Scandal
1476 Words
The woman’s voice was soft yet confident, echoing in her ears. Shannon froze. She hadn’t dialed the wrong number. That number belonged to Maxime. But why…?
Before she could think any further, Maxime’s faint voice sounded in the background, accompanied by the trickling of water.
"Max, it’s your phone," the woman said casually, as if this conversation was an ordinary occurrence.
Shannon’s body stiffened. Her chest felt tight as her mind raced, imagining what could be happening on the other side of the call. She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes.
Before long, the woman spoke again, her voice now sharper.
"Hello? Who is this?"
Shannon stayed silent, unable to respond. With trembling hands, she ended the call, pressing the red button quickly, as if trying to escape reality.
Her phone fell onto the bed, but she remained motionless. Overwhelming thoughts began to flood her mind: who was that woman? What were they doing together? Had Maxime ever truly considered her his wife?
Tears finally streamed down her face uncontrollably. The quiet room felt suffocating, and for the first time, Shannon’s heart shattered completely, as though something unspoken had confirmed all her fears.
After what felt like hours of crying, her body drained and her eyes swollen, Shannon collapsed onto the bed. The silent room was filled only with the sound of her labored breaths. But then, the sharp ring of her phone broke the silence, making her jump.
Her heart pounded as she stared at the screen. The name displayed wasn’t Maxime’s, it was Becca, her best friend in the city and the only person outside her family who knew about her marriage to Maxime.
The glimmer of hope she’d felt moments ago disappeared, replaced by a gnawing anxiety. Becca rarely called unless something important, or bad, had happened.
She swiped to answer the call.
"Hello, Becca," she croaked, her voice barely a whisper.
"Shannon," Becca’s tone was hesitant but urgent. "Have you seen the news about Maxime? Is it really him?"
Shannon’s heart sank.
"What news?" she asked, a foreboding feeling creeping over her.
Becca paused for a moment, as if carefully choosing her words, then said, "There are paparazzi photos. Maxime... He was spotted entering a hotel with Katie Forteza. You know her, right? The actress who just got back from overseas."
The name, Katie Forteza, echoed painfully in Shannon’s mind.
"That’s impossible," she murmured, but her hands moved instinctively, grabbing her phone to search for the news.
It only took a few seconds for her phone screen to fill with photos of Maxime alongside a stunning brunette in an elegant evening gown. They looked close, Maxime’s relaxed smile and their almost intimate posture were impossible to ignore.
The headlines on the screen hit her like a punch to the chest:
“Surprise! Katie Forteza, Maxime Grant’s Secret Wife?”
“Hidden Romance of a Top Actor?”
Shannon stared at the screen, her hands trembling. Her body felt frozen, and her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. Her heart wanted to deny it, but the evidence before her was too clear to dismiss. She swallowed hard, the sensation like a weight pressing against her throat.
On the other end of the call, Becca’s voice came through again, soft but filled with concern. “Shannon... Are you okay?”
Shannon didn’t respond. If it had been just another woman, she might have been able to brush it off, as she often had. Maxime was constantly surrounded by beautiful women, not for romantic pursuits or casual flings, but as a subtle reminder to Shannon of the distance between them, a cold signal that her place in his life was little more than a shadow.
But Katie was different. She wasn’t just another fleeting presence in Maxime’s world. Katie was his former official girlfriend, someone who had been a real part of his life before their marriage. More than that, Katie was Maxime’s first love, the one woman who, according to rumors, he had never truly gotten over.
And now, seeing them together again, looking close and perfectly matched as if time had never separated them, felt like a wound far deeper than anything Shannon had endured before.
She sat frozen, her phone still in her hand. Becca’s words sounded distant, as if coming from far away. Her hands shook, but it wasn’t out of anger, she was too exhausted for that. Even her tears seemed reluctant to fall, as though her body had no energy left to process the pain.
In a quiet, almost whispering voice, Shannon finally spoke. “I… I think I’ve had enough, Becca. Maybe… maybe it’s time for me to let go.”
There was a brief pause on the other end before Becca’s voice came back, gentle yet resolute.
“Shannon, you wouldn’t be wrong to stop. You’ve held on for so long. You deserve to pursue your own happiness, too.”
Those words, though simple, felt like a warm embrace amidst the cold isolation Shannon had been feeling for so long. She closed her eyes, letting the silence fill the empty spaces in her heart. For the first time, she felt something akin to relief, perhaps because she had finally decided to let go.
The next morning, after a sleepless night, Shannon woke up early. She called her lawyer to start the process of drafting divorce papers before packing a few belongings that were truly hers.
By midday, the divorce papers had been delivered to her house by her lawyer. She signed her part and left the papers on the coffee table in the living room. Taking a photo, she sent a message to Maxime.
“When you get back, please sign.”
She didn’t wait for a reply and immediately blocked Maxime’s number.
By chance, Becca arrived that day to help her move temporarily to her apartment. Perhaps because of everything that had happened, Shannon remained silent, packing her belongings in a daze, occasionally stopping to stare blankly into space.
By the afternoon, they were ready to leave. Shannon paused at the doorway, taking a deep breath as she glanced back at the house.
It wasn’t particularly large for two people, yet she had mostly lived there alone, making it feel cold and empty. Even the cleaning lady only came a few days a week.
“How do you feel?” Becca asked.
Without answering right away, Shannon gave a faint smile that looked more like she was holding back tears than expressing relief.
“Not bad,” she murmured softly.
Before walking out, she sent a message to someone:
“I’m divorced.”
The scandal between Maxime and Katie continued to spread online, growing increasingly wild and sensational. Yet, Maxime’s PR team, usually quick to deny such rumors, remained completely silent, as if confirming the truth to the watching public.
Shannon tried not to care. She was too exhausted, she had given up, even though her heart was still heavy with lingering feelings.
For several days, Becca’s apartment became Shannon’s refuge from the world. She spent most of her time holed up in the guest room, curled up in bed with the curtains tightly drawn. The meals Becca brought her were barely touched, and her phone sat untouched in the corner of the room, silenced and ignored.
On the fourth day, Becca finally ran out of patience. She marched into Shannon’s room without knocking. Shannon was still lying in bed, her face pale, hair disheveled, and her vacant eyes staring at the ceiling.
“Shannon!” Becca exclaimed, her voice firm but encouraging. “That’s enough. Get up now!”
Shannon mumbled faintly, burying her face deeper into the pillow, but Becca wasn’t giving up. She walked over and yanked the blanket off Shannon with a swift motion.
“I’m serious,” Becca continued, grabbing Shannon’s hand. “You’re going to take a shower, get dressed, and put on your best outfit. We’re going out tonight.”
“Becca, I don’t want to, ”
“No excuses!” Becca cut her off with an almost commanding tone. “You’ve wallowed in self-pity long enough. Maxime is not everything. There’s a whole world out there waiting for you. And in that world, there are plenty of handsome men who are far better than him.”
Shannon simply stared at Becca, bewildered, but her friend had already pulled her to her feet.
“Let’s go,” Becca said with a sly smile. “We’re hitting the best club in town. I’ll make sure you have fun, even if I have to drag you through the entire night.”
Though her heart still felt heavy, a small smile tugged at the corner of Shannon’s lips as she saw Becca’s determination.
Maybe, she thought, this could be the beginning of something new.
- Writer
