My best friend, Cecilia Vick, "loved" me so much she hooked up with my husband, Luther Boyd, in the pajamas I bought her.

Then sent me the video.

[Did you enjoy it?]

I left her on read.

After watching that trash-fire masterpiece, I posted it online for twenty bucks.

Sharing is caring, right?

Then I put my phone on airplane mode and headed into the mountains with my team for fieldwork.

A week later, I turned my signal back on.

Boom.

999+ messages.

Then Cecilia called.

She was full-on spiraling.

"I'm begging you! Delete the video. Now!"

Cecilia's voice blasted through the phone, raw and ragged.

"Jolene, please! Delete the video!"

I lounged back in a chair at the lodge, tracing the rim of my coffee mug.

"Why would I do that? Honestly, the video's not bad. Good lighting. Good angles. Seems like a waste to delete it. Besides, you sent it to me. I don't keep things that aren't worth something."

Silence.

Two seconds later, she lost it.

"Do you even know that's illegal? Jolene Johnston, what the hell is wrong with you? Luther and I are in love, and you still tried to destroy us! I was so stupid to be your best friend for seven years!"

I laughed.

Best friend?

On my third wedding anniversary, she'd climbed into bed with my husband wearing the silk pajamas I'd bought her for her birthday.

In my bed.

Then she'd recorded it and sent me the video.

[Did you enjoy it?]

Yeah. Real best-friend behavior.

She stabbed me in the back, then somehow turned herself into the victim.

"Jolene? Did you hear me? Say something!"

I held the phone to my ear.

"Then wasn't it illegal for you to send me a private video of my husband just to piss me off? Want me to call the cops and ask whether that counts as distributing obscene content or violating someone's privacy?"

Dead silence.

Then the call disconnected.

Cecilia had hung up.

I lowered my phone and looked out at the mountains rolling across the horizon.

The breeze carried the scent of grass and trees.

It didn't help.

Nothing could.

But that was fine.

This was just the start.

My screen barely went dark before it lit up again.

Luther.

I answered.

"Jolene, you've gone too far."

His voice sounded exhausted, but the anger underneath was obvious.

"Do you have any idea how much damage that video caused?"

"How much?" I leaned back. "Be specific. Did your company's stock tank? Is the board getting ready to kick you out?"

Bullseye.

The line went quiet.

When he spoke again, his voice had gone cold.

"I'm giving you one last chance. Take the video down. Then make a public statement saying it was an AI fake. Tell everyone you're mentally unstable and spread false rumors on purpose. Do that, and I'll consider forgiving you.

"I might even let you keep your position as Mrs. Boyd."

Forgive me?

Let me keep my position?

I laughed. "Lucky me."

My voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Don't bother. Let's get divorced."

"What did you say?" Luther snapped. "Don't push your luck. Without me, you're nothing."

"That's not for you to decide."

I hung up.

The second I set my phone down, the team chat blew up.

The usually dead chat was suddenly alive.

Someone cautiously tagged me.

[Jolene, is everything okay? We saw what's been going around online and got worried.]

My DMs blew up too. Some wanted the tea. Others were faking sympathy.

I skimmed through them and dropped two words into the team chat.

[I'm fine.]

Then I packed my bags, checked out of the lodge, and headed back to the city.

The scenery blurred past outside the window.

I rested my head against the glass and smiled.

How could I not be fine?

I was about to tear every one of those hypocrites apart.

I'd be better than fine.

***

I didn't go back to that so-called home.

Instead, I checked into a hotel and spent a day recovering.

After a shower and a full night's sleep, I stood in front of the mirror.

My eyes were bloodshot. But there wasn't a trace of defeat in them.

The next morning, I grabbed the divorce papers I'd prepared long ago and headed straight for Everluxe Ventures.

The receptionist froze when she saw me.

She looked like she wanted to stop me.

I walked right past her.

All across the office, people stopped what they were doing to stare.

Some looked curious.

Some looked smug.

Some looked sympathetic.

