Revenge, Rebirth and Second Chances

Flashback A Week Ago It was exactly on this day 2 years ago when Merissa took over her dad's company as the CEO after he had died in a mysterious accident. And it was also the day when she had met him, her now husband, Aaron Young. He was the sweetest person, so caring and compassionate, and it was like he was always there. After her father's death, Aaron had been so supportive that it hadn't taken long for her to fall in love with him. After a year of dating, they decided to tie the knot and became husband and wife a year later. But now, after a year, she wasn't sure what had gone wrong. Was it because she hadn't been able to give birth, or was it that their love was dying? Is it even possible that their love would just be gone after one year? Merissa wasn't sure what was wrong with her marriage, but now as she was sitting in her office, she decided to focus on her work and talk later to Aaron to see what they could do to fix their marriage. Not only that, it was also her father's 2nd death anniversary, and she had planned to visit his grave later that day. As she was wondering this, sitting in her office, her assistant Jim knocked on the door. Merissa called him to come in, and when she looked up, she saw him bouncing on his feet with his fists tightly closed at his side. It was a suspicious behavior. Jim only behaved like that when something was wrong, and he wanted to punch something or someone hard. Seeing him behave like that, put her on alert immediately. "Spit it out, Jim, what's wrong?" "Boss, I think you need to see this." After saying that, Jim handed her the tablet with the latest gossip on it. Merissa barely looked at it, groaned, and said, "Jim, how many times have I told you to call me Merissa? And you know I don't like to read gossip. That is what you and the PR team are for. If there is something negative about the company, I am sure the PR team can handle it. Pass the news to them and let them know if they have any questions, they can come and ask me." Although she was the CEO, she didn't like reading gossip because gossip was just that, gossip and rumors. It was baseless and useless, and she would rather spend her time doing something more productive for her company than waste time reading the rumor mill. But she did understand that gossip could also destroy her company, so she refused to read it herself but made sure that her PR team was always on top of it. "But Mam..." Merissa cut Jim off "Just Merissa, Jim, you and I are not only boss and assistant but friends too. You don't need to call me Mam or Boss." "OK, fine, Issa, but you really need to see this. It is not about the company but your personal life. Just please listen to me and read it." Jim said to Merissa in a pleading tone. "Why, what is it?" Merissa wondered out loud. "It is about that asshole of your husband, Issa; I told you so many times..." Jim stopped talking when he saw Merisa giving him a look. He knew Merissa didn't like him talking about her husband like that and although it was true that Aaron was an asshole and a jerk, Jim decided to shut up at this moment, because Merissa needed to see what that asshole had done last night. Merissa was upset and felt irritated. Even after trying so hard, Jim and Aaron never got along, and she had wished so hard that two important people to her, her best friend and her husband, would be friends too. But Jim never liked Aaron from the start, and no matter how hard she tried, they both hated each other. Merissa wondered what the gossip was about Aaron this time that had Jim in such a twist. Usually, Jim would just tell her outright what was wrong. His insisting her to read the tabloid was so different. She took a proper look this time, and what she saw made her heart stop. She didn't want to believe this to be true. This had to be wrong. After all, it was Aaron. He loved her. Yeah, this was just a rumor, she decided. With tear-filled eyes, she looked at Jim and spoke "No, Aaron would not do this to us. This is not true and just a rumor, Jim. This has to be just a rumor." It was clear that Merissa was trying hard to convince herself that Aaron hadn't done what the gossip said he had. "Oh, sweetie," looking at Merissa, Jim cursed Aaron in his heart and went to Merissa's desk to give her a side hug. "Jim, Aaron went there to compete in the project. He would never do this to us. I am sure there is another explanation for that. I should probably call him and ask what happened. I am sure he has a valid explanation for this, and this is just a rumor," Merissa said, trying so hard to keep the tears from falling and wanting to believe it all to be a lie. " Issa, look, sweetie, maybe you are right, but you know this is not the first time and, before you say, yes, he had explanations for them too, but I don't believe that guy a bit, Issa. I think you should personally go there and check out the situation without letting him know." " No, Jim, I am not going to break our relationship by not trusting him. I will not do that." Merissa said strongly. She didn't want to break their relationship by not trusting her husband. Although she had her doubts for a while now, she still wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her relationship. Jim groaned. He knew Merissa really loved Aaron and didn't want to give up on her relationship, but he could see that Aaron didn't love her as he said he did. He had seen Aaron flirting around in the office and had often been spotted by colleagues with other girls going to different clubs and bars. Merissa had always called or asked him afterwards but that asshole always had an explanation for them. Jim had never believed it, though, as his explanations were perfect, but not made sense. He had chosen instead to keep quiet. But this time, there were pictures of him in the tabloids showing him entering a club and exiting it with his arm around Merissa's arch-enemy, Ann. Not only that, but there were also photos of them both leaving his hotel together this morning. Jim knew this was not a coincidence, and this was not the first time he had been seen being intimate with Ann. Jim believed that Aaron had been having an affair with Ann for some time now but had no proof and with that bastard always having an explanation, Merissa had ignored what Jim had been telling her for a while now. But with these pictures of him out now, and Merissa still refusing to accept it, he knew it was time to catch this bastard in the act now. "Ok Issa, maybe you are right, and this is all a coincidence, but what if it is not? I have an idea. Just listen to me." he added quickly before Merissa could say anything. "How about we book a flight for you to New York to surprise Aaron? It's your first anniversary the day after tomorrow. I think if he has not been doing anything behind your back, he would be happy to see you there, at least, and if he has, you can catch him in the lie.” "Jim, I trust him. He hasn't. I know this is just a coincidence," Merissa replied in deep thought. But I think you are right; I think a vacation is what we really need. This could help our relationship, and I know Aaron is going to be so happy to see me there." The more Merissa thought, the more she was certain that Aaron wasn't cheating on her and that this would be the perfect gift she could give to him on their first anniversary, along with the new red lingerie she bought the other day. Merissa started planning in her head how they would celebrate their first anniversary and how she could book them the famous Italian restaurant to have dinner, and then they could go to their room where she could surprise Aaron with her lingerie. The more she thought, the more she believed that this was what she needed to do to bring their relationship back to what it used to be.