Chapter 4
1101 Words
The alcohol hit her the moment the private auction wrapped up. Evelyn leaned heavily into Julian's shoulder, her vision pleasantly blurred and her cheeks burning with a warm, rosy flush.
Her phone buzzed in her palm.
It was a text from Layla: [Hey Evelyn! Thanks to those two slaps of yours, Adrian is spending the next two weeks straight in my bed. Enjoy your own company. xoxo]
Not even a minute later, Adrian's name flashed on the screen.
When she answered, his voice carried that same insufferable, high-and-mighty arrogance she knew all too well.
"Evelyn, you've deeply disappointed me. We're taking a two-week break. Go reflect on your behavior, and I hope you'll have learned how to be a little more submissive the next time I see you."
Julian glanced down, his sharp eyes catching the text on the screen.
Before Adrian could utter another word, Julian reached over and snatched the phone from her grip, cutting the call.
"Don't waste your breath—or your tears—on a piece of trash like him."
To his surprise, Evelyn let out a genuine, airy laugh. "Are you kidding? I've never been happier."
Julian arched an eyebrow, studying her face. "Really? You're completely over that asshole?"
Evelyn didn't answer right away.
Her mind drifted back to three years ago, to the screaming, dramatic meltdown she had thrown at her mother just to be with Adrian.
She had been so blinded by him that her fury had landed her own mother in a hospital bed.
Yet, after fighting the entire world for him, all she got in return was callous betrayal and a shattered heart.
That blazing fire of love she once felt had long been doused by buckets of ice-cold reality.
Now, there was nothing left. Not even ashes.
She looked up at Julian and gave a firm, quiet nod.
The next second, Julian leaned in and captured her lips.
One of his hands locked possessively around the back of her head, while the other clamped firmly around her waist, pulling her flush against him.
The kiss was fierce, urgent, and consuming.
Evelyn's fingers instinctively bunched into his collar as her knees turned to jelly against his solid chest, leaving her utterly breathless and drained of all resistance.
When Evelyn finally blinked her eyes open the next morning, the clock read 11:00 AM.
Her screen was flooded with urgent notifications from Nathan, all urging her to check the morning headlines.
She tapped the first link, and her blood ran cold.
Adrian had issued an official press release.
The statement alleged that during her tenure as co-manager of the Vale Family Charity Foundation, Evelyn had committed severe financial misconduct.
It claimed that over the past two years, she had systematically embezzled a staggering 12 million dollars from various charity projects—specifically targeting funds meant for children's life-saving medical aid and women's employment initiatives.
To top off the performance, Adrian played the martyr perfectly.
The statement concluded with him promising to personally visit the affected communities to make amends for his "wayward wife's mistakes."
Concurrently, he announced the immediate revocation of her financial access and shares across all Vale family businesses and foundations.
Predictably, the internet exploded.
Within minutes, #EvelynEmbezzlesCharity shot to the number one trending spot globally.
The comment section was a toxic wasteland:
A: [Oh my god, stealing life-saving money from orphans? Is this b***h even human?]
B: [And she calls herself a high-society socialite? Talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing!]
C: [12 million dollars! Think of how many sick kids could have been treated. Disgusting.]
D: [Props to Mr. Vale for choosing justice over family. If my wife did that, I'd throw her in jail myself.]
E: [Evelyn, show your face and give the money back!]
F: [I feel so bad for Mr. Vale. Imagine being betrayed by the person sleeping next to you for years, and then having to expose her yourself. He must be heartbroken.]
As if the public execution wasn't enough, her own family joined the firing squad. Her inbox filled with vitriolic texts from her relatives.
Her father refused to even pick up her calls, leaving a single, cold voicemail warning her never to come home and to stop bringing shame to their name.
Evelyn gripped her phone so tightly her knuckles turned stark white.
Her entire body trembled with a white-hot, volatile rage.
'Adrian, you absolute, calculated piece of s**t!'
Meanwhile, across the ocean, Adrian was lounging on a pristine beach chair at a private island resort, a smug, self-satisfied smirk plastered across his face as he scrolled through the viral chaos.
He stretched out an arm, pulling a bikini-clad Layla tightly against his bare chest.
"This is what I call a perfect vacation," Adrian chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "That i***t Evelyn must be running around like a headless chicken right now. She won't have the time or the energy to bother us."
Layla purred against him, tracing circles on his chest before looking up with a sweet, feigned pout. "But babe... won't she be absolutely furious?"
"Furious? She brought this on herself," Adrian sneered, his eyes gleaming with malice. "Just wait. By the time we get back, she'll be begging on her knees for my forgiveness."
Over the next two weeks, Evelyn's life turned into a living hell.
She was hauled into police stations for grueling interrogations, while forensic auditors practically moved into her apartment, turning her life upside down.
She was running on pure adrenaline, spinning like a top just to stay afloat.
On the rare occasions she ventured outside, strangers would recognize her, screaming profanities at her face.
One afternoon, someone even spat at her feet on the sidewalk.
It took two agonizing weeks of relentless paperwork and legal battles, but she finally managed to clear her name with the authorities.
Exhausted but vindicated, she pushed open the front door of her house, only to be met with a sickeningly familiar sight.
Layla was just sauntering out of the kitchen, a beaming, victorious smile on her lips. "Oh, Evelyn! You're finally back?"
Layla paused, scanning Evelyn's disheveled appearance with mock sympathy. "Wow, you look like you've lost a ton of weight. It must have been such a rough couple of weeks, huh?"
As she spoke, she pressed a hand to her mouth, barely hiding her giggles.
Instead of exploding, Evelyn merely let her lips curl into a slow, cold, and dangerous smirk.
"I wouldn't call it rough," Evelyn replied, her voice dropping to a deadly, calm purr. "Because starting right now... it's my turn to enjoy the show."
- Writer
