Out of Matthew's line of sight, that so-called "young lady" shot me a smug look.

We were only two months apart, but somehow, in his eyes, Melanie was the sweet, innocent lady, while I was just the washed-up woman whose reputation meant nothing to him.

Keeping my distance from the two of them, I turned slightly to Matthew. "So you're only looking out for Melanie because she's like a sister to you, right?"

He paused for a beat before nodding.

I pressed my lips together and finally asked the question that had been weighing on my mind for far too long. "Who's more important—your sister or your wife?"

Matthew blew up. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

I scoffed. "On our first anniversary, I made a wish over the candles with my eyes closed. And when I opened them, you were gone. All because she was scared to be alone during a blackout.

"She texted you, and you just dropped everything and left me alone. I didn't realize a 'sister' could outrank a wife. Maybe I should go get myself a 'brother' too—"

"Aurelia!"

Matthew cut me off mid-sentence, his expression downright stormy.

He soothed Melanie, who was sobbing like her world had ended, then turned to me and shouted, "If you can't talk like a decent person, then get out! Does she have to die just to prove she's innocent? You're wicked!"

"I get it now," I said.

I didn't even look back as I slammed the door shut, more sure than ever that this marriage needed to end.

Word got out that I was asking for a divorce, and Matthew's mother called me just to chew me out.

"Matthew's busting his ass running that giant company by himself. He barely has time to grab a bite. The least you could do as his wife is have a little sympathy. But instead, you're making things harder for him.

"Men fool around. It doesn't mean anything. Your spot isn't going anywhere, so what are you so worked up about?"

My fingers curled into fists, nails biting deep as that cold, hollow feeling spread through my chest.

Back then, to make Melanie's news story stick, Matthew snuck seven or eight guys into my room while I was fast asleep.

Then he showed up with his whole crew—family, friends, and a bunch of reporters—to stage this big dramatic scene, like he'd just caught me red-handed.

"Just take the heat for Melanie, alright? I'll fix it later," he'd said.

But after waiting a month, all I got was a flood of hate comments and an army of paid trolls tearing me apart online.

I hurled my phone at the wall and collapsed onto the bed, utterly spent.

I remembered the days right after Matthew and I graduated. We had nothing then, nothing but each other.

We were so broke we could barely afford food, and he told me he wanted to start his own business. Of course, I backed him all the way.

I juggled three jobs to help him get it off the ground. I tagged along on out-of-town trips to help close deals. I'd wine and dine clients until late, drinking so much I ended up puking blood, and he was always there with me.

He swore he'd make something of himself. And once he did, he'd marry me. And I believed him. That promise kept me by his side year after year, through every season.

Eventually, he made it. The company took off, and he popped the question. I said yes, totally over the moon.

At first, our marriage was sweet and stable. But then everything went sideways when Matthew brought Melanie, his childhood sweetheart, from their hometown and set her up close to us.

Even when I landed in the hospital, he ditched me to stay with her, just because she had her period.

We fought over it. And after that, something shifted. Since then, there was this wall between us that never came down.

I stirred awake, still groggy and heavy with sleep. My pillow was soaked. I must've been crying in my sleep.

At some point, Matthew had slipped back in without me noticing. The second he saw me packing my suitcase by the door, his face tightened with frustration.

"Aurelia, how much longer are you going to drag this out?"

I turned away, splashed some cold water on my face, and scrubbed away the dried tears. Then I put the divorce agreement in front of him again.

"I'm moving out for a few days. When are you going to sign this?"

"Seriously? You want to divorce me?" Matthew's face dropped, his stare cold as ice. "Just because of some made-up news story? I know it's fake, and I wouldn't even judge you, so what's with the whole divorce thing?"

I just stared at him in silence.

What a joke. As if his opinion meant anything to me.

After a while, he asked, "Did my mom call you and say something? Just hold on a little longer, alright? Mel's up for a performance bonus at work.

"Once she gets it, I'll have her take you out for dinner and we'll talk through how to handle this properly."

"Forget it. Who cares about some dinner with her?" I retorted.

I picked up my suitcase, ready to walk out.

I knew exactly how Matthew would go about this. When the time came, he'd just shrug and say, "Well, if that's what everyone thinks, then so be it. It's not like you're actually losing anything."

"Wait," he called out from behind, tossing a tote bag into my arms. "Mel picked this out for you. She's got way more sense than you will ever have."

I looked inside to find a crumpled dress, stuffed in like trash. I let out a sharp laugh and tossed the bag right back at his feet.

Matthew blew up, calling me ungrateful. The whole thing was just even more of a joke to me.

"This dress looks familiar, doesn't it?" I remarked.

If I remembered right, it was the same one Melanie wore on that little vacation with Matthew. She'd even posted about it on Twitter. It was a photo of Matthew on one knee, holding a bouquet of roses.

The caption read, "I told him I wanted to see the ocean, and he dropped everything to book the trip. How lucky am I to be loved like this?"

