I Gave Him My Life, He Gave Me Ruin

Chapter 5 The Humiliation

Suddenly, a doctor burst in, his face tight with panic. "Mr. Gordon! Mr. Gordon! Your girlfriend has carried her dog up to the rooftop!"

In that instant, Everett looked as though the world was collapsing around him. He was so frantic he barely dared to breathe. He seized my hand and dragged me straight toward the rooftop.

Up there, Zaria stood sobbing dramatically, cradling the dog in her arms.

Everett fixed his eyes on her and spoke in a low, urgent voice. "Zaria, please don't do anything stupid. Come down. I will give you whatever you want."

Zaria shook her head through her tears and choked out, "Everett, my mom is gone. Now the only thing she left me is gone too. I don't want to live anymore. As long as Alyssa is between us, we can never be together. If there's a next life, I just want to meet you sooner."

The second she turned away, Everett dropped to one knee before her. "I don't want her. I want you!"

Seeing Everett so sincere and desperate, I felt a dizzy wave of confusion. The man in front of me blurred for a moment and seemed to merge with the one who had once proposed to me years ago.

The only difference was that the woman he was begging now was no longer me.

Zaria arrogantly wiped her tears and looked away. "Fine. Since you love me this much, I will come down—but only if Alyssa apologizes to my dog first!"

Everett's gaze swung to me.

I shook my head wildly. "No. I never hurt her dog! Can't you believe me just this once? Just once!"

Everett stared at me, and the air around us seemed to freeze.

I thought he might finally trust me, but the next second, one of his bodyguards kicked the back of my knee so hard I nearly collapsed.

"Alyssa, choose between apologizing and dying!" His voice dripped with venom.

I knew he was perfectly capable of making my life a living hell if I refused.

I bit down on my tongue until it bled, swallowed the metallic taste, and forced the words out to the dead dog lying on the ground.

Yes, I was apologizing to the vicious animal that had killed my child and nearly killed me.

In that moment, the crowd of onlookers erupted into jeers and screams.

"Oh, they say Mrs. Gordon has zero status at home. Turns out she is not even worth a dead dog."

"In a marriage, the one who is not loved is the real homewrecker! Alyssa is the homewrecker! She is the one who refuses to let go and keeps forcing her way in."

"Yeah, if you are worse than a dog, why keep breathing? Homewrecker, just go die already. This is so embarrassing."

*****

The crowd exploded with mocking laughter.

Time felt as if it had slowed to a crawl, dragging on for what seemed like an entire century while my dignity was ground down to nothing.

On the rooftop, Zaria clapped her hands in satisfaction and then stretched her arms toward Everett. "Okay, I am coming down now. Everett, come carry me."

Everett lifted her as though she were the most precious thing in existence. "You little drama queen, tell me what style of ring you want. I will have it custom-made. I can give you anything your heart desires, but marriage is impossible. You know that. Alyssa is still my wife, and I cannot let my reputation be ruined."

Zaria pouted and wriggled playfully in his arms, counting on her fingers while she chose a ring design.

Suddenly, the loud laughter around us cut off completely. Every eye widened in shock.

"Alyssa, she... she..."

When Everett spun around, the scene he saw made him lose control entirely.