Her Fiancé's Father's Obsession

CHAPTER 11

Jane

I made it half a block before my legs gave out.

I collapsed against a brick wall outside someone's townhouse, sliding down until I was sitting on the cold concrete.

My body wracked with sobs that tore from my chest like something was being physically ripped out of me.

You've always been nothing. Fundamentally inadequate. Frigid b***h.

The words circled in my head, Hudson's voice mixing with Maribel's laughter, and I couldn't breathe through the pain of it.

I couldn't think past the image of them together, of the way Hudson had looked at me with such cold contempt while his c**k was buried inside her.

How had this become my life? Twenty-four hours ago I was about to walk down the aisle. I had a future, a plan and a place in the world.

Now, I had nothing but borrowed clothes and a shattered heart.

My phone buzzed in the pocket of Julius's sweatpants. I almost ignored it.

I almost threw the damn thing into the street because I couldn't handle any more pain, any more humiliation, but some stupid and desperate part of me hoped he was calling

I pulled it out with shaking hands and Hudson's name glowed on the screen.

My heart leaped traitorously and pathetically. Maybe he had come to his senses and realized what he had done and how cruel he had been.

Maybe he was calling to apologize, to ask me to come back, to tell me we could work through this.

I answered before I could second-guess myself. "Hudson?"

"Jane," His voice was flat and businesslike, like he was calling about a meeting agenda. "I'm calling to inform you of some changes to your situation."

It was not an apology. Not even close.

"What?" I whispered.

"First, you're fired. I spoke to Derek this morning and explained that your position is no longer tenable given your unprofessional behavior. He agreed completely. You can pick up your personal items from the office Monday, but security will escort you. You're not to speak to anyone."

The world tilted sickeningly. "No. You can't—"

"I can, and I did. I am your boss. I got you that job, Jane. Did you really think you were qualified for it?" He laughed and the sound was sharp and cruel. "You were a charity case, and now that charity has run out."

"Hudson, please—" My voice cracked. "I need that job. I need the insurance, the income, I can't just—"

"Should've thought of that before you embarrassed me yesterday." There was rustling on his end, like he was moving around. "Second item, your apartment."

My stomach dropped. "What about my apartment?"

"You're evicted. I explained the situation to Steve and he completely understands. You have until end of day tomorrow to collect your belongings. After that, anything left will be disposed of."

"No," The word came out strangled. "No, Hudson, you can't do this. That's my home. My lease is paid through—"

"Your lease is void. Steve's well within his rights to terminate it given your failure to disclose certain information on your application. Information I provided."

"What information? I didn't lie about anything!"

"Didn't you?" His voice was smooth and satisfied.

"Well, it doesn't matter now. The eviction stands. I'd suggest you start packing, though I'm not sure where you'll go. Your credit isn't exactly stellar, and without a job or references..."

He paused, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "You might want to start looking at shelters. Or street corners. I hear they're always hiring."

"You bastard." I choked out.

"I'm teaching you a lesson, Jane. Actions have consequences. You made your choice yesterday."

In the background, I heard that high, familiar laugh. Maribel’s laugh.

"Is that her?" My voice rose hysterically. "Is she still there? Are you f*****g kidding me right now?"

"Maribel has moved in," Hudson said casually. "It made sense given the circumstances. She's actually a pleasure to live with. She knows how to keep a man satisfied. She knows her place."

Another laugh came from Maribel and she was closer now, like she had moved next to the phone.

"Tell her I said hi," She called out, her voice sing-song and mocking. "And thanks for warming the bed for me!"

They both laughed then and the sound was identical in its cruelty.

"Enjoy your new life, Jane," Hudson said. "I know I'll enjoy mine."

The line went dead. I stared at my phone, my hand shaking so badly I almost dropped it.

This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. Hudson couldn't just do this to me. But he had.

He had systematically destroyed my life in one phone call. My job. My home. My future. All of it gone because I had dared to leave him. Because I had dared to be hurt by his betrayal.

