The Billionaire's Ex-Wife

“Maven will never look at you the same way ever again.” “Why?” I asked Steph, the closest thing to a sister I would ever have. Or at least that’s what I thought. “I met him before you! I should have been the one he married, not you! You don’t deserve him, Elle. Not even the slightest. And I hate you for it!” “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I almost whispered. I could literally feel the pain all over my body. How could my best friend do this to me? “And for what? So you can gloat to my face how lucky you were that he married you?! B*tch, he never even loved you!” I looked at the pictures strewn all over the table. Me lying on the bed with only a thin silk blanket to cover my obviously naked body. Beside me was a man I did not recognize kissing me on the lips. Me sitting up on the bed, looking drunk and reaching for the camera. Another one, which plunged my heart into total horror, showed Bianca, my sister-in-law, lying in a hospital bed with bruises and cuts all over her face and body. “In all the years I’ve known you, Steph, I never imagined you to be cruel and vindictive. You framed all of this on me! You even had to blame Bianca’s accident on me?! How could you!” “Because you need to get out of our lives!” Steph stepped closer to me and was about to slap me but I caught her hand mid-air. She struggled but I held on tighter. “What the hell is happening here?” Maven walked straight towards us. He’s looking at me like I’m the devil. “And why the f**k are you still here?! Get out of this house right now or I’ll have the guards throw you out like the garbage you are!” His words struck me to the bone. I looked at him, tears now falling down my face. “Maven, help me! She’s hurting me!” Steph shouted. “Get off her!” He grabbed my arm and twisted it so I would face him. “I will not let you hurt another person again. Get out now and don’t let us see you ever again!” He pushed me hard on the shoulders and I fell to the floor. “Maven, you believe her? I would never do something like that! I don’t even know that guy! And yes, your sister and I were never close, but not once did I think of hurting her! Please believe me!” “Believe you?! How can I when the pictures say it all! I have never regretted so much in my entire life more than marrying you. I better not see your face again when I come back tonight! Or else not only would I f*****g throw you in prison, but I’d make sure your family suffer as well.” His back straight and fists tightly clenched, he walked away without giving me a chance to explain. “Maven, please! Please believe me. Please!” I cried after him, begging like I never did before. But he never once looked back. “You heard him, get out of this house and don’t ever come back.” I turned to Steph, my heart breaking into a thousand pieces, knowing that my best friend had betrayed me. I slowly stood up, climbed the stairs in a trance and got ready to leave. I rented a hotel room temporarily and went straight to a nearby ATM to withdraw some money. A string of zeroes greeted me. I blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. The figure didn't change. I hurriedly called the bank to ask why my account had been debited when I did not initiate any transaction. “Hi, Ms. Firella. We have been notified by Mr. Maven Elsher’s secretary to suspend this account and transfer all of the money." My heart skipped a beat. Maven would not really do that, would he? The person at the other end of the line was still talking, but my mind was already somewhere else so I couldn't catch what was said. Not bothering to tell her goodbye, I rudely dropped the call. I stopped by my brother’s house on my way to Maven’s office to visit my niece. She was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago and has been in and out of the hospital ever since. She’s always been a bubbly kid and even when she’s not feeling well, she always has a smile on her face. Seeing her lying in a hospital bed most of the time and not being able to enjoy her childhood makes my heart ache. “Hi, Tita (Auntie)!” I missed you! Come look at my new toy.” She grabbed my hand and led me to her room. We played for a while until she got sleepy. I tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead. Then I looked for my brother. “Hi Kevin. How's Dani? You just went for a check-up yesterday, right? What did the doctor say?” “They said she's doing well but she still needs to undergo several treatments to make sure the cancer doesn’t return.” He looked at me shyly, his eyes tearing. “I know we have been so dependent on you since Dani was diagnosed with leukemia and I would not have asked this if it weren’t so important. But can you lend me some money again, Elle? I’m out already. All of what I have goes into Dani’s hospitalization and I wouldn’t be able to pay for her next treatments. Please, Elle, I'm begging you. Just help me one more time.” “Kev, you don’t need to beg me. I will give everything I have for Dani to get better. I will get the money and send it to you right away, okay? Don’t feel bad about asking me. Promise?” He wiped the tears threatening to fall from the corner of his eyes, “Okay.” He reached for my hands. “Thank