Ravished By The Rival

Crumbling Reality

“Who am I hiding from?” Natalie queried, still puzzled at what was happening.

“I will explain this back at the office, I just don’t want you getting caught up in this”, Max replied, handing Natalie her underwear.

“Get caught up in what?” Natalie pushed, getting teary-eyed.

“Getting caught up in this prank,” Max said jokingly with a smirk across his face. “I can’t believe you fell for it, you should have seen the look on your face”, he added, as he dropped Nat’s underwear on the bed.

“Why would you do something like that? You… I…” Natalie said, fuming.

Max cuts Natalie off with a kiss, “It's just an honest joke”, he mutters. “That was just my wake-up knock,” he added.

Back at the office, Natalie hurried down the sleek hallway toward Max's office, nervously smoothing her skirt. From their night of lustful passion at the company gala, he insisted she start her days briefing him privately over breakfast meetings.

His possessiveness was growing suffocating. Natalie constantly felt off-balance trying to anticipate his mercurial moods and demands.

She paused outside his door, taking a steadying breath and plastering on a professional smile before entering.

"Good morning Mr. Black, I have your schedule updates-"

Natalie broke off when Max dismissively held up a hand, not looking up from his computer screen. Her smile faltered.

After an awkward pause, she took a seat across from him. "Your 9 a.m. call was pushed back to 10. And your massage therapist confirmed an early morning section on Friday..."

Max continued typing rapidly, ignoring her presence. Natalie shifted in discomfort at being stonewalled.

"Shall I come back when it's more convenient?" She went to gather her things.

Maximilian waved her back down. "Sit. I'm working."

Natalie slowly sank back into the chair, palms sweating. She had done something to provoke this attitude. But she wracked her brain, unable to pinpoint her misdeed.

After fifteen interminable minutes of silence, Maximilian finally glanced up. "Now, where were we?"

He flashed her a sudden dazzling smile. Natalie flushed, instantly relieved to have his attention again. She despised feeling so eager for his approval.

"Well, your afternoon is free, so perhaps we could-"

Max cut her off. "Actually, clear my entire Friday. I'll be on my yacht."

"Of course." Natalie dutifully took note. "Any other changes?"

Max rose, straightening his expensive cufflinks. "No, that's all. You're dismissed."

The abrupt, impersonal tone stung after their interlude of passion. Natalie wanted to ask what she'd done to cause this detachment. But she simply murmured assent and hurried out.

Late that night, as Natalie finished up paperwork alone, she overheard Max's crude taunts about her on the phone through his cracked door.

"My naive secretary? She's a delightful diversion." His mocking laugh carried on. "But hardly suitable for more. Far too simple and dull."

“She was a cavewoman down there, if you get my drift” he carried on jokingly.

Natalie's chest constricted in humiliation. Of course, this was just a game for him. She was a disposable amusement.

Max's crude bragging continued: "Nothing more than my secretary. She's a fun diversion, but hardly wife material. too loose and her background is not what I would like to associate with"

Natalie froze outside the door as Max callously mocked her naivety and humble background. He was only elevating her status to feed his ego.

“I am not equipped for her trauma and dead daddy issues,” Max said laughingly. “Yes, onto the next fresh fish”, he added.

Tears burned Natalie’s eyes. The haze lifted instantly. She had been so blind, ignoring all the signs. Max didn't truly care for her. She was just a plaything to him, just another conquest, a shiny toy. Anger and rage battled within Natalie as she grabbed her things, her hands were shaking.

Natalie thought that the entire office likely heard Max's cruel jabs about her "pedestrian roots" and "naive looseness" over the phone. Max didn't realize she was working late just outside his office.

“So it was all an act. The doting compliments, the extravagant trips. He was only boosting his ego by toying with me”, Natalie mumbled amid tears as she packed her belongings. She would not be some arrogant billionaire's plaything.

Max appeared in his office doorway, scrolling his phone casually. "Ah Natalie, I was just looking for you-"

He broke off when he registered her expression. Natalie strode up and slapped the phone from his hand.

"Don't you dare 'Natalie' me, you pompous pig." Her voice shook with rage. "I heard everything."

Max paled slightly but quickly composed himself. "Now I'm certain you simply misconstrued a private conversation-"

"Save it." Natalie cut him off sharply. "I won't be some conquest you can use and mock. Consider this my resignation."

She ripped off her ID badge and turned to storm out, but Max grabbed her wrist. "Wait. We can discuss this rationally-"

Natalie wrenched her arm away. "Don't touch me. There's nothing more to discuss. I won't waste another second on you."

She left Max standing stoically in her wake as she jammed her finger on the elevator button. Part of her was terrified she was torching her career, her family support, especially her mother’s care. But her self-respect mattered more.

As the doors slid closed, Natalie finally let angry tears fall. She muffled her sobs in the empty elevator. Max's façade of romance had seemed so genuine, she had ignored all the red flags. Her anguish quickly hardened into resolve. She would get past this.

At home, Natalie's sister Brooke immediately registered her distress. "What's wrong? Did that handsome boss suspend you?"

"Worse. I quit." Natalie poured herself a large glass of wine with a shaking hand. "Max was only using me to stroke his massive ego. I heard him mocking m…” She broke down in tears.

Natalie curled up on their sagging couch, clutching a throw pillow as she sank into the familiar abyss of heartbreak. Max's betrayal still felt raw and shocking just days later. She had trusted him, given him her mind and body. And he had used her without remorse.

Part of her was still magnetized to him, clinging to the flickers of his charm and passion. The temptation to numb the pain with those old addictive crutches surfaced like a siren song.

Brooke gave her a knowing look. “I know that face. Don’t even think about pills or liquor. Remember last time?”

Natalie sighed. “Believe me, I remember. Losing my scholarship, worried Mom sick...”

Just like after her Dad died, Natalie had lost herself in a haze of addiction. Natalie had barely graduated high school after arriving at classes drunk too often. She hit rock bottom when she lost her full scholarship to study engineering after an arrest for possession.

“I regret putting you and Mom through that,” Natalie said as she leaned into Brooke.

“Exactly. So we’ll find healthier ways to cheer you up.” Brooke patted her leg. “Let’s start with the gym. I could use a workout buddy.”

Natalie’s rehab counselor, Clara, introduced Natalie to jiu-jitsu and weight training, better outlets for her grief and frustration. She forced herself off the couch to hit her old neighborhood gym. The familiar heaviness of weights grounded Natalie, clearing her head.

A tall, muscular stranger approached her after finishing his workout. “That looked familiar,” said a voice that sounded like Max.

Natalie lowered the book she was reading, dumbfounded at who was standing in front of her.

“What… Why… Please…” Natalie muttered, unable to gather her thoughts.