my entire marriage had been a farce.
My tears stopped. I stared at him for a long, final moment, trying to burn the image of this man who had brought me nothing but pain into my memory. Then, I turned and walked away.
Every step was a declaration of my resolve.
I stopped asking about his whereabouts. I stopped intruding on his life. I tried my best to play the part of a good wife.
I even gave him the birthday present I had prepared for Anna before he left for her party.
Ethan was surprised by my change. He asked hesitantly, “You’re not mad that I’m going to see Abby and Anna?”
straightened his tie, my voice devoid of emotion. “I won’t stop you from doing what you want to do.”
14:00
Chapter 2
14:00
He nodded, and for the first time in ages, he offered an explanation. “I’ll be back right after Anna’s party.”
“Okay.”