Matthew looked away, guilt flickering across his face.

I didn't bother saying more. As I turned to leave, I just said, "Sign the papers already. No point dragging this out."

After I moved out, Matthew didn't bother reaching out. However, he started throwing shade on Twitter.

He posted stuff that read, "What does a decent guy have to do to be appreciated?" and "Some women throw fits when things don't go their way, acting like their husbands aren't out here busting their ass for the family."

He never said my name, but it was obvious the posts were directed at me.

I locked my phone and didn't give it another thought.

The whole divorce thing just kind of died off. I was about to file on my own when Matthew called out of nowhere. Then he texted me an address and said to come immediately.

I figured he'd finally made up his mind and was ready to end things. So, I grabbed my bag, jumped in a cab, and rushed over, only to find out he just wanted me to stand in for Melanie at some event.

"Mel interviewed those people a while back," he said, shooting a disgusted glance at the group in the private room.

"She helped boost their image, so now they're here with gifts to thank her. But she's busy now and didn't want to be rude by turning them down. Just do her this favor."

I shot Matthew a cold look, realizing I'd been way too easy on him.

"Yeah, no." I turned to walk off. "Unless we're talking about splitting the assets, don't ever call me again."

Matthew yanked me back and snapped, "Aurelia! What did Melanie ever do to you? She's just a sweet, harmless woman. Why are you so nasty to her?

"And me? I work myself to the bone every single day, and all I get when I come home are your sarcastic jabs. You should feel lucky I even asked you to stand in for Melanie. Show some damn gratitude.

"I'll be outside. When you're done, I'll take you home. Happy now?"

"Get your hands off me!" I said.

He didn't care. He just shoved me straight into the private room like it was nothing. Before I could get a word out, he went ahead and introduced me, snatched my bag, and locked the door behind me.

Every single person in the room was staring at me like I was their prey.

A frail-looking woman stepped up and handed me a foam box. "Ms. Reed, this is my gift to you."

The stench hit me right away. I didn't even get a chance to process what was in it before she started talking again.

"Thanks for your report, Ms. Reed. Because of you, my husband made me get an abortion. My relatives laughed behind my back, and the internet tore me apart relentlessly. The life you ruined is in this box."

I threw the box away, my legs buckling as I collapsed to the floor.

"No. You've got the wrong person. I'm not Melanie Reed. Whatever you have to say, say it to her when she gets here."

I barely finished talking when a brutal kick landed right in my gut.

The scrawny woman's eyes were bloodshot, burning with hate. She looked like she wanted to rip me to shreds.

"This is on you. If you hadn't spread those filthy lies about me hooking up with seven guys, my husband never would've doubted the baby was his. He wouldn't have forced me to get rid of the baby.

"And now? I'm never going to have kids again for the rest of my life."

Pain shot through my stomach like fire, my insides twisting up in knots. Before I could even catch my breath, someone yanked me up by the hair.

"Your article accused me of faking my academic record. Thanks to you, I lost my job, and now the whole neighborhood looks at me like I'm some kind of fraud! Did it even cross your mind what kind of mess you were creating?"

"You wrote that crap about me being a nightclub escort who sleeps around with clients. You ruined my reputation! And guess what? I've never even had a boyfriend. You pulled that out of thin air!"

They tackled me to the floor and started kicking and punching me.

I covered my head and shouted, "I'm not Melanie Reed! Don't you even know what she looks like?"

What they said after that crushed me.

"You hid your face in every interview with just your eyes showing! Did you really think we came here to thank you? Don't kid yourself. Someone like you deserves to burn in hell!"

By the time everyone had finished taking it out on me, I was covered in bruises and scratches. There wasn't a single spot on me that didn't hurt.

My clothes were torn to bits, and I was lying there, half-naked, on the floor. I yanked the tablecloth off a table and wrapped it around me, trying to pull myself toward the bathroom to patch myself up.

That was when I heard Matthew comforting Melanie nearby.

"Matt, they're not going to turn me in after all that, right? I swear I didn't mean for this to happen. I just mixed things up…" she said.

Matthew was reassuring her. "Relax, it's not on you. We had Aurelia take the hit this time. Just buy her dinner sometime and call it even. I'll deal with everything else."

My eyes widened, and my whole head felt like it was buzzing with static. I was shaking all over, burning with rage I couldn't hold in.

That was it. I finally saw things for what they were.

A peaceful divorce? A clean break? What a load of crap.

So Matthew wanted to play dirty? That was fine by me. I'd send him straight to hell!

I stepped in close, caught them off guard, and landed a slap on each of their faces. The sound cracked through the air.

Matthew reeled from the slap. He just stood there gaping, staring into my bloodshot eyes like he didn't even recognize me. Melanie's screech finally snapped him out of it.

Holding his cheek, red and throbbing, he yelled, "Aurelia! Have you lost your damn mind?"

I glared at him, my voice low and mean. "Buckle up, Matthew. You're about to lose that CEO title real fast."