Others looked entertained.

Whispers followed me down the hall.

"That's Mr. Boyd's wife, right? I heard she sold the video online. Brutal."

"Seriously. And Ms. Vick was her best friend. That's rough."

"Mr. Boyd really screwed up this time. Guy had a wife and still cheated. Guess it finally caught up to him."

I ignored them.

My heels clicked across the floor as I headed for Luther's office.

Knock.

"Come in."

His voice was already irritated.

I pushed open the door.

Luther wasn't alone.

Cecilia was there.

She wore a white dress, her eyes red and watery like she'd been crying for hours.

Curled up against Luther's side, she sniffled softly.

The second she saw me, she stiffened.

Then she lowered her head and wiped away a tear.

The perfect victim.

Luther's face darkened immediately.

"Jolene, what are you doing here? Haven't you embarrassed me enough?"

I walked to his desk and dropped the divorce papers in front of him.

Slap.

The sound cut through the room.

"Divorce."

I looked him straight in the eye.

"And you're leaving with nothing."

Luther laughed. Like I'd just told the funniest joke he'd ever heard.

He shot to his feet and planted both hands on the desk.

"You want me to leave with nothing? Have you lost your mind? You think you can do that? Based on what?"

I didn't blink. "Because the startup money for this company came from me.

"Because every major crisis this company survived over the last three years was solved through my connections and resources.

"And because you cheated on me with my best friend during our marriage."

I held his stare.

"Need more reasons?"

My words hit hard.

Luther went pale, then red. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. Still nothing.

Then Cecilia suddenly stood and came over.

She grabbed my hand, sobbing, putting on her best guilty act.

"Jolene, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. Don't blame Luther. I seduced him. I couldn't help how I felt. Please don't divorce him, okay? I don't want you two fighting because of me. I don't want to wreck your family. If you and Luther make up, I'll leave the city tonight. I'll disappear from your lives forever."

Tears rolled down her face.

Anyone else might've bought it.

I looked at her fake, teary eyes, pulled my hand free, and smiled.

"Cool. Then disappear."

Cecilia froze.

Clearly, she hadn't expected that.

I added, "But Luther still pays. It takes two people to end up in bed. You both starred in that video, so you both deal with the fallout.

"Cecilia, your little games don't work on me."

Her face went white.

Even her tears stopped.

She just stood there, lost.

Luther shook with rage.

Before he could snap, someone knocked.

His secretary hurried in.

"Mr. Boyd, the board members are here. The meeting room is ready. They're waiting for you."

Luther sucked in a breath and swallowed his anger.

Then he glared at me like he wanted me dead.

I looked between them.

One humiliated and furious.

One ghost-pale.

Honestly?

Beautiful.

I grabbed my bag and turned for the door.

"Jolene Johnston, just wait!"

Luther's voice followed me, sharp and threatening.

"I won't let this go."

I stopped and looked back.

My smile stayed cold.

"I'll be waiting. But you should sign the papers. Trust me, you don't want to find out what happens if you don't."

***

After leaving Everluxe Ventures, I went back to the hotel and started gathering evidence.

Luther's transfer records.

His messages with Cecilia.

Hotel check-in records.

I had backups of everything.

I just never thought I'd use them.

Back then, I still cared about my marriage.

I still cared about our friendship.

Now?

That was a joke.

A one-sided one.

I expected Luther to come after me first.

Cecilia beat him to it.

That night, while scrolling through my phone, I saw the long post she'd dropped online.

The title was hard to miss.

[Seven Years of Friendship—Why Destroy My Life?]

In it, she painted herself as the sad, loyal victim.

She admitted she and Luther were "truly in love," but claimed my marriage had been dead for years. She said I was cold, that I'd shut Luther out emotionally, and that I was so controlling he couldn't even talk to other women.

She even claimed I tried to control his job.

The video?

According to her, it was just one tragic mistake between two people swept up by passion.

Meanwhile, I had supposedly sold it to an adult site out of jealousy and revenge.