He Humiliated Me, I Revealed His Mom's Death

Chapter 2

A processed corpse lay displayed right out in the open, for every eye in the room to gawk at.

The crowd of self-proclaimed artists immediately burst into fawning praise. One of them gushed, "Mr. Cole isn't just a business tycoon. He's a great philanthropist too. I heard this donor specimen is actually his mother-in-law!"

Another chimed in, "Now that's what real dedication to art looks like. Miss Blake deserves just as much credit for this. Let's give them both a round of applause."

Eliot and Mira stood front and center in the crowd, soaking up every last bit of the flattery thrown their way.

Eliot puffed up with pride and grinned. He said, "I know all of you are Mira's friends. To help spread the word of art, I've decided to give away the preserved organs as raffle prizes to you all."

The crowd of artists roared with excitement, their energy spiking instantly.

It didn't take long for the staff to bring out all the prepared internal organs, each tucked neatly into its own box, ready for the giveaway.

Down in the crowd, artists practically tripped over themselves to answer the quiz questions, all desperate for a shot at winning, and Eliot, working the crowd as the raffle host, hammed it up for all he was worth.

I stood in the back of the crowd watching his maniacal, grinning face, and I had to give it to him. Man, what a devoted son he turned out to be, huh?

That was when I felt a presence at my side. I looked over, and Mira had slipped over to me without me even noticing.

She purred, "Aria, your own mom is dead and you don't even shed a single tear? You must be working so hard just to win Eliot's favor. Not like me. Even if I break something, he still says I'm adorable."

I ignored her jab. First, I shot a text to my mother-in-law's younger brother, who was living abroad, letting him know his sister had passed away. Only then did I lift my head to look Mira dead in the eye. I said, "You're almost thirty years old. Since when did that become cute?"

Malice flickered sharp and cold in Mira's eyes.

She said, "You dare mock me? Oh, I forgot to tell you. We've got one more step coming up, the final polish on the art piece."

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Mira preened, her tone oozing with wicked glee, and said, "We spent a fortune on a brand-new cremation oven. We're gonna cremate your mother right here in front of all these artists, turn her ashes into coffee, and every single one of them will drink it. That way they'll never forget this moment of pure art."

Every word that spilled from her mouth was punctuated by a sharp, hungry scan of my face. She was dying to see me break down screaming, to watch me lose every last shred of control.

When I didn't snap or fly into a rage like she expected, she just assumed I was putting on a brave face. She added, "You really can put up with anything just to suck up to Eliot, huh?"

The second the words left her mouth, she dug her nails hard into her own arm, then threw her head back and wailed loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.

She cried out, "Aria, you can hit me as much as you want. Just... just don't ask Eliot for a divorce, okay?"

Eliot came storming over at the sound of the commotion, and before I could even react, he drove his boot straight into my stomach with a sickening thud.

He roared, "b***h! Who gave you permission to hurt Mira? I held off on divorcing you out of pity, and here you are daring to bring it up first. You have some nerve asking me for a divorce. Who do you think you are? You're not even worthy!"

The brutal kick buckled my knees, and I could barely stay on my feet. My stomach had once carried his child, for Christ's sake, and he still kicked me that hard.

Mira puffed out her lower lip, all wide-eyed innocence and tears, and spoke in a soft, pleading voice. "Eliot, it's fine... Aria just said that in the heat of the moment. If you really divorce her, everyone will call me a homewrecker."

Eliot said, "There's no need for you to make excuses for her." Then he pulled Mira close to his chest to shield her, his eyes burning into me with pure, unadulterated hatred. He added, "Aria, you'd better not push my buttons. If you do, you won't even get to take your own mother's ashes home. Not a single speck."