Firestorm
1384 Words
The morning sun was soft, golden rays streaming through the glass walls of the King mansion and brushing against the white silk curtains. The entire house was quiet — too quiet. The hum of activity that usually followed Logan’s presence was gone. His employees had taken orders to keep their distance while he was away on a three-day business trip overseas.
Skylar shifted beneath the sheets, her body sinking deeper into the bed that still smelled faintly of Logan’s cologne. For the first time in days, she had slept deeply — no stress, no cameras, no press. Just silence.
But peace was not built to last.
Her phone buzzed once, then again, until the vibration turned into a shrill ring that echoed through the room. Skylar groaned softly, turning away and pulling the duvet over her head. Whoever it was could wait.
Then it rang again. And again.
She sighed, stretching her arm toward the bedside table without opening her eyes. When she finally blinked the screen awake, she frowned. An unknown number.
Her first instinct was to ignore it. Probably a journalist or a fan page that somehow got her number. But when the call came the fourth time, something told her to answer, if only to end the noise.
“Hello?” she murmured, her voice still heavy with sleep.
There was a pause. Then a familiar, mocking tone filled the air.
“Well, well… look who finally decided to answer. Mrs. King.”
Skylar froze. That voice — she would recognize it anywhere.
She sat up slowly, her hand tightening around the phone. “Rose?”
A light laugh came from the other end. “Oh, so you do remember me. I was starting to think you’d forgotten all about your best friend now that you’re living in a palace.”
Skylar scoffed, rubbing her temple. “So you changed contacts, Miss Rose? Or should I say soon-to-be Mrs. Henry King?”
The silence on the line stretched for a heartbeat before Rose’s voice came back, sharp and venomous. “You think you’re clever, don’t you? Acting like you’re above everyone just because you got lucky with Logan King.”
“Lucky?” Skylar repeated with a soft laugh, though her voice held an edge. “You call a contract marriage lucky? You really don’t know anything, do you?”
Rose ignored the jab. “Tell me, Skylar, what are you so proud of? The entire internet’s laughing at you right now.”
Skylar’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”
Rose’s tone grew crueler. “Oh, don’t act innocent. The world already knows Mrs. King isn’t as perfect as she pretends to be. Tell me, how many men are you entertaining now? Because it looks like you’ve already started following different ones around while your husband’s away.”
Skylar’s pulse quickened. “What nonsense are you saying, Rose?”
“You really haven’t checked?” Rose mocked. “A picture of you with a man at the park — it’s everywhere. The blogs, the gossip channels, the social media pages. The headlines call you ‘The Mysterious Mrs. King with a Secret Lover.’ I’m surprised your husband hasn’t already thrown you out.”
Skylar’s breath caught in her throat. Her mind flashed back to that night — the young man at the park, their innocent talk, the comforting hug. The same hug Logan had witnessed before dragging her away in anger.
Rose laughed again, sensing her silence. “I thought you’d like to know. Maybe next time, keep your hands to yourself if you don’t want to be known as the unfaithful wife of a billionaire.”
Skylar’s voice turned icy. “You really enjoy seeing people fall, don’t you, Rose? That’s always been your weakness — envy. It’s eating you alive.”
Rose’s tone rose, her fake sweetness cracking. “Don’t talk to me like that! You think you’ve won because you’re Mrs. King, but you’ll see, Skylar — that man won’t protect you forever. And when he leaves, the world will chew you up.”
Skylar smiled bitterly. “Maybe. But I’d still rather be me than a woman who measures her worth by the man standing next to her. Enjoy your life, Mrs. Henry King. You’ll need the title more than I do.”
Before Rose could reply, Skylar ended the call.
For a moment, she just sat there, the phone still in her hand, her heart beating fast. Her reflection stared back at her from the mirror — her messy hair, tired eyes, and the faint redness creeping up her neck.
“Unfaithful wife,” she muttered under her breath. “Really, Rose?”
She threw the phone on the bed and stood, trying to steady her breathing. But curiosity — or maybe dread — got the best of her.
She walked to her vanity, picked up the device again, and opened her browser.
And there it was.
Her name, trending across every major platform.
Pictures of her in the park, sitting beside a man.
Another of her hugging him, captured from an angle that made it look far more intimate than it was.
Thousands of comments.
> Who is the man Mrs. King was seen with?
Is Logan King’s new wife already cheating?
Maybe she married for money after all.
She doesn’t look innocent to me. Women like her always play the victim.
Skylar scrolled slowly, her hands trembling slightly. She could almost hear Logan’s voice in her head — “Do you know what the paparazzi would say if they even got a whiff of this?”
He had warned her. And now it was happening.
The memory of his angry face from that night returned, cold and distant. He had barely spoken to her since then, even before his business trip. Now this scandal — this misunderstanding — would only make things worse.
She closed her eyes and let out a shaky sigh. “Great,” she whispered. “Just great.”
For a long moment, she sat there in silence, the only sound being the faint ticking of the clock. Then, slowly, she lifted her head.
Her eyes, though tired, were steady now.
The world could talk. The internet could mock. But she wouldn’t let it destroy her peace. Not again. Not like before.
She had spent too many nights breaking down over people’s opinions — over Henry’s betrayal, over Rose’s jealousy. She wasn’t going back there.
What truly worried her now was Logan.
He was a man of control — composed, private, and impossibly proud. He didn’t tolerate scandal or weakness. And now, his wife was the center of one.
Would he believe her explanation? Or would he see only what the world saw?
Her chest tightened at the thought.
The phone buzzed again, dozens of notifications lighting up the screen — reporters requesting statements, random numbers calling, media outlets tagging her in posts. She turned the phone face-down and exhaled.
“Let them talk,” she whispered to herself. “The truth will come out.”
She stood and went to the balcony, her hair catching the morning breeze. Below, the King estate was serene — the trimmed gardens, the fountains, the guards at their posts. The peace of the place was in stark contrast to the chaos unfolding online.
Skylar wrapped her arms around herself. Somewhere out there, Logan was working — probably already informed of the scandal by his team. And she knew what that meant.
Sooner or later, he’d call.
And when he did, she’d have to face not the world’s anger — but his.
Still, for the first time since answering Rose’s call, Skylar felt a strange sense of calm. She had been through worse. If this was another test, she would face it head-on.
After all, the Skylar of today wasn’t the timid girl who once begged for love.
She was Mrs. King now.
And she would prove she deserved the title — not because of the man beside her, but because she could stand tall even when the world tried to drag her down.
But even as she told herself that, she couldn’t stop the small, silent question whispering at the back of her mind.
Would Logan see it that way, too?
- Writer
