Chapter 3

3.

When I reached the hospital exit, Gavin chased after me, calling my name.

"Josie, Piper was just trying to help!"

I violently yanked my arm away from his grasp, stumbling two steps from the momentum.

All the humiliation and heartbreak I had bottled up finally erupted.

"Don't you know she is my worst enemy?"

"Did you forget she stole my graduate scholarship back in college?"

I glared at him, grabbing his collar with trembling hands.

"Or did you forget that when I first started working, she was the one who framed me for leaking confidential client files?"

A flicker of panic flashed through Gavin's eyes, but it turned into defensive anger in the next second.

He glared back, veins bulging along his neck.

"Even so, Piper won that scholarship because of her own talent!"

"Why didn't you clear your name at work back then? In the end, you were just too cowardly to fight for yourself!"

His words choked the air out of my lungs.

I never imagined the man I loved for seven years could stab me so ruthlessly in the heart.

That period had been the darkest chapter of my life.

As a straight-A student, I had become the laughingstock of the corporate world.

I could not land a single job anywhere.

I had locked myself at home for months, terrified of stepping outside.

Every time I went out, I felt like the whole world was whispering behind my back, claiming all my achievements were stolen.

Back then, Gavin had held me every night, whispering comforts into my ear.

"It is okay. Even if you don't work, I'll support you on my salary."

"It was never your fault. Piper is the villain here. Don't punish yourself for her sins."

His words were the only reason I found the courage to rebuild my life.

Now, he was using that exact trauma to slaughter my dignity.

Thunder roared violently across the sky.

Within seconds, a torrential downpour drenched the streets.

I could not tell if the liquid streaming down my face was rain or tears.

I only felt exhausted beyond measure.