Chapter 2
860 Words
There was no way this ugly, sordid mess in front of me could have anything to do with Andy, no matter how hard I forced myself to connect the dots.
Everyone said Andy had dominated Harbor City's business world for years, all just to build a safe, stable home for his wife.
To outsiders, he's a womanizer.
Becoming Mrs. Ferrell was supposed to be the greatest luck of my life.
But I only know what it's like to spend every night alone in an empty bed.
He never came home before the wee hours of the morning, stumbling drunk and grumbling to me, "Those old fossils in the business world are stubborn as mules. I have to wine and dine them to win their support. What else am I supposed to do?"
After a while, he didn't even bother to make up excuses anymore.
The day I finally blew up at him, he flew into a rage and snapped, "What's the big deal if I fool around a little? Your dad's old as hell and still chases 20-year-old girls, isn't he? Why can't you just be more like your mother?"
I still remember it clearly as day. The day my mom found out my dad was cheating, she swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills.
My father hated my mom, and he hated me even more.
That was the scar I never dared to pick at. Yet Andy deliberately jabbed it raw, over and over.
Then, he went a step further. He blackmailed me with my own private photos.
After that, every other day someone would show up at my door, either a hotel receptionist or a restaurant server.
They'd come clutching videos of Andy tangled up with other women, demanding a huge hush money payout from me.
And I had to bring those videos straight to Andy just to get back one of my own humiliating intimate photos he was holding.
Ever since that day, I flinch at any man's touch. I avoid Andy like he's the plague.
Once, he pinned me to the bed, grinning like a cat who got the cream, and took what he wanted from me without a single care.
I slapped and scratched at him as hard as I could, but that just made him laugh even meaner.
He purred in my ear, "No matter how good any of them are, none of them hold a candle to you."
That was when it finally clicked. I was no different from all those other women he fooled around with.
I guess I just had a fancier title: Mrs. Ferrell.
Sure enough, that night Andy didn't come home at all.
Early the next morning, I headed straight for his company to pick up the already-signed divorce papers he'd held over me.
He'd waved those same papers in my face to threaten me once before. Now they were finally going to serve their purpose.
I twisted my key in the lock three times. That office door that had always turned for me without a hint of resistance wouldn't budge, not even an inch.
Then the click-clack of high heels behind me cut out, stopping dead right at my back.
"Mrs. Ferrell, starting now, every door in this company needs my approval before you can enter. Didn't President Ferrell tell you that?" Alexa arched her eyebrow, a smug grin spreading across her face.
I still remember the day I married Andy. He’d given me a gold key, one that was supposed to grant me free access anywhere in his company, any time I wanted.
Now here she was, wearing an identical one around her neck, and it was obvious hers worked a lot better than mine ever did anymore.
My chest heaved, ragged breath escaping me, but I forced my voice to stay steady, "Open the door. I have something I need to get inside."
The woman jingled the key at me, smug and unshakable, she knew she held all the cards here.
I couldn’t be bothered to waste another second arguing with her. But the second I stepped into the elevator, she came barreling after me and yanked me hard by the arm.
"Aw, don't rush! Let me see you out, Mrs. Ferrell!" she trilled.
Her brutal yank was so forceful that the already-starting elevator clanked and snapped its doors shut on my clothing before it began its descent.
My clothing got caught between the elevator doors, dragged down a full floor before the elevator suddenly shot back up to our original landing.
When the doors slid open again, I stood there half-exposed in front of a crowd of staring employees.
Roars of laughter exploded around me.
I shook like a leaf as I scrambled to cover my body, screaming, "What are you all staring at? Look away!"
Alexa pointed at me and doubled over, cackling. More and more employees, drawn by the noise and drama, crowded in to gawk at my humiliation.
I couldn’t take those disgusting, leering stares a second longer. I spun around and slapped Alexa right across the face.
The next instant, a massive, brutal force kicked me, flying backward into the elevator.
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