you so much, Elle. I am so grateful to you. You know that, right?” I nodded. After I left Kevin's house, I tried to call Maven several times but he never answered. I went to his office to persuade him to give me back at least a little of that money. But the guard didn’t let me through. I even begged his secretary to help me out, but to no avail. I tried again and disguised as a janitor to get past the guards but I got caught and they threw me roughly out the door. “Ma’am, please don't make this any harder for us! Just go away and don’t try to meet Mr. Elsher. He told us explicitly to not let you inside.” He shook his head frustratedly and left. I was there sitting on the cold floor with rain pouring down my face when I started to pity myself. My chest hurt so badly that I could barely breathe. I bit my lips hard to stop myself from crying but I couldn't keep it in any longer. I sobbed and covered my face with shaking hands. How can he be so callous? He knew that that money was for my niece’s. What am I going to do now? I could juggle multiple jobs, but that still would not cover the cost of treatments. And I needed the money urgently. I sat there unmoving until I felt numb from the cold. I looked at my hands. They had already turned purple. My wedding and engagement rings were still there, so pretty and sparkling. And then it hit me - these rings were worth a fortune. A glimmer of hope blossomed in me. I could sell the rings and use the money. I quickly stood up and searched on my phone for the nearest pawn shop. “Hi, how much can you give me for these, please?” I asked. They were rare pieces, he said. He quoted a price but I negotiated for a higher one even though I didn't know how much they actually cost, but knowing Maven's personal taste, I had no doubt they were worth a lot. Thankfully, the shop owner relented and gave me what I wanted. It was probably enough for about two years’ worth of hospitalization fees and medication. When I was about to hand over the rings, doubts crept through my mind. These were not mine to sell. They should be returned to Maven. I wanted to cry. For the memories we had and for the bad things that happened to me. But my niece’s laughter rang out louder in my head. So I took a deep breath, buried the shame I felt and handed them over. It was a little over a month after that that I bumped into Maven and Steph at a restaurant. After Maven kicked me out, I immediately looked for another job. I previously worked with Steph in her father's company and after what happened, we just couldn't possibly work together anymore. Luckily, I got hired at another major bank right away. It was on my first day at the company that I met Jackie, who befriended me almost immediately. She wanted to go out for dinner to celebrate my first month at the company. I didn't want to go at first, but I couldn't resist her pleading eyes. She was from a wealthy family, so she was used to eating at fancy restaurants. How unlucky for me that, out of all places, we had to dine at the same restaurant that Maven frequented. Our order was about to be served when Maven and Steph walked into the restaurant and spotted me sitting at a table in the corner. Steph looked at Maven, whispered something and went straight towards us. “Oh, hi there, Elle. Funny seeing you here. I wonder how you can pay for the food?” She laughed maniacally and then looked at Jackie. “Oh, I see. Looks like you have a new friend. Rich, I presume? Honey, sorry, what’s your name again?” “Jackie.” “Jackie, my dear, you should know that your new friend here, Elle, is the best gold digger and cheater in the whole world. I just thought you should know that. You should not be fraternizing with uncultured, lowly, trashy people, should you?” I looked embarrassingly at Jackie and shook my head. I silently prayed to the universe to swallow me up whole right at this minute. Jackie just smiled that sweet smile of hers. “Thank you for the advice…?” “Stephanie.” “…Stephanie. But I’m perfectly capable of distinguishing who’s the uncultured, lowly, trashy one." And she looked at Steph from head to toe. It took Steph a few seconds to catch that insult. After she realized what Jackie implied, her face quickly turned the color of tomato, her nostrils flaring. Then Maven appeared at her side. “Come now, Steph. Let’s not waste any time on shameless people. And their friends.” He bent down to my level and whispered into my ear, “Don’t test my patience, Firella. I told you to never appear in front of me again. This is your last warning.” He then called for the restaurant’s manager, said something we couldn’t hear and pointed at us. After a few minutes, two security guards approached our table and told us we needed to vacate the premises. Jackie threatened to sue the restaurant and insisted we did not need to go, but I was already so embarrassed about what happened that I convinced her to just let it go. We were in the car when Jackie asked me how I knew Jackie and Maven. I was wary of telling her at first, knowing that I might get betrayed again. Or that she might think of me differently now. But she looked at me neither with pity nor curiosity. Rather, she looked angry for me. So, I told her my story.