He Tried to Cheat Me, I Took Back My Rights

Chapter 2 Rise From the Ashes

The renovation took everything I had.

The budget was so tight that I ended up doing half the work myself, and by the end of the month, my palms were covered in calluses.

Still, that afternoon, a reporter from the local paper came by to interview me.

The story went online, started trending locally, and suddenly, donation offers started coming in.

That was when Mateo and Sasha Galvan showed up.

Sasha had her arm tucked through his, and the way she looked at me made it clear she already considered herself the winner.

Mateo didn't bother pretending he wasn't disgusted.

"Zoey," Sasha said first, glancing around with a smirk. "I saw the article. So this is where you ended up?"

I got to my feet. "Can I help you?"

Mateo let out a short, dismissive laugh. "Zoey, stop acting like this is some grand comeback. It's a tiny project in the middle of nowhere. What do you think this is going to do for your career? Come home. At least have some dignity."

"Dignity?" I smiled. "Mr. Larsen, what exactly qualifies as dignity to you? Hiding marital assets? Or bringing your mistress to my job site in clothes bought with marital money?"

Sasha's expression shifted at once.

Mateo grabbed my arm and dragged me a few steps away. "Watch your mouth, Zoey! Sasha is the woman I'm marrying!"

"The woman you plan to marry?" I raised my voice enough for everyone nearby to hear. "Has your lawyer finished rewriting the divorce agreement? Did you sort out the property division? Because until the divorce is final, every dollar you spend is still half mine. Including whatever she's wearing right now."

Sasha's face went red with anger. "Nonsense!"

"Then it should be easy to prove," I said. "Check the bank records." I bent down and picked up the blueprints again. "And just so we're clear, if I find one more personal charge paid out of marital funds, I'm suing."

A vein began to pulse at Mateo's temple. "Zoey, do you really want this to get ugly?"

"Didn't it already?" I pulled out my phone and dialed. "Hi, yes, I'd like to report a disturbance at an active construction site. We have unauthorized people refusing to leave."

"You called the police?" Mateo stared at me as I'd slapped him.

"Yes," I said. "This is an active job site. You're trespassing."

He glared at me with n***d hatred. "Fine, Zoey. You want to play hardball? Let's see how long you last!"

I didn't answer. I just went back to my drawings.

I thought that would be the end of it.

I was wrong. That night, Lisa called me in a panic. "Zoey, get online right now!"

Someone had filmed the confrontation and posted it.

By the time I opened my phone, the video was everywhere. The comments were already out of control.

My phone started vibrating nonstop.

Some of the messages were supportive. Some were curious. Some were ugly.

Then Lisa called again.

"Zoey!" This time, she sounded breathless, but there was excitement underneath it. "You're almost done with the library, right? Because I've got another one. It's an emergency job. Small art museum in the mountains. Low budget, a million complications, terrible location, but if you pull it off, it could make your resume!

"Okay."

Then Lisa said, "Wait, seriously? You're saying yes without even asking questions? The conditions out there are rough..."

"That's fine," I said. "Send me the files."

I closed the video and opened the project brief Lisa had just sent.

I knew Mateo and Sasha weren't going to let this go.

I knew more people would be watching me after today.

But I wasn't backing down.