Get Down On Your Knees And Beg, Ex-Husband

What Else?

**Caspian's Point of View**

"Oh really? Give me proof then,” I demanded.

The effect was immediate.

Jenny's face turned a shade of red I didn't even know was possible. Her entire body went rigid, and when she spoke, her voice came out as a barely controlled scream.

"Get out!"

"What?"

"I said get the f**k out of my office! Right now!"

I actually laughed. The sound echoing in the small space between us.

"See? You don't even have any proof. You're just running your mouth, making a fool of yourself and trying to make me look like the bad guy when you don't know s**t about what actually happened in my marriage."

"Out! Now!" Jenny's hand shot up, finger pointing toward the door with so much force.

I held up my hands in mock surrender, still laughing even though nothing about this situation was remotely funny.

"Fine. I'm going. But this just proves my point, doesn't it? You've got nothing. Just like Nia had nothing. Just empty accusations and bullshit."

I turned and started walking toward the door, but Jenny's voice stopped me before I could reach it.

"You know what, Caspian?"

I glanced back over my shoulder.

Her expression hadn’t changed. The rage was still there, simmering.

"I'm glad Nia left you," she spoke like she wanted to make sure every single word hit its mark.

"I'm so f*****g glad she finally got away from you. And I hope, I really truly hope, that wherever she is right now, she's found a better man. Someone who actually deserves her. Someone who's not a complete scumbag like you."

The words hung in the air for a moment. Then she moved past me and yanked the door open herself.

"Now get out."

I walked through the doorway without another word. Behind me, I heard the door slam hard. The sound echoed, following me all the way to the elevator.

My hands were shaking as I jabbed the button for the ground floor. I shoved them in my pockets, trying to steady myself, trying to think clearly through the fog that had taken over my brain.

When the doors finally opened, I walked through the lobby without looking at anyone, keeping my eyes fixed straight ahead until I reached my car in the parking lot.

I slid into the driver's seat and just sat there for a minute, gripping the steering wheel.

My head was so f*****g full. Too full. Like there were a thousand thoughts all trying to push their way to the front at the same time and I couldn't make sense of any of them.

My company was trending. Probably all over social media, all over the news sites, everywhere. The video of me and Isla, half naked in that hotel bed, was out there for the entire world to see. My investors had walked out. My reputation was in shambles. The scandal would be plastered across every headline by now.

My name was probably everywhere on the internet, attached to words like "cheater" and "affair" and "scandal."

And now, on top of all that, I'd just found out that my wife, the actual person behind my success, the woman whose connections and family name had opened doors for me that would've stayed locked forever otherwise, had divorced me.

Divorced me.

And she was possibly, no, probably the one who'd orchestrated the attack at the hotel. The masked intruder. The gun. The papers I'd been forced to sign.

It all made sense now in the worst possible way.

And I was supposed to believe that she actually loved me? That all of this, everything Jenny had just screamed at me, was true?

I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

I barely registered the other cars around me, the traffic lights, the turns I took. My mind was somewhere else entirely, spiraling in circles that led nowhere.

It kept returning to Jenny's words, playing them over and over like a broken record.

"You've been getting deceived by that b***h, Isla."

Did Isla really lie to me?

The question wormed its way into my thoughts and wouldn't leave. If she could lie about the divorce papers, if she could see them sitting right there on the coffee table and tell me they were nothing, just some list Nia had forgotten, then what else could she lie about?

What else had she already lied about?

I shook my head hard, trying to physically dislodge the thought.

No. No, that couldn't be right.

My Isla. Sweet, pure, innocent Isla who looked at me with those soft eyes and made me feel like I was the only person in the world who mattered. She wouldn't do that.

She was adorable and kind and genuine in a way that Nia had never been. She cared about me.

I pulled into the driveway and killed the engine, but I didn't get out right away. I just sat there, staring at the house through the windshield.

Finally, I forced myself to move.

I rang the bell instead of using my key. I'm not sure why. Maybe I needed that extra second to prepare myself for whatever was about to happen.

The door opened almost immediately.

Isla stood there, and the first thing I noticed was how sad her face looked. Her eyes were red and puffy like she'd been crying. The moment she saw me, she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Baby," she breathed against my chest.

Normally, her hugs made me feel better. Made me feel safe and wanted and understood. But right now, standing here with her arms around me, I felt nothing.

She pulled back after a moment, her hands coming up to cup my face. Her thumbs brushed against my cheeks, her touch gentle.

"I saw the news," she whispered, "I don't even understand how this could have happened. My face is all over the internet, I don't know what to do."

I looked at her but didn't respond.

"Have you held a press conference yet? Or made a statement? You need to address this, Caspian. You need to control the narrative before it gets even worse. You need to wipe the videos off the internet."

I really looked at her then. Really studied her face like I was seeing it for the first time.

Her deep brown hair fell in long waves past her shoulders. Her dark eyes, usually so warm when they looked at me, were wide with concern. Or was it concern? Now that I was really paying attention, I couldn't quite tell.

I reached up and cupped her face the way she was cupping mine, my hands bracketing her jaw.

"Not yet," I finally answered. "I'm trying to figure something out first."

I dropped my hands and stepped away from her, moving past her into the house. I made a show of looking around, checking the living room, glancing toward the stairs, like I was checking if Nia was back yet.

Really, I was just preparing myself. Steeling myself for what I needed to do next.

I turned back to face Isla. She was still standing by the door, watching me with this annoyed expression that she was trying to hide but not quite managing to.

"Is Nia back yet?"

Isla's face tightened slightly. "No. Why are you bringing Nia up right now?"

She walked further into the room, her arms crossing over her chest.

"Our problem is so much bigger than her, Caspian. Don't you understand what just happened? That video is everywhere. My face is out there now for everyone to see. What if I go out and people are talking about me? Speaking ill of me? Judging me?"

I stared at her, something cold settling in my chest.

"Is it us both you're worried about?" I asked slowly. "Or just yourself?"

Isla froze. The change was instant and obvious. Her eyes widened slightly, and she opened her mouth, then closed it again.

"What? No, I..." She cleared her throat, her posture straightening.

"Why are you putting words in my mouth? Of course I'm worried about both of us. About you. I just meant..."

"The papers," I interrupted, taking a slow step toward her.

"The ones you found on the coffee table yesterday morning. The ones you told me were nothing."

Her face went carefully blank. "What about them?"

"I want to take a look at them. Maybe Nia left a note or something. About where she was going. When she's planning to come back."

I saw it immediately. The hesitation. The flash of fear in her eyes that she couldn't quite hide fast enough.

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out at first. She was scrambling, I could tell. Trying to think of an excuse, trying to come up with something that would sound believable.

"I... I don't know where they are," she finally managed.

"I think I might have thrown them away. They were just junk, like I told you. Some grocery list or something stupid like that."

I took another step closer. Then another. Until I was standing right in front of her, close enough that I could see the way her pupils dilated, the way her breathing had gotten slightly faster.

"They were divorce papers, weren't they?"

Isla's face changed. The careful blankness cracked, replaced by hidden panic before she managed to school her features again.

She didn't answer. Just stood there, staring at me with those dark eyes that suddenly didn't look quite as innocent as they had before.

I moved even closer, eliminating the last bit of distance between us.

"What else have you been lying to me about?”