A fresh wave of sobs hit me, and I doubled over, my forehead pressing against my knees as I cried so hard, I thought I might be sick.

What was I going to do? I had maybe two thousand dollars in savings which was enough for a security deposit if I could find a landlord willing to rent to someone with no job and a fresh eviction.

But I knew I wouldn't. Not in this city and not with Hudson's connections working against me.

I was f****d. Completely f****d.

A thought hit me instantly at that moment. My mother would help. She had to. I was her daughter.

She would be horrified by what Hudson had done and would offer to let me stay with her and Dad while I got back on my feet.

With trembling fingers, I pulled up her contact and called.

She answered on the third ring. "Jane," Her voice was cold as ice. "I've been waiting for your call."

"Mom—" I couldn't get anything else out past the sobs.

"How dare you," She hissed. "How dare you embarrass this family the way you did yesterday. Do you have any idea what people are saying? We'll never live this down."

"Mom, please, I need—"

"You need what? Sympathy? Forgiveness? You abandoned your fiancé at the altar, Jane. You ran away like a spoiled child having a tantrum. What exactly do you expect from me?"

"He was cheating on me!" The words finally burst out. "I caught him with Maribel. He was—they were—"

"I don't want to hear it," My mother's voice was sharp. "Men make mistakes, Jane. That's just reality. What matters is how we handle those mistakes with grace and dignity, not by causing a scene and destroying everything."

I couldn't breathe. "Are you serious right now?"

"Yes I am. Your father and I raised you better than this. We taught you about commitment, about working through problems, about being a supportive partner. Hudson is a good man from a good family. He would've given you a good life."

"He destroyed my life!" I was yelling now, not caring who heard. "He got me fired! He got me evicted!"

"Maybe you deserve it," The words were cold and final. "Maybe you need to learn that actions have consequences. You made your choice yesterday."

The same words Hudson had used, probably because they had talked. I couldn’t believe my own mother had taken his side over mine.

"I need help," I whispered. "Mom, please. I have nowhere to go. Can I stay with you and Dad? Just for a few weeks while I figure things out?"

"Absolutely not." The rejection was immediate.

"What?"

"You are not bringing your drama into our home, Jane. Your father and I have a reputation to maintain. We can't be associated with this." She said it like I was something dirty and shameful.

"I'm your daughter."

"You're a grown woman who made stupid choices and now you get to live with them,"

My mother's voice softened slightly, but not with warmth. With condescension. "Maybe this is good for you. Maybe losing everything will teach you some humility. Some appreciation for what you had."

"I can't believe you're doing this," I sobbed. "I can't believe you're choosing him over me."

"I'm choosing common sense over hysteria. I'm choosing dignity over scandal. When you're ready to apologize to Hudson properly, on your knees if necessary and beg for his forgiveness, then we can talk. Until then, you're on your own."

"Mom—"

"Goodbye, Jane. I hope you learn from this."

She hung up. I sat there, phone pressed to my ear long after the line went dead, listening to nothing.

My own mother had just abandoned me. She refused to even let me stay with her. She had sided with Hudson, blamed me for everything and acted like I deserved this punishment for daring to be hurt by my fiancé's betrayal.

The phone slipped from my numb fingers and clattered on the concrete. I had nothing.

No job. No apartment. No fiancé. No best friend. No family.

Nothing but the clothes on my back, clothes that weren't even mine, and a rapidly dwindling bank account that wouldn't get me far in a city this expensive.

Tears slid down my face as the morning sun climbed higher in the sky. People walked past me.

A woman with a stroller. A man in a business suit. A teenager with headphones, but none of them stopped to ask if I was okay. I was invisible and irrelevant.

You've always been nothing.

Maybe Hudson was right. Maybe I had always been nothing, and everything I had thought I had, my life, my future and my worth had been an illusion built on his tolerance.

Now that tolerance was gone, and I was left with the truth. I was